Stories by Ruth Hill

A multi-million dollar budget boost for Pharmac will only keep the lights on, doctors and patient advocates warn.

Overworked GPs have signalled they can no longer cover, while funding is falling short. Audio

The mother of a transgender teenager says having her child come out at the age of eight let her and her family take "a deep collective breath".

People suffering debilitating and potentially life-threatening skin conditions are not getting the treatment they need in many regions due to the dire shortage of dermatologists.

The hormone drugs are under increasing scrutiny internationally, with Britain's National Health Service last month banning their routine use outside of clinical trials.

Up to 286 staff will now be dropped at MBIE, while the culture ministry has also announced cuts.

Puberty blockers, often given to young transgender people, are being restricted overseas due to issues around effectiveness and safety.

The staff, including hundreds of doctors, were allowed to work through the pandemic because services could not function without them.

Campaigners against youth vaping say the government is delaying child-safety measures to give the industry time to sell non-compliant products.

Five months on from the boy's death, no one has been charged and his family says the police updates have stopped coming.

"Not sick enough to get help" - That's the message many people struggling with debilitating depression and other mental problems are getting from the health system.

People who have suffered acute mental breakdowns fear the health system will not be ready to fill the gap when police withdraw from crisis callouts.

Pharmac announced it will continue blanket funding for all child cancer medicines but will not extend the funding to other medicines for children.

A chronically-ill woman suspects some doctors are reluctant to enrol her, as new research shows some clinics to cherry-pick healthy patients.

About half of all clinics are "cream-skimming" patients to enrol, new research has found.

Maya says she has been left traumatised by the indifferent care she received: "They treated me like I wasn't worth their time because my baby was going to die."

Cancer patients who should have bone marrow transplants within four weeks are waiting for four months - or longer - because services are overloaded.

The Health and Disability Commissioner says until oncology workforces are brought up to a viable level there's no guarantee patients will be treated within "appropriate timeframes".

The ambulance workers' union says it's "unacceptable" cost-cutting is putting lives at risk.

Scrapping the act will leave thousands exposed to dodgy medical devices, warn experts.

Advocates for children and youth in care are calling for mental health training for all Oranga Tamariki caregivers in the wake of the Auditor-General's report this week.

It's unclear which agencies would be able to step into the gap, The Mental Health Foundation says.

The company behind a Hawke's Bay music festival has collapsed, leaving dozens of musicians and crew thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Physician associates work under the supervision of a doctor, but see patients independently.

Overseas-trained "PAs" are being recruited to plug the gaps left by chronic doctor shortages, despite being unregulated here. Audio