Stories by Rowan Quinn

Groups representing thousands of psychologists are rebelling against rule changes that many fear will make it even harder for patients to get help.

An immunologist says many might be waiting for the funded flu vaccine, which is available from Tuesday.

Doctors are calling for urgent access to a new immunisation to protect babies from the dangerous RSV virus.

A small marae-based GP clinic is going to the High Court to try to get its data back from a medical IT company.

Nearly 200 jobs are under threat from budget cuts - with some losses coming from redundancies and others from vacancies left unfilled.

More than half of all lung cancers are not diagnosed until after an emergency department visit - when it is often too late, a new report by the Cancer Control Agency shows.

Approval for the changes has been granted by Pharmac.

Te Whatu Ora/Health NZ is slashing the number of communication staff it employs - but there will still be 125 of them.

The doctors - who often treat people with chest injuries caused by air rifles - are calling for tighter restrictions on their sale.

The Health Minister says Health NZ can reprioritise funds now the extra money given as part of the governments 100 day plan has come to an end.

A nurse says she will be looking over her shoulder for years after her name was published on a US website.

There has been a small sting in the tail of the Covid-19 Christmas wave, with an apparent rise in cases this month.

More than 9000 New Zealand nurses have registered to work in Australia in the past 10 months - about 12 percent of the active workforce.

Vaccinators whose names were published on a US website after a Te Whatu Ora data leak are feeling nervous and under threat, says a nurses' union.

The Health Ministry is appealing a High Court decision that found its order forcing 14 councils to fluoridate was unlawful.

The concession is a big shift from six months ago when the Ministry of Health said it was generally satisfied it had followed procedures.

Bev Tanner's entire body used to swell up during attacks from a rare disease. Not any more.

"No expert I know says we're going to get through the next outbreak without seeing some tragic deaths of babies," says Otago University epidemiology professor Michael Baker.

The number of patients facing lengthy waits has doubled in some regions in a year.

Hanne has been before the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal that will decide his punishment for prescribing drugs like ritalin without the required approval of a specialist.

Hospitals are putting contingency plans into action as the latest Covid wave hits staffing numbers.

The organisation said it had accepted applications for the latest updates of the Pfizer and Novovax vaccines which cover the XBB 1.5 strain of Omicron.

Emergency department doctors at two Auckland hospitals are warning someone could be killed or seriously injured if security is not improved in the face of rising rates of violence and aggression.

Violence and abuse by patients and visitors have forced staff at North Shore and Waitākere hospitals to call security or hit panic buttons thousands of times within a seven-month period.

Patients are regularly having to wait a year and a half for heart scans that could tell them whether they have a serious or life-threatening condition.