Podcasts about district health boards

Checkpoint can reveal that Health New Zealand has spent more than $130 million fixing up faux pas with its holiday pay. It all stems from issues related to the Holiday's Act that were identified in 2016, when it was discovered former District Health Boards were not paying staff correctly, including doctors, nurses and health care assistances. Reporter Jimmy Ellingham spoke to Lisa Owen.

Checkpoint has discovered Te Whatu Ora has spent more than 130 million dollars remediating payroll problems and that doesn't include the cost of repaying wages. It all stems from issues related to the Holiday's Act that were identified in 2016, when it was discovered former District Health Boards were not paying staff correctly, including doctors, nurses and health care assistances. Dr Mike Shepherd, Health New Zealand's Acting Deputy Chief Executive Northern Region spoke to Lisa Owen.

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti wants to return more decision making to the regions.   The previous government scrapped district health boards, forming the central bodies of Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority.   General Practice New Zealand chair Dr Bryan Betty told Roman Travers that in a lot of areas there's a breakdown between Wellington and what's needed in the regions.   He says this is a reaction to that. It's not going back to the way it was but is a halfway point.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday we became aware of yet another giant leap backwards for the mankind of New Zealand, based upon an entirely retrospective move by this coalition Government.  Our health system is like one giant lab rat: constantly poked and prodded by each and every Minister of Health with every change of government. It's no wonder so many of our healthcare professionals want out.  The Minister of Health Shane Reti says he'll shift more health decision-making back to the regions in a monumental change in direction from the previous Government.  You'll recall that all 20 of the District Health Boards were scrapped 18 months ago to form Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority, with the aim of ending geographical differences in the care people were receiving.  But Shane Reti now tells us that the reforms went too far. Do you get the feeling that no one really knows how to run a health ministry in New Zealand? Stand by patients, doctors, and nurses… here we go again.  Shane Reti says that “There are some parts that need to be owned by the centre, absolutely, but we need to be very careful because what's happened here is we've lost local accountability. We've lost local decision making and it's all owned by the centre.”  What he doesn't tell you is that we also lost all the Barbara's and Johns across the country, who popped up on DHB's year after year with their insatiable appetite for free sausage rolls and often absolutely no expertise in anything.  Any idiot can see that you don't actually need to have a decision maker on the ground in a town or city in order to determine the best spend on health priorities.    We have a population and demographic similar to that of a Canadian province where they might also only have one health authority.    Some would say that reversing at high speed is both entertaining and skilful. Not when it comes to The Ministry of Health, who look to be heading backwards at high speed.  Minister Reti also says decisions are better in the hands of iwi and hapū. What on earth is he basing that assumption upon? He also plans to give decision making authority to Māori directorates within Health NZ and the Ministry of Health.  Minister Reti stopped short of saying he would reintroduce DHB's, adding that the new IT systems, along with key services like radiotherapy machines being examples of what should remain centrally managed.    Clearly, he needs to pop down the corridors of power and see how many ministries are run out of Wellington without the need to have representation at a local level in every town or city.  About the only statement that Shane Reti made yesterday that I completely agree with is that ‘our health system is in crisis'.  Sadly, this is another example of how not to fix a crisis. Retrospective moves like this one will continue to be the catalyst for more of our highly undervalued doctors, nurses and health administrators leaving the service, if not the country.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Māori birthing unit recommended for Hawke's Bay is languishing in a queue of work Te Whatu Ora has picked up after District Health Boards were folded into the entity. A birthing unit was recommended last year as part of a damning review into how Hawke's Bay Hospital treats whānau Māori in maternity care, following a highly publicised uplift of a child in 2019. A leading Māori midwife say the lack of progress is a sad indictment. Lauren Crimp has more.

Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu. Adorn the bird with feather and they will fly. Dr Hinemoa Elder. Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāpuhi.In this episode of Psych Matters, Dr Hinemoa Elder begins with a broad background related to Māori concepts of disability including those of 'Tangata Whaikaha' and 'Whānau Hauā'. The discussion includes Māori levels of need, and mātauranga Māori, Māori knowledge systems about Hinengaro or Female deity of Mind.  Specific examples of approaches which are in use are then provided including Te Waka Kuaka and Te Waka Oranga. References to some of the key papers in the area are also discussed.Resources: Reframing disability from an Indigenous perspectiveGuidelines for Cultural Assessment – Maori (health.govt.nz) Pacific Mental Health in Aotearoa New Zealand | RANZCPRecognising the significance of TeTiriti o Waitangi | RANZCPCultural safety | RANZCPIntellectual disabilities (ID): Addressing the mental health needs of people with ID | RANZCP Partnering with people with a lived experience | RANZCPDr Hinemoa Elder is Māori, of Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi descent. Hinemoa is a mother of two adult children. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist working in both District Health Boards and private practice in the fields of community and inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry, youth forensic and neuropsychiatry.  Dr Elder is an advocate for use of Te Reo Māori, the Māori language.A longer bio is available in her previous episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1072258/10462186Feedback:If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we'd love to hear from you.Please contact us by email at: psychmatters.feedback@ranzcp.orgDisclaimer:This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australian or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP's Your Health In Mind Website.

It's one year since the establishment of Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora. It was the biggest overhaul of our health system in decades, bringing together 20 District Health Boards around the country and establishing, for the first time, an independent authority tasked with managing Maori health policies, services, and outcomes. The overall aim: to reduce inequity, while eliminating duplication, waste, and bureaucracy. But critics say chronic staff shortages persist, IT systems still don't talk to each other, staff still don't even have a common email address and tens of thousands of patents are still waiting months for surgery. A plan to disestablish 1600 mostly non-clinical roles has been delayed. One year on - is anything better? Kathryn speaks with Professor Robin Gauld Co-Director of the Centre for Health Systems and Technology at Otago University's Dunedin School of Medicine and Otago Business School, who has been studying health systems here and around the world for years.

The Government is being urged to chuck our health reforms on its policy bonfire. The Prime Minister yesterday announced cuts to multiple transport initiatives, to free up funds for the cost of living crisis. Orion Health's executive director says the now-completed merging of District Health Boards into Te Whatu Ora should be next. Ian McRae says DHBs weren't perfect, but were locally led. He says the best example is Canterbury's quick response after the earthquake but now local decision making has disappeared.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some doctors have serious concerns about the lack of transparency coming from Te Whatu Ora / Health NZ, after the closure of District Health Boards. Previously, the DHBs had an open door policy and shared papers prior to meetings. Te Whatu Ora's board chair, Rob Campbell, dismissed the concerns when talking to Morning Report yesterday. Lower Hutt gastroenterologist and former member of the Hutt Valley DHB Dr Richard Stein is dismayed at those comments. He spoke to Corin Dann.

District Health Boards around the country were never directly consulted about whether international nurses should be left off the list for super fast residency visas. The government has repeatedly said it consulted with the health sector, including district health boards, over the decision not to include nurses in the 'green list' But in documents revealed to our immigration reporter Gill Bonnett , that appears not to be the case.  Immigration reporter Gill Bonnett has been looking into this.

The OG 3 (Branko, Kyle & Philip) caught up for a long chat covering a wide spectrum of issues. The Proud Boys have been declared a terrorist organisation. Rating the idea of Health NZ vs District Health Boards. Jacinda in Europe for a trade deal with the EU, speaking at NATO & great power aggression.Track Times2.30 - Terrorist Proud Boys21.35 - Health NZ35.00 - EU NZ trade45.30 - NATO and geopoliticshttps://www.patreon.com/1of200

Assurances health services won't be disrupted in the middle of a winter rush as the system restructures.The nation's 20 District Health Boards were officially scrapped today to make way for one centralised agency – Health New Zealand.The Maori Health Authority has also launched, and will be responsible for ensuring the system works well for Tangata Whenua.Meanwhile, hospital emergency departments countrywide report unprecedented demand.Health New Zealand top boss Margie Apa told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's a tough winter and there are a few more months to go.“One of the things I've done is kept some of the current leadership structure for another three to six months so that people who are running frontline services still have the right people supporting them.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's sweeping plan to abolish all 20 District Health Boards comes into effect this week.   The move will replace the DHBS with a single health organisation, Health NZ, designed to manage the healthcare of New Zealanders around the country.  What will this mean for patients, doctors and nurses? And will this move succeed in repairing New Zealand's fragmented healthcare system?    Today, Dr Samantha Murton, President of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, joins Damien to explain this huge shake-up to our healthcare system.  Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Damien VenutoProducer/Editor: Paddy Fox Executive Producer: Ethan Sills See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government's big plan to replace District Health Boards with the new Health New Zealand entity and Māori Health Authority has been given the rubber stamp. The Pae Ora Healthy Futures bill passed its third reading in Parliament last night. Political reporter Giles Dexter has more.  

Health is one of the major budget items, with $11.1 billion over the next four years. It's the biggest government investment in health to date with a huge focus on creating Health NZ and a Māori Health Authority. Health NZ, which will replace the District Health Boards, will get $3.1 billion in funding over the next two years. And Pharmac, the government's drug buying agency will receive an extra $191 million, taking its total funding to $1.2 billion. Outside Parliament on Thursday a group of about 30 people - some of whom have rare diseases - were keenly awaiting news of the Pharmac funding. On a cold and windy day in the capital - the group were wearing beanies reading: "let them live". Malcolm Mulholland's wife Wiki died of breast cancer last year after spending her final months campaigning for better access to medications that Pharmac does not fund but are available in places like Australia.

Emergency medicine specialists are urging the Government to work with them to address worsening problems facing hospitals. A centre piece of yesterday's Budget was more than $11 billion to replace District Health Boards with a centralised health service. College of Emergency Medicine deputy chair Dr Kate Allan says the focus on health is good but more must be done to address the struggling hospital workforce. She spoke to Susie Ferguson.

District Health Boards aim to restart pay talks this week.Allied health workers including dental therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and anaesthetic technicians have walked off the job.Emergency care is still available.An 11th-hour offer by the DHBs to stop the strike was turned down and labelled as a kick in the guts by the Public Service Association.Health Minister Andrew Little told Mike Hosking it's not a simple pay dispute.“The difficulty with this group of members, there's 10,000, is that it straddles about 70 different occupations. Some of them are paid reasonably well at $130,000-$150,000 sort of range, some of them are paid very low.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rural doctors are appalled the proposed Pae Ora Healthy Futures Bill doesn't include a rural health strategy, and fear it could entrench health inequities in rural areas. The bill amalgamates the country's 20 District Health Boards into one centralised unit called Health New Zealand. The New Zealand Rural General Practice Network says the proposed legislation ignores the needs of the approximately 750,000 New Zealanders living in rural areas. Rural healthcare has been in crisis for at least a decade, with poorer health outcomes, and a critical workforce shortage. Forty percent of the country's 194 rural practices are looking for staff, and the existing workforce is aging, with 50 percent signalling they plan to retire in the next five to ten years. The RGPN is calling for rural communities to be identified as a priority population group in the legislation -- alongside Maori, Pacific People and the Disabled, who are already recognised. Kathryn speaks to Dr Grant Davidson, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Rural General Practice Network, and Gill Naylor, president of Rural Women New Zealand.

Dr Elder is the author of Aroha:Māori wisdom for a contented life lived in harmony with our planet and in this episode of Psych Matters facilitated by Dr Andrew Amos, she discussed how spiritual stories of the Māori people can improve the health and wellbeing of psychiatrists and their patients through expanded understanding of the meaning of absolute self-determination, the rhythms of kinship and relationship, and awareness of the world around us.Dr Hinemoa Elder is Māori, of Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi descent. Hinemoa is a mother of two adult children. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist working in both District Health Boards and private practice in the fields of community and inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry, youth forensic and neuropsychiatry.  Dr Elder is an advocate for use of Te Reo Māori, the Māori language.Hinemoa was the Māori Strategic Leader for the Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) for the Ageing Brain based at University of Auckland for the last 6 years. She continues to be involved in research regarding traumatic brain injury, stroke and dementia. She has a PhD (Massey University, 2012) and was recipient of a NZ Health Research Council Eru Pomare Post-Doctoral Fellowship from 2014-2018.Dr Elder is a deputy psychiatrist member of the NZ Mental Health Review Tribunal and a Specialist Assessor under the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003.  Hinemoa has been a Director of Emerge Aotearoa a national NGO working to support those with mental health, addictions and with social housing since 2015. Hinemoa received the NZ Order of Merit for services to Māori and Psychiatry in 2019. Dr Elder was appointed to the Prime Minister's Science Advisor's Cannabis Panel in 2019 for the referendum in 2020. She travelled to Antarctica in late 2019 as part of Homeward Bound, a global leadership programme for women in science. Dr Elder is the author of numerous scientific papers and book chapters. She is a member of the World Psychiatric Association working group of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists. She is also the Chair of the IACAPAP Indigenous Working Group.  Hinemoa is also the author of ‘Aroha, Māori wisdom for a contented life lived in harmony with our planet' (Penguin Random House 2020), which has recently been chosen for the Oprah Winfrey Book Club. The book is currently being translated into Arabic.Feedback:If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we'd love to hear from you.Please contact us by email at: psychmatters.feedback@ranzcp.orgDisclaimer:This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australian or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP's Your Health In Mind Website.

Are contractors and consultants manipulating the public health system, doing a poor job or charging over the odds? Alarm bells are ringing over such a lack of checks and balances that it is impossible for the public to tell. This week Morning Report revealed research showing external contractors and consultants are costing District Health Boards more than $100 million a year. As Phil Pennington reports, who gets what, for what, is being poorly reported back to taxpayers.

Friday's planned strike by thousands of Allied Health workers at public hospitals nationwide has been called off. The PSA pulled the plug on the day-long strike from 6am, and a strike planned for March 18, following a last minute Employment Court decision. The court said the industrial action is illegal because it was over an equal pay claim. District Health Boards spokesperson Keriana Brooking spoke to Susie Ferguson.

The Employment Court will meet under urgency on Thursday to consider an injunction to stop a planned strike by Allied Health workers at public hospitals tomorrow. The injunction was lodged by District Health Boards, who want the union, the Public Service Association, to lift the strike notice. DHBs argue the strike would bundle pay equity and wage issues together, and at a bad time, during Omicron. Allied health workers reject this, saying the DHB employers have had plenty of time before now to address the issues. DHB spokesperson Keriana Brooking spoke to Susie Ferguson

Hospital, community and outpatient services could be postponed for 24 hours if a planned strike by Allied Health workers goes ahead. District Health Boards have asked the Employment Court to stop Friday's strike, in which around 10-thousand PSA members are expected to participate. The boards argue facilitation with the Employment Relations Authority is already set down for Monday and Tuesday. Hawke's Bay DHB Chief Executive Keriana Brooking told Mike Hosking it's vital staff continue working during these unprecedented times. “I think with the acceleration of Omicron, particularly over the past week, we really need to stop and we're asking PSA to rethink that action.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nursing has become a more attractive career path and despite the pandemic, more people want to get into the profession.Figures released by the Ministry of Health through the NZ Nursing Council show almost 65,000 nurses hold practising certificates as of January 2022.That's 8.2 per cent more than when the pandemic began in March 2020, and 12 per cent more than in 2019.Figures released by the Ministry of Education show 1030 more nurses are enrolled in courses across the country, than in 2018.Ara Institute of Canterbury Co-Head of Nursing Karen Edgecombe said nursing has always been an attractive career, but these days it's viewed as a secure job to have.“We are always going to need nurses in our health system, whether it's in hospitals or out in the community”.“There's various aspects of nursing you can do, from general medical and surgical to mental health, working in the District Health Boards or working in General Practices”.Ara saw a 26 per cent increase in applications for nursing since 2020.Edgecombe said people look at what's happening with the pandemic, and see it as their calling to join up and help in the fight.She said New Zealanders have a ‘want to help' attitude.“A lot of personal statements [from applicants] are starting to include recognition of the communities in which they live in and wanting to help their Māori, Pasifika or international communities' '.However, there are still staffing shortages in the profession across the country right now, despite the increase in people holding practising certificates and more people wanting to study nursing.A Ministry of Health spokesperson said this was due to border closures and Covid-19 activities that require a number of strategies to bolster and support the workforce.A major independent report released this month also found nurses are overworked and exhausted because of consistent understaffing, and patients are not always getting full care.The report reviewed the safe staffing programme, Care Capacity Demand Management Programme, put in place 15 years ago to measure the number of nurses working against the number needed.It found not all District Health Boards had been following the programme properly.The ministry spokesperson said significant work is underway to ease nursing shortages in New Zealand, including increasing the number of Critical Care nurses by encouraging more nurses to complete post-graduate training in critical care.A joint Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education programme has also been set up to increase the number of people studying nursing.This month, the Ministry of Health also launched a $1 million fund to help former nurses return to the healthcare sector, to focus on growing the workforce as pressures from COVID-19 continue.A maximum of 200 nurses are eligible for the funding across two rounds of applications.It covers up to $5000 of an applicant's training courses, English language proficiency tests, administration fees and other individual costs.The Ministry's Chief Nursing Officer Lorraine Hetaraka said the fund helps nurses who are not currently practising to return to a nursing role, to meet increased demand, support safe staffing, and improve access to care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ADHD community says it's in crisis with more than 80% struggling to get support. Long waits at District Health Boards, most of which won't see adults at all, is forcing most patients to seek help privately or give up entirely. An estimated one in 20 New Zealanders have the condition and some are now resorting to Tik Tok for medical advice. The Ministry of Health says it's always concerning to hear some are struggling to access the support they need, and it recognises inconsistencies across DHBs in how they treat adults with ADHD and mental health issues. It says its response to the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry and wider health reforms will create a more unified approach across public and private health providers, and it's also working to put more counsellors in schools to help children and young people. Here's investigative reporter Anusha Bradley.

The ADHD community says it's in crisis with more than 80% struggling to get support. Long waits at District Health Boards, most of which won't see adults at all, is forcing most patients to seek help privately or give up entirely. An estimated one in 20 New Zealanders have the condition and some are now resorting to Tik Tok for medical advice. The Ministry of Health says it's always concerning to hear some are struggling to access the support they need, and it recognises inconsistencies across DHBs in how they treat adults with ADHD and mental health issues. It says its response to the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry and wider health reforms will create a more unified approach across public and private health providers, and it's also working to put more counsellors in schools to help children and young people. Here's investigative reporter Anusha Bradley.

Refrigerated containers are being hired, bought, and scoped by hospitals worried they won't have enough space to keep Covid-19 bodies. Not all District Health Boards have morgues and many that do are wary they may be overwhelmed as the virus takes hold. Sam Olley filed this report

The race to get to 90 percent of Aotearoa vaccinated against Covid-19 continues, but people are being reminded it's a marathon and not a sprint. Only five District Health Boards have hit the milestone for first jabs: Capital and Coast, Auckland, Waitemata, Canterbury - and just yesterday, the Southern DHB. Others are tantalisingly close, with just a few thousand jabs to go. Jake McKee reports.

In this episode, we bring you the second recording from the recent Evidence Based Eating NZ Auckland/online event, this time hearing from Professor Boyd Swinburn. Boyd is Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health at the University of Auckland, and Honorary Professor at the Global Centre at Deakin University in Australia.Here he talks about fixing our obesogenic landscape; how our District Health Boards and changing government policies can help. Professor Swinburn is a previous guest of our podcast, so to find out more about Boyd's background and work listen to Season 2 Episode 8.You can view all previous episodes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

A former TV and radio presenter has backed away from her earlier claim that Mother Earth created an earthquake out of displeasure with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's Covid management plan. Former Breakfast, Good Morning and RNZ presenter Liz Gunn now says she was only using a metaphor. It comes after Ardern had been holding a press conference last Friday to unveil the nation's new 90 per cent vaccination target and traffic light system for handling the virus when an earthquake hit the central North Island. Gunn subsequently posted a video online saying Mother Earth's quake had arrived just after Ardern announced her "evil plan". "Our mother, our jewel, this beautiful country said enough, enough," she said. However, Gunn today told Newstalk ZB's Heather du Plessis-Allan that she had been using the earthquake as a metaphor. "I'm sorry ... I have a sensitive soul, I do work in metaphor," Gunn said. "The metaphor is that we are all collectively getting broken." Gunn earlier expressed anti-vaccination views in her video. Du Plessis-Allan said to Gunn that she had talked about having a heart condition in her video and asked whether she had a medical exemption for not getting the Pfizer Covid vaccine. "I do not give out my personal medical details," Gunn responded. "I do not ask people personal medical history. What has happened to our country?" Gunn said she respected du Plessis-Allan's right to have a different opinion on issues. "I'll get into Parliament if I have to and defend your right to do what you want with your body," she said. Gunn posted her video on Saturday. In it, she said the introduction of vaccine passports was a way to divide the nation and segregate people with different vaccine statuses from one another. During a 10-minute interview with du Plessis-Allan today, she said she had received lots of emails of support since posting her video. "The emotional side of me, I often read these and I have to stop and I have to weep for our country," she said before reading aloud one letter she said she had received. Gunn previously worked at TVNZ between 1990 and 2003. She was part of the original TVNZ Breakfast team alongside Mike Hosking and Susan Wood in 1997. In 2001, Gunn took Alison Mau's place as host, forming a team alongside Hosking. But she sparked headlines in December that year when she quit the programme live on air. At the time, it was reported that Gunn and Hosking had not clicked as a presenting team but TVNZ bosses were left scrambling when Gunn told viewers she wouldn't be back in 2002. During that time, Gunn also worked at Radio New Zealand, hosting a number of shows before finishing up in 2016. Gunn's latest video came after Ardern announced on Friday that New Zealand would move to a traffic light system to manage Covid-19 when District Health Boards have 90 per cent of their eligible populations vaccinated. LISTEN ABOVE

An enhanced business support package has been unveiled as the country transitions to the new Covid-19 protection framework. It was announced alongside that New Zealand will move to a new "traffic light" system when District Health Boards have 90 per cent of its eligible population vaccinated. When each DHB hit this target, the new framework would come into effect. The traffic light system makes use of vaccine certificates. Businesses will be able to continue to operate at each of the risk levels, and each setting can be used in a highly targeted and localised way, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. In a suite of announcements that establish a pathway out of restrictions, the Government is also providing up to $940 million per fortnight to support businesses through the challenging period, particularly those in Auckland. A new $120m fund has also been established to help lift Māori vaccination rates. Finance Miniter Grant Robertson said the resurgence support payment will be doubled, up to $43,000. The first applications will open on November 12 and be paid fortnightly rather than every three weeks. He said the decision was made to use this payment because it was flexible and could be implemented quickly. The wage subsidy was still available using the current criteria. The cost of both schemes is estimated to be $940 million per fortnight. There will also be a $60m package for the Regional Business Partner Programme and mental health support. Businesses will be able to apply for up to $3000 worth of advice and planning support, and then receive up to $4000 to implement that advice through the established Regional Business Partners programme. As part of the package, $10m is available for mental health and wellbeing support through a programme to be designed with the Employers and Manufacturers' Association and Auckland Business Chamber of Commerce. Robertson said more support will also be available for low income workers from November 1. Cabinet will also discuss more support for those most vulnerable. There would also be a transition grant for Auckland businesses when they move into the new traffic light framework. It will target the most affected businesses, but Robertson warned that businesses that chose not to use vaccine certificates might not be eligible. Other support might be available for businesses in the event of local lockdowns. "Please get vaccinated," Robertson said. 

The first in a series of vaccination buses aimed at boosting the number of Covid-19 jabs in South Auckland, will get on the road today. The buses, organised by the region's District Health Boards, will act as mobile pop-up vehicles with jabs given off the buses to allow appropriate social distancing. Associate Health Minister Aupito William Sio spoke to Susie Ferguson.

Oranga Tamariki has admitted it sometimes asks District Health Boards to keep children at hospitals longer than they need to while it hunts for a suitable placement. It goes against the advice of the Children's Minister Kelvin Davis who has told the agency a child in care should only be in hospital for a medical reason. It comes after RNZ revealed in July that a child spent more than nine weeks in a Waikato hospital because the agency failed to find them somewhere safe to go. Te Aniwa Hurihanganui reports.

Nurses could strike again after they rejected the latest pay offer from District Health Boards, thousands will turn out for the country's first mass vaccination event in Manukau this morning, it's a big day on the water for New Zealand's Olympic rowers, and Australia's military will help enforce a lockdown in Sydney, after the city records a record rise in Covid cases.

Nurses could strike again after they rejected the latest pay offer from District Health Boards, thousands will turn out for the country's first mass vaccination event in Manukau this morning, it's a big day on the water for New Zealand's Olympic rowers, and Australia's military will help enforce a lockdown in Sydney, after the city records a record rise in Covid cases.

Nurses strikes are back on the cards after they rejected the latest pay offer from district health boards. Last month about 30-thousand nurses walked off the job in huge demonstrations around the country. Talks have broken down and District Health Boards say the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and its members have turned their backs on a settlement package of safe staffing and patient initiatives plus pay rises worth more than $400 million. Karyn Hay with speak with Glenda Alexander from the Nurses Organisation.

Nurses are set to resume strike action at public hospitals throughout the country in a bid for better pay and conditions. Last month 30,000 nurses walked off the wards in hospitals when employment talks with their District Health Board employers broke down. They've now voted to to strike again for 24 hours on 29 July, followed by eight hours on 19 August, and another 24 hours on 9 September. The District Health Boards' spokesperson on the nurses' talks and pay equity, and Tairawhiti DHB chief executive, Jim Green spoke to Susie Ferguson.

Nurses are set to resume strike action at public hospitals throughout the country in a bid for better pay and conditions. Last month 30,000 nurses walked off the wards in hospitals when employment talks with their District Health Board employers broke down. They've now voted to to strike again for 24 hours on 29 July, followed by eight hours on 19 August, and another 24 hours on 9 September. The District Health Boards' spokesperson on the nurses' talks and pay equity, and Tairawhiti DHB chief executive, Jim Green spoke to Susie Ferguson.

A shipment of 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine has arrived in the country - two days ahead of schedule - and will be distributed among District Health Boards from today. The shipment, which is the New Zealand's largest yet, touched down in Auckland yesterday afternoon, and were taken straight to the storage and distribution centre, where quality checks were carried out. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report it has taken a lot of hard work to ensure its early arrival.

The country's District Health Boards are refusing to release reviews done of their cyber security systems weeks after Waikato DHB was struck by ransomware attackers. They blanket refused Official Information Act requests, arguing it would only help attackers to let the public know what concerns or risks have come up. Reporter Phil Pennington lodged OIAs with each DHB after the Waikato attack.

A shipment of 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine has arrived in the country - two days ahead of schedule - and will be distributed among District Health Boards from today. The shipment, which is the New Zealand's largest yet, touched down in Auckland yesterday afternoon, and were taken straight to the storage and distribution centre, where quality checks were carried out. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report it has taken a lot of hard work to ensure its early arrival.

The country's District Health Boards are refusing to release reviews done of their cyber security systems weeks after Waikato DHB was struck by ransomware attackers. They blanket refused Official Information Act requests, arguing it would only help attackers to let the public know what concerns or risks have come up. Reporter Phil Pennington lodged OIAs with each DHB after the Waikato attack.

The Director-General of Health insists New Zealand's not slowing its Covid-19 vaccine roll-out.The Ministry of Health's warned District Health Boards to tightly manage their supplies - over the next five weeks.Walk-in appointments will be paused and jabs for prisoners and some Defence Force workers will be slowed.But Ashley Bloomfield told Heather du Plessis-Allan they'll deliver more jabs in the next five weeks - than in any week to date."We're still ramping up, but what we're going to do is just make sure each DHB can deliver 100 percent of their plan and honour the bookings." LISTEN ABOVE

District Health Boards are promising to get back around the table with nurses following an eight-hour strike by nurses yesterday over pay. Tens of thousands of DHB-employed nurses and their supporters took to the streets nationwide during the strike, which ended at 7pm on Wednesday. Hauora Tairawhiti DHB chief executive and the DHB's spokesperson Jim Green spoke to Philippa Tolley.

Nurses and district health boards say they'll make plans today to resume negotiations after strikes and rallies all over the country. Nurses walked off the job for eight hours, instead venting their frustration in noisy protests all over the country. Speaking on the picket line, David Waite from the Nurses' Organisation's negotiating team told Health Correspondent Rowan Quinn the negotiations so far have been very frustrating. The District Health Boards say they have offered nurses a fair pay increase in a difficult time and they want to get together to understand more about what they want.

District Health Boards are promising to get back around the table with nurses following an eight-hour strike by nurses yesterday over pay. Tens of thousands of DHB-employed nurses and their supporters took to the streets nationwide during the strike, which ended at 7pm on Wednesday. Hauora Tairawhiti DHB chief executive and the DHB's spokesperson Jim Green spoke to Philippa Tolley.

Nurses and district health boards say they'll make plans today to resume negotiations after strikes and rallies all over the country. Nurses walked off the job for eight hours, instead venting their frustration in noisy protests all over the country. Speaking on the picket line, David Waite from the Nurses' Organisation's negotiating team told Health Correspondent Rowan Quinn the negotiations so far have been very frustrating. The District Health Boards say they have offered nurses a fair pay increase in a difficult time and they want to get together to understand more about what they want.

Nurses say they're striking to help people who will join the profession in the future.Tens of thousands will walk of the job for eight hours today, along with midwives and healthcare assistants, after turning down a second pay offer from the District Health Boards.They'll walk off the job at 11am.Auckland Hospital registered nurse Mafi Talakai told Kate Hawkesby it's not just about the money.“They're trying to make things better for the nurses coming tomorrow. The only people that will benefit from that is the patients.”LISTEN ABOVE 

The National Party says it would spend money on nurses, rather than on overhauling the health system.Thirty thousand Nurses Organisation members will strike tomorrow, after rejecting the latest offer from District Health Boards.They say pay rates don't attract people to the profession and low staffing levels are stretching them to breaking point.National's health spokesman Dr Shane Reti told Kate Hawkesby he wouldn't be spending 486-million dollars on health restructuring.“We'd rather be improving the conditions of nurses, so there is an opportunity cost and a trade-off here that's quite simple.”LISTEN ABOVE

As 30,000 nurses nationwide prepare to to walk off the job tomorrow, Australian medical agencies are actively recruiting some of them. Negotiations between the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and District Health Boards have stalled after nurses rejected the latest revised offer yesterday.

Nurses are set to walk of the job for eight hours on Wednesday. Negotiations between their union, the Nurses Organisation, and District Health Boards stalled, and nurses rejected the latest offer on Sunday. Susie Ferguson asked New Zealand Nurses Organisation industrial services manager Glenda Alexander what is wrong with the pay offer on the table.

Tomorrow thousands of nurses across the country will go on strike for 8 hours over what they're calling unsafe staffing levels and poor pay. Negotiations between their union, the Nurses Organisation, and District Health Boards have stalled after nurses rejected the latest offer yesterday. District Health Boards say they're disappointed with the outcome, but are assuring the public essential services will still be available on the day. Harry Lock reports.

A nurse of 43 years says she fears for the future of her profession. Thirty-thousand nurses voted to go on strike for eight hours tomorrow after they resoundly rejected the last-minute pay offer from District Health Boards. The Nurse's Organisation says nurses are leaving because of understaffing and the impact that's having on working conditions.  They say poor pay is failing to attract new people. Bay of Plenty nurse Cheryl Hammond told reporter Harry Lock, why nurses like her are so fed-up. The spokesperson for the DHBs, Jim Green, says he's disappointed the offer was rejected, but will continue to work with the union to find a resolution. He says DHBs will have a plan in place for Wednesday, with most elective appointments cancelled. Urgent hospital and ambulance services will continue.

As 30,000 nurses nationwide prepare to to walk off the job tomorrow, Australian medical agencies are actively recruiting some of them. Negotiations between the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and District Health Boards have stalled after nurses rejected the latest revised offer yesterday.

A nurse of 43 years says she fears for the future of her profession. Thirty-thousand nurses voted to go on strike for eight hours tomorrow after they resoundly rejected the last-minute pay offer from District Health Boards. The Nurse's Organisation says nurses are leaving because of understaffing and the impact that's having on working conditions.  They say poor pay is failing to attract new people. Bay of Plenty nurse Cheryl Hammond told reporter Harry Lock, why nurses like her are so fed-up. The spokesperson for the DHBs, Jim Green, says he's disappointed the offer was rejected, but will continue to work with the union to find a resolution. He says DHBs will have a plan in place for Wednesday, with most elective appointments cancelled. Urgent hospital and ambulance services will continue.

Tomorrow thousands of nurses across the country will go on strike for 8 hours over what they're calling unsafe staffing levels and poor pay. Negotiations between their union, the Nurses Organisation, and District Health Boards have stalled after nurses rejected the latest offer yesterday. District Health Boards say they're disappointed with the outcome, but are assuring the public essential services will still be available on the day. Harry Lock reports.

Nurses are set to walk of the job for eight hours on Wednesday. Negotiations between their union, the Nurses Organisation, and District Health Boards stalled, and nurses rejected the latest offer on Sunday. Susie Ferguson asked New Zealand Nurses Organisation industrial services manager Glenda Alexander what is wrong with the pay offer on the table.

Some people's non-urgent public hospital appointments or elective surgery will be postponed tomorrow.Nurses Organisation members will be on strike from 11am to 7pm , as they seek more pay and better staffing levels.District Health Boards spokesman Jim Green told Mike Hosking it will be disruptive to the public and services.“So, we have to really focus in on that at present to make sure that we keep things for people over that period of time. We've been doing that work over the last three weeks now to make sure that we're ready.”Jim Green says DHBs hope to speak to nurses again on Thursday, when they'll get back to listening, talking and resolving this.LISTEN ABOVE  

Nurses are considering a late pay offer from District Health Boards making a last minute attempt to avoid a massive nationwide strike. Around 30,000 members of the Nurses Organisation are planning to stop work on 9 June after turning down an earlier offer they say was 1.4 percent. Industrial organiser Glenda Alexander says nurses now have until midday Monday to make a decision on the new offer. Alexander told health correspondent Rowan Quinn, that before the latest offer, Waikato DHB made a formal approach to nurses asking them to halt strike action there as it grapples with the fall out from its cyber attack. She says if the strike goes ahead, it will be everywhere.

District Health Boards are on notice from the Privacy Commissioner, to lock their virtual front doors or face possible prosecution, following Waikato DHB's ransomware cyber attack. Health Minister Andrew Little said he has sought and had reassurances from all DHBs that they have checked their IT systems and their resilience against possible cyber attacks. But what does that actually mean? How well-prepared are the dozens of government entities and agencies that hold vast amounts of private and critically-important information? "New Zealand organisations aren't as well protected as they should be," Paul Spain told Checkpoint.

The Privacy Commissioner says health authorities must speed up and tell people whether their hacked data has been leaked. Agencies are scrambling to address a cyber attack that has crippled Waikato hospitals and stolen the details of thousands of patients and staff. John Edwards says people need to know whether their details are vulnerable so they can take action. He is warning District Health Boards they need to patch up IT weaknesses or face possible prosecution and fines. He spoke to Susie Ferguson.

The Privacy Commissioner says health authorities must speed up and tell people whether their hacked data has been leaked. Agencies are scrambling to address a cyber attack that has crippled Waikato hospitals and stolen the details of thousands of patients and staff. John Edwards says people need to know whether their details are vulnerable so they can take action. He is warning District Health Boards they need to patch up IT weaknesses or face possible prosecution and fines. He spoke to Susie Ferguson.

District Health Boards are being told to address any IT weaknesses or face possible prosecution. An urgent and high-level meeting has been happening tonight in the wake of the Waikato DHB attack which is still unresolved, disrupting the care for patients and operations at several hospitals around the country. It has also left the details of thousands of patients and staff vulnerable. Privacy Commissioner John Edwards talks to Lisa Owen.

"The biggest benefit rise in a generation" - the headline of Budget 2021. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has delivered a boost for beneficiaries in his first Budget of the Labour majority government. That's the big ticket item - at more than $3 billion over four years - but there was also more money for Pharmac, District Health Boards and to fund health and education reforms. There's a billion-dollar package for Māori, including money to set up the promised Māori Health Authority to provide a thousand homes. RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch and visual journalist Dom Thomas have the details.  

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has shut down the idea that New Zealand will return to life under Covid-19 alert level 2.5 when the borders open.It comes after director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield yesterday floated the vision that opening up the border to vaccinated tourists could require Kiwis to return to alert level 2.5.Speaking on Kerre McIvor Mornings on Newstalk ZB, Ardern said it would more likely be a "1.5 environment"."I spoke to [Bloomfield] and he said he was referencing more a 1.5 environment with things like QR code scanning, those kind of things we need to be aware of on a day to day in that transition period," Ardern said.The Prime Minister's comments came in response to a caller who was worried the country was now being restricted to gatherings of ten.Ardern was quick to say that was not the case, saying it was a discussion about creating extra "buffers" when we do open the borders which could be at the end of this year.She said there was no suggestion that for three to five years New Zealand will be in a constant level of a 2.5 environment."A lot of it is going to come down to how many people we have vaccinated, the more people we have vaccinated the more freedom we can have.She said in the same way we have immunisations for measles we do still have outbreaks from time to time and we have to make sure we contain those.Ardern dedicated an hour to answering questions from Newstalk ZB callers.It is the first time this year the Prime Minister has been in studio with McIvor.She will also be answering questions from McIvor about child poverty, homelessness, the public sector pay freeze and District Health Boards.Ardern speaks ahead of Budget 2021, which will be announced next Thursday, May 20.LISTEN ABOVE

Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen is an outspoken advocate for Maori health. The Auckland GP is clinical director and leader for service design and development with the National Hauora Coalition - a clinical network of 57 GP practices, serving more than 230,000 patients across five District Health Boards. Until recently he has been on the Government's expert immunisation advisory group. Dr Jansen has links to NgÄti Raukawa and NgÄti Hinerangi on his mother's side, and his father's family hail from Denmark. He talks with Kathryn Ryan about his background, why he chose a career in medicine and his drive to improve Maori health outcomes.

Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen is an outspoken advocate for Maori health. The Auckland GP is clinical director and leader for service design and development with the National Hauora Coalition - a clinical network of 57 GP practices, serving more than 230,000 patients across five District Health Boards. Until recently he has been on the Government's expert immunisation advisory group. Dr Jansen has links to NgÄti Raukawa and NgÄti Hinerangi on his mother's side, and his father's family hail from Denmark. He talks with Kathryn Ryan about his background, why he chose a career in medicine and his drive to improve Maori health outcomes.

The radical plan to get rid of the country's District Health Boards has delighted health workers and patients even though they're unsure about what exactly comes next. The 20 DHBs will be replaced with a single national agency called 'Health New Zealand' and the government is promising better access to care no matter where you live. As Kate Gregan reports there are sighs of relief but still plenty of questions.

In the most radical shake up of the health system in decades, the country's 20 District Health Boards are being scrapped. The Health Minister Andrew Little has announced details to health leaders in parliament this morning. A single new body, Health NZ will replaced the DHBs which run services for individual areas around the country.  A new Maori Health Authority is to be established, to policies for Maori health and to decide on and fund those who will deliver services.The country's 30 primary health organisations, large regional networks of GPs and primary care, will also be disbanded. RNZ Health correspondent Rowan Quinn outlines the major changes.

In the most radical shake up of the health system in decades, the country's 20 District Health Boards are being scrapped. The Health Minister Andrew Little has announced details to health leaders in parliament this morning. A single new body, Health NZ will replaced the DHBs which run services for individual areas around the country.  A new Maori Health Authority is to be established, to policies for Maori health and to decide on and fund those who will deliver services.The country's 30 primary health organisations, large regional networks of GPs and primary care, will also be disbanded. RNZ Health correspondent Rowan Quinn outlines the major changes.

We've talked before about the shocking state of our kids' teeth.  More than 5000 children and teenagers have dental surgery under general anaesthetic every year for problems associated with neglect. Dental decay is the most common chronic health condition in New Zealand and it causes serious problems for the children who have rotting teeth. I have heard some parents say, what does it matter?  They lose the teeth anyway. But in the interim, their children suffer, with problems ranging from extreme pain and spread of infection to poor self-esteem and reduced quality of life.Now the government is looking to put a fence at the top of the cliff to prevent the ambulance being needed at the bottom. The Prime Minister has promised to pass a bill that's been on hold for nearly four years - a bill that would give water fluoridation powers to District Health Boards and probably extend water fluoridation from 50 per cent of the country to at least 85.Dental Association president Kate Ayers told Mike Hosking that would have an immediate impact, and can reduce decay rates by 40 percent.The government is also giving preschoolers free toothbrushes, which is all well and good but they have to be used and used properly. I know it can be a faff at the end of the day making sure the little ones are brushing their teeth properly, after you've had a full day of child minding, and you've just got through the bath, and there's still bedtime stories and questions to answer and streams of consciousness that are really just delaying tactics to get through but its part of the job. Perhaps if the government shook the money tree once again and provided a nanny at the end of the night to oversee correct brushing - that would have more of an impact.But to be fair, a similar programme in Scotland - giving toothbrushes and toothpaste to little ones - has been successful and its hoped that the combination of fluoride and supplying tools for teeth cleaning will end up saving the country more than 600 million dollars over 20 years - and thousands and thousands of children a life time of pain and embarrassment.   

RNZ has heard from MIQ nurses who are fearful that inadequate staffing could lead to further Covid-19 outbreaks. One nurse told RNZ she had worked several 24-hour shifts, while another says her personal life has crumbled due to the stigma associated with working in MIQ. The nurses claim that their working conditions deteriorated when the District Health Boards took over management of the hotels. Kate Weston is the professional services manager for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation. She spoke to Susie Ferguson.

Labour and National appear to be on the same side when it comes to propping up District Health Boards.Canterbury DHB is facing a leadership crisis with seven members of its executive team and board stepping down reportedly over pressure to cut costs.Labour's Poto Williams and National's Gerry Brownlee spoke to Chris Lynch and both agree things have to change.Williams says the Government allocated almost one billion dollars to Health boards in the last budget.Brownlee says funding levels are always an issue.

District Health Boards could be stuffed with political flunkeys if a proposed shake up goes ahead. That's the call from a former Waikato District Health Board member who admits he landed an earlier public health role thanks to his high level contacts. The Health and Disability System review wants to slash the number of district health boards in New Zealand to as few as eight and do-away with DHB elections. The proposal is prompting fears that any ruling government would fill the boards with favourites and stooges. Matthew Theunissen reports.

A weighty new report released on Tuesday recommends the most significant changes to New Zealand's health system in a generation according to Health Minister David Clark. The long awaited Health and Disability system review recommends culling District Health Boards from 20 to as few as eight, ditching DHB elections in favour of appointed board members, creating Health NZ - a new crown entity that will oversee services and DHB finances, and setting up a new Māori Health Authority that reports to the Health Minister. It also suggests adjusting the funding formula to increase ethnicity and deprivation weighting, and developing a long-term health strategy, looking 15 years into the future. Health Minister David Clark talks to Lisa Owen.

The struggles and shortfalls of the country's aged care sector have been laid bare in a new review into Covid-19 clusters in rest homes. More than half of New Zealand's Covid-19 deaths have been in rest homes - with five of the 16 clusters at aged care facilities. The Ministry of Health review found the virus was brought into facilities by infected staff or visitors, and rest homes weren't familiar with concepts such as outbreaks, clusters, probable versus proven cases, and key terminology. The report comes as rest home nurses warn of a critical staffing shortage - there's currently around 300 vacancies for registered nurses at rest homes around the country. Those positions require the same qualifications and skills as nurses working for District Health Boards, but they're paid significantly less. Often those roles are filled by nurses from overseas - and with the borders now closed, rest homes say they don't know how they're going to find new staff without a decent pay increase. Checkpoint's Nita Blake-Persen and Nate McKinnon filed this report.

There's hope money from the Budget will enable the health system to be reshaped.We already know District Health Boards will get $3.9 billion in extra funding from this year's Budget.Otago University health researcher Professor Robin Gauld told Kate Hawkesby it will help fund new procedures after the lockdown, but says we need money to fund procedures people have been waiting for, for a long time."We need need to go further. That means focussing on areas like Information Technology, where our systems are woeful."LISTEN ABOVE

The government will put an extra $4 billion into the health system over the next four years, including funding to catch up on all the procedures that were cancelled because of the lockdown. The Health Minister, David Clark, says its the biggest increase in the health spend in a decade. Most of the money will got to District Health Boards for their core work running hospitals but there will be $283 million as a one off to catch up on delays to surgeries, scans and specialist appointments in the lockdown. Rowan Quinn is RNZ's Health Correspondent.

The government has just announced a big boost for hospital and health service funding. It's to spend an additional $980 million a year over the next four years for District Health Boards. There's also a one-off boost of $282.5 million over three years for elective surgery. RNZ's Health Correspondent Rowan Quinn.

There's been a surge in the rate of Māori being tested for Covid-19, but several districts are still lagging behind. New Ministry of Health data shows Māori are being tested at a slightly higher rate than non-Māori on average. But one third of District Health Boards still appear to be undertesting Māori. Māori news correspondent Leigh-Marama Mclachlan reports.

The financial situation for New Zealand's District Health Boards is continuing to deteriorate, with newly released data showing all but one are in the red.And the overall position is expected to get worst too, with the Ministry of Health forecasting an end of financial year deficit of more than half a billion dollars.The combined deficit for all 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) stands at $103 million as of August last year – according to the latest data available.That's $20 million higher than the reported deficit at the same time the year prior.The Ministry of Health (MoH) published the data in the first week of this month.National's Health spokesman Michael Woodhouse said the data was "quietly released" by the MoH over the summer period so the numbers would get little attention.He has accused Health Minister David Clark of putting DHBs in a perilous financial position through "sheer incompetence"."David Clark has shown little appetite or ability to remedy the situation. He's out of his depth and he knows it, which is why he quietly released the data online over the summer period."The August numbers are the first tranche to be released from the 2019/20 financial year.As well as showing the $103 million deficit, the numbers also show that the MoH expects the overall DHB deficit to be $534 million by June this year.At $23 million in the red, Canterbury DHB has the highest deficit, followed by Waikato with $15 million then Auckland at $10 million.South Canterbury, the only DHB with a surplus, was $1 million in the black.In the year to June 2019, DHBs reported an overall $1.1 billion deficit.The DHBs' financial performance came under intense scrutiny as the deficit deepened.Last year, the Herald revealed the Government was forced to pour extra emergency money into the DHBs after being warned hospital workers' pay could be affected without a bailout.Information, released under the Official Information Act, revealed the Government had spent and extra $368 million more than it had expected on topping up DHB funding.In December last year, the Government revealed it had enlisted the aid of former Ministers, chief executives, top-ranking officials and mayors to help get the country's embattled DHBs back on a firmer financial footing.Former Finance Minister, and Tax Working Group chairman Sir Michael Cullen, was among 76 new District Health Board (DHB) chairpersons or board members.

This week Ryan checks out a new brand of pet food, Tu Meke Friend, a software company, AMS, that helps services companies with systems and he shares what we've been up to in the last week and what's coming up.LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEhttps://www.tukidesign.com/http://www.moretonjewellery.co.nz/https://www.tumekefriend.nz/http://www.ams.co.nz/https://nzmadeday.nz/https://www.goglobal.nz/

A Resident Doctors spokesperson warns hospital staff assault numbers will be much greater than what's reported.Almost 2000 hospital staff members reported being assaulted on the job last year.But Resident Doctors Association national secretary, Deborah Powell told Kate Hawkesby hospital staff firmly believe District Health Boards won't act, even if they do report incidents.She says that leads to a vicious cycle of staff not reporting assaults so nothing happens."Employees have the right to safe workplace. Staff have developed a culture where patients rights are greater than their own and that's got to change."Powell says DHB's have to get staff confidence and handle situations properly.

Junior doctors will be walking off the job at 8am this morning as part of a five-day strike over their working conditions. It's the latest move in a long-running dispute over contracts, with the junior doctors accusing the District Health Boards of exploiting them.Resident doctors are accusing the DHB of wanting full control over their rosters.Resident Doctors' Association spokesperson, David Munro, told Kate Hawkesby he is hoping the strike will force the DHB to compromise. "There has been a lot of mischief from the DHBs, they make it sound like someone sits in the RDA's head office and makes some sort of decision...but it's a world away from the truth.""The local medical team work out what are going to be the best arrangements, come up with what suits them best and the RDA is simply there to make sure that those arrangements don't breach any protections in the Multiple Employer Collective agreement, and that nobody is inadvertently agreeing to do anything unsafe of that will be too fatiguing.""Local teams make the arrangements and as long as they are safe and ensure food patient care, they are put in place."Munro said the DHBs want the ability to change rosters without the agreement of the local medical teams or the union."The DHBs want to change to be able to say, 'we need a roster, I am going to put this in regardless of the considerations of the union or the local team and even if it's unsafe because we don't have enough people to staff it'," he said.The DHBs say the strike is a waste of time and that talking to each other is the only constructive way forward.However, Munro said if they really feel that way they could have softened their position."They have had a very aggressive position and have shown no sign of moving away from it."He said money isn't the issue. However, he said the DHB has spent $15 million fighting the junior doctors' strikes."The doctors are pretty disappointed about that."

The National Party says the situation at the country's District Health Boards is not sustainable and something has to give.Eight out of the 20 DHBs have yet to sign off their annual spending plans for this year.The books aren't looking great in Canterbury especially, where the DHB is expecting a $100 million deficit.National's health spokesman Michael Woodhouse told Kate Hawkesby the public should have an expectation all public entities work within their means."The fact that not only Canterbury, but a significant number of the DHBs are now blowing out financially is a serious concern.""There are certainly ways in which the services can be deployed that are more efficient than the model that we have got," he said."The question for the Government is whether or not they are willing to spend a lot of time and effort reforming that."He said it is still unclear how much worse the budget blowouts could get."We don't know how much worse it is going to get because the Minister [David Clark] is not telling us.""Normally financial data for each month of the year is put up on the Ministry of Health website [but] that hasn't been updated since June last year, so we are really flying blind."Eight of the 20 DHBs still do not have an approved plan which is a real concern, Woodhouse said."We just don't know where they are at...I'm guessing over $0.5 billion by now [but] it could be worse."He said it's not sustainable and something eventually has to give.

The Finance Minister says the junior doctors' strike is more about hours than money - but is refusing to say if he thinks they're working too much.Junior doctors have begun their 48-hour strike over working conditions.The strike will see thousands of people miss out on surgery today and tomorrow as 80 per cent of junior doctors walk off the job.A second 48-hour strike is also planned for January 29-30.Some junior doctors on strikesay they've been forced to work 16-hour days and believe their working conditions could jeopardise patient care.Speaking with Newstalk ZB, Finance Minister Grant Robertson told Tim Dower patients need to know they're being cared for by someone who's thinking clearly.But he said those who work in the health industry know it's unique."If people were working 16-hours a day, every day of that week that wouldn't be possible and that isn't what I understand resident doctors do.""[But] within the health system, people know that it's a 24/7 system, that it operates through the night and people understand that from time to time you will work long shifts."When asked whether it was okay for a public entity, like the District Health Boards, to expect people to work for 16-hours a day, Robertson said, "these are clinical decisions and I won't comment as a politician"."Clearly we all want the people who are looking after us in our hospitals to be working in safe environments, to be in a position to be making good decisions and clearly, that's what marks a health system that is safe and working well for people. Clearly, we want that."Those decisions about what the exact number of hours are that people can work, what the balance is between getting the right training you need and having a healthy working environment is exactly what's being debated between the two groups."He said his main priority is to make sure New Zealanders have a safe and professional health system."I am not going to debate the individual ins and outs of this deal.""What I want is to make sure that New Zealander's have a health system that is staffed by professionals, that are well trained and who are able to do their job properly, and we are encouraging the DHBs and the resident doctors to come to an agreement about that."District Health Boards spokesman Dr Peter Bramley told Tim Dower DHBs are committed to looking after the junior doctors."This is about shaping the best training experience but also shaping the working rosters to enable us to deliver the right care to the right people in the right place.""Our first commitment is to patient care, the second commitment is to making sure our employees are working in safe conditions..where there are plenty of limits to ensure safe rostering is still in place but we are wanting some greater flexibility that allows [us] to configure the rosters to deliver better care."Bramley told Newstalk ZB the main sticking point for the DHBs is flexibility over rosters."At a local level, at a particular service level, the one size fits all approach to rostering actually isn't working and if they can have local decision making in conjunction with the RMOs [Resident Medical Officer] then we can get a better training experience."He hit back at claims that the DHB wants to "have it all", saying RMOs will be consulted about their rosters."We are committed firstly to looming after them as employees. We are committed to safe care as DHBs but actually, RMOs are in training and they do move around and it's that want to move around between hospitals in a planned way that enhances their training opportunities."Bramley said the key issue of the strike isn't relayed to money or pay negotiations."We haven't really talked about the money. I don't think money fundamentally is at the heart of this.""The issue around how we are supporting and working with our RMOs in delivering care is the key issue at stake."

This week - Xiaomi’s new Pocophone F1, Banks vs Disruption, the future of financial advance in a world or artificial intelligence and robo advice, $100m National Oracle System IT Project for District Health Boards and look back on the impact of NotPetya. The Untold Story of NotPetya, the Most Devastating Cyberattack in History: https://www.wired.com/story/notpetya-cyberattack-ukraine-russia-code-crashed-the-world/ www.nztechpodcast.com   www.paulspain.com  www.gorillahq.com   

Extended version of the Week in Parliament with Hinaya Ahu and Tom Frewen. Extra reports include the Speaker’a response to New Zealand First’s questions about the “Parliamentary Palace” and the first reading of a bill that would transfer responsibility for decisions on fluoridating local water supplies from territorial authorities to District Health Boards.

Professor Jackie Cumming explains how much real authority DHBs have in deciding health priorities for their area.