/news/health/rss 九一星空无限 Keep up with the latest in local health news with 九一星空无限talk ZB. Thu, 30 Jan 2025 23:04:35 Z en /news/health/postcode-variation-surveillance-colonoscopies-delays-affecting-midcentral-patients-but-not-whanganui/ /news/health/postcode-variation-surveillance-colonoscopies-delays-affecting-midcentral-patients-but-not-whanganui/ Whanganui Hospital is unaffected by the delays in surveillance colonoscopies despite a halt at neighbouring Palmerston North Hospital concerning advocates. Surveillance colonoscopies are performed on patients who have a higher risk of developing bowel cancer due to their personal medical history or family medical history, but do not currently have symptoms. Health New Zealand (HNZ) told MidCentral patients last month surveillance colonoscopies would be on hold due to capacity issues. MidCental currently has 852 patients on the surveillance waiting list, who will be booked in priority order once there is room in the service. In a statement, HNZ said they needed to prioritise acute referrals. “We understand that this could be distressing for our patients and recognise they will have concerns about what this might mean for them in terms of early prevention.” In response to questions from the Chronicle, HNZ clarified that there were no changes to the surveillance colonoscopy service in Whanganui. Bowel Cancer NZ medical advisor Professor Frank Frizelle said it appeared short-staffing at Palmerston North Hospital had led to the pause on surveillance colonoscopies. He said it was “not a sensible solution” and nearby regional hospitals could likely provide the locum staff cover for Palmerston North Hospital to continue the service. “You can never catch up [on the waitlist] because the demand is so high,” Frizelle said. “We’re supposed to be removing this variation between places, and postcode variation for patients ... but this is just another example.” HNZ group director operations MidCentral Sarah Fenwick said locum resource was in place, however, cover was still being sought for further unexpected leave and resignations. “We are committed to working towards a solution for the management of the increased demand for the service. “Any person with any symptoms is encouraged to attend their GP to ensure timely access to service provision.” Cancer Society Central Districts chief executive Debra Elgar said the Cancer Society was hugely concerned about the action taken by HNZ, and that it was “literally putting people’s lives at risk”. “This is about people who are already known to be at higher risk of developing bowel cancers and to cease a regular testing programme means they will potentially fall through the cracks. “Some of these people may elect private colonoscopy, but that is not an affordable option for everyone so there will be some who will be just waiting for symptoms to develop.” HNZ said they were actively recruiting to fill workforce vacancies and had taken several actions including the provision of additional weekly and weekend clinic sessions, some private outsourcing and locum gastroenterologist support. Meanwhile, Frizelle said it was a significant decision that would impact a group of vulnerable people. “If you’ve been told you’ve got an increased risk of bowel cancer ... it really plays with you mentally, and now the only access they can get is through the private sector which many people are not in the position to do.” Elgar said that it was well-known that screening and early detection of cancers would have a much better outcome. “We also know that it is less costly to treat at an early stage than any late stage cancer treatment so this does not seem to make good robust financial sense. “A shortfall in staffing resources must not become the reason that our people cannot access adequate oversight of their known bowel cancer risk.” Warning symptoms of bowel cancer Frizelle said patients should be proactive in visiting their healthcare provider if they observed any of the warning signs or symptoms of bowel cancer. In most people, and particularly younger people, the most common symptom of bowel cancer is rectal bleeding. Change in bowel habit: a loosening of the faeces and urgency to go to the toilet. Cluster bowel motions: abnormal stool habits such as needing to go two or three times to empty out. Weight loss Fatigue Anemia or iron deficiency Abdominal pain Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023. Tue, 14 Jan 2025 03:55:01 Z /news/health/climate-change-how-worsening-heatwaves-could-hurt-your-heart-in-nz/ /news/health/climate-change-how-worsening-heatwaves-could-hurt-your-heart-in-nz/ Around 180,000 Kiwis already live with heart disease, and more frequent heatwaves under climate change are likely to worsen the picture. A newly-funded study is exploring how the powerhouses of our heart cells are likely to fare in extra hot weather, with the hope of finding new drugs. A separate review has found New Zealand lags behind other countries in preparing our most vulnerable for future temperature extremes. Climate change is already hurting us in ways ranging from extreme weather to air pollution and new disease outbreaks. Now, Kiwi researchers are investigating how worsening heatwaves are putting vulnerable peoples’ hearts under pressure – with the hope of finding new drugs to help cope. Mounting studies are showing that a warming planet is bad news for heart health: in the US, researchers have warned the number of heat-related cardiovascular deaths could double or even triple by mid-century. In New Zealand, where scientists project cities are likely to see a jump in heatwave days within decades, 180,000 people are already living with heart disease. In a new project, supported with a Marsden Fund grant, University of Auckland research fellow Dr Amelia Power and colleagues are examining how the powerhouses of our heart cells are likely to fare in extra hot weather. Mitochondria are responsible for converting the food we eat into usable energy, in the form of a molecule called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Power said the heart happened to be a particularly energy-hungry organ, and its muscle cells relied heavily on mitochondria for ATP production. “Mitochondria make up about 30% of the volume of heart muscle cells and are absolutely crucial for maintaining the heart’s constant contraction and relaxation.” Earlier work by Power and others has suggested that, at temperatures between 40-43C, mitochondria in healthy hearts can start to “uncouple” - continuing to consume oxygen but no longer producing ATP at the same rate. That could lead to the heart losing its main energy source, with potentially dire consequences. University of Auckland research fellow Dr Amelia Power. “If the heart can’t maintain its ATP supply, it’s going to struggle to pump blood effectively,” she said. “This could lead to impaired contractility, irregular heartbeats, and ultimately, heart failure.” She hypothesised that mitochondria in diseased hearts may have disrupted membranes that become “leakier” at lower temperatures compared to healthy hearts. This could further impair the heart’s ability to maintain contractility and keep beating efficiently. To test this, she and colleagues will use specialised techniques to measure heart mitochondria functions in real-time from heart tissue biopsies, at both normal and increasing temperatures. They also plan to test a drug called elamipretide, which can stabilise a key mitochondrial membrane lipid called cardiolipin. She said that might ultimately improve the temperature tolerance of mitochondria in diseased hearts, helping them maintain ATP output even as the mercury rises. “It might be something that could be given to people who are experiencing heat stress, or are just having a high fever, so they can keep up with their ATP supply,” Power said. “Going forward, understanding how temperature affects people’s health is going to be increasingly important – particularly among people with heart disease that might be more susceptible.” NZ lags behind in heatwave planning - study Power’s project comes as separate new review has set out how rising temperatures pose a growing health risk to New Zealand’s most vulnerable populations – underscoring an urgent need for stronger adaptation measures. The just published review, by a team of researchers from Malaysia and New Zealand, noted the northern half of the North Island already experienced temperatures over 25C and higher humidity for an average 45 to 55 days each year. As climate change continued to increase ambient temperatures, much of northern New Zealand would see extreme heat-related risks more rapidly. Yet the researchers found our preparedness for this warmer future lagged behind other temperate regions like southern Australia, Ireland and parts of the US, where more comprehensive measures were in place. Measures here could include encouraging people to adjust daily routines to avoid peak heat exposure, using cooling technologies, or enhancing social support networks, they said. While the researchers singled out those likely to be hit hardest – including the elderly, children, pregnant women, and those with health conditions or living in deprivation – they said there was pressing need to understand more. “Identifying these at-risk groups further stresses the urgency of targeted strategies to protect those most vulnerable and mitigate the effects of rising temperatures.” MetService has recently begun issuing heat alerts for nearly 50centres, with specific conditions set for each location. When triggered, an alert banner will appear on MetService’s website and app. Jamie Morton is a specialist in science and environmental reporting. He joined the Herald in 2011 and writes about everything from conservation and climate change to natural hazards and new technology. Sun, 12 Jan 2025 02:26:56 Z /news/health/mosquitoes-with-toxic-semen-could-stem-disease-spread-research/ /news/health/mosquitoes-with-toxic-semen-could-stem-disease-spread-research/ Genetically engineered mosquitoes with toxic semen could be a new weapon against tropical disease, Australian scientists said after trialling the novel pest control method. The “toxic male technique” aims to breed mosquitoes that express venomous proteins in their semen, killing off females after mating. Female mosquitoes are targeted because only they bite and drink blood, thereby spreading diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Scientist Sam Beach from Australia’s Macquarie University said the method “could work as quickly as pesticides without also harming beneficial species”. “This innovative solution could transform how we manage pests, offering hope for healthier communities and a more sustainable future.” The first proof-of-concept trials used fruit flies, a common laboratory species favoured for its short two-week life cycle. Female flies that bred with “toxic” males had a significantly reduced lifespan, the scientists found. Researcher Maciej Maselko said the team would now trial the method in mosquitoes. “We still need to implement it in mosquitoes and conduct rigorous safety testing to ensure there are no risks to humans or other non-target species,” he said. Genetic engineering has been used for years to control populations of disease-spreading mosquitoes. Typically, these approaches slow reproduction by releasing hordes of male insects that are genetically modified to be sterile. Computer models showed techniques actively killing biting females could be far more effective, the research team said. The research was described in a paper published by peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications on Tuesday. - Agence France-Presse Wed, 08 Jan 2025 01:40:03 Z /news/health/first-us-bird-flu-death-is-announced-in-louisiana/ /news/health/first-us-bird-flu-death-is-announced-in-louisiana/ The first U.S. bird flu death has been reported — a person in Louisiana who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms. State health officials announced the death on Monday, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed it was the nation’s first due to bird flu. Health officials have said the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock. They also said a genetic analysis had suggested the bird flu virus had mutated inside the patient, which could have led to the more severe illness. Few other details about the person have been disclosed. Since March, 66 confirmed bird flu infections have been reported in the U.S., but previous illnesses have been mild and most have been detected among farmworkers exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. A bird flu death was not unexpected, virus experts said. There have been more than 950 confirmed bird flu infections globally since 2003, and more than 460 of those people died, according to the World Health Organization. The bird flu virus “is a serious threat and it has historically been a deadly virus,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. “This is just a tragic reminder of that.” Nuzzo noted a Canadian teen became severely ill after being infected recently. Researchers are still trying to gauge the dangers of the current version of the virus and determine what causes it to hit some people harder than others, she said. “Just because we have seen mild cases does not mean future cases will continue to be mild,” she added. In a statement, CDC officials described the Louisiana death as tragic but also said “there are no concerning virologic changes actively spreading in wild birds, poultry or cows that would raise the risk to human health.” In two of the recent U.S. cases — an adult in Missouri and a child in California — health officials have not determined how they caught the virus. The origin of the Louisiana person’s infection was not considered a mystery. But it was the first human case in the U.S. linked to exposure to backyard birds, according to the CDC. Louisiana officials say they are not aware of any other cases in their state, and U.S. officials have said they do not have any evidence that the virus is spreading from person to person. The H5N1 bird flu has been spreading widely among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals. Its growing presence in the environment increases the chances that people will be exposed, and potentially catch it, officials have said. Officials continue to urge people who have contact with sick or dead birds to take precautions, including wearing respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry. - AP Mon, 06 Jan 2025 23:49:47 Z /news/health/covid-19-lack-of-sick-leave-a-problem-for-health-professionals-nurse-says/ /news/health/covid-19-lack-of-sick-leave-a-problem-for-health-professionals-nurse-says/ By Lucy Xia of RNZ Nurses have been reluctant to test for Covid and take time off work due to fears of running out of sick leave amid the latest influx of cases in early to mid-December, an Auckland nurse says. The Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme, which helped employers pay employees who had to self-isolate due to the virus, ended in August 2023. Communications sighted by RNZ indicated at least one of the health districts in Auckland provided a Covid-related paid special leave for staff after the scheme ended. However, that special coverage ended about six months ago. Nurse Liandra Conradie said there was an influx of Covidin early to mid-December which had a big impact on staffing. Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora figures showed daily cases in Auckland peaked at 109 in mid-December, but had been decreasing overall from then until the end of December – with 39 cases reported in Auckland as of December 29. Conradie said since her hospital stopped providing paid Covid special leave, staff had been hesitant to use their sick leave or annual leave when they got symptoms. “It has greater impact because some of the staff I work with have got children, and when our children get sick, we take sick leave, so our sick leave gets depleted quite quickly, “So when we then end up with Covid, that’s five days of sick leave – that’s half of our sick leave gone – and that kind of stops us from wanting to take Covid sick leave. “And then we just come to work either feeling very crappy and unwell, and getting our patients in compromising positions, but also other staff members get that, and then there’s more staff off, and having more staff off creates more other pressures,” she said. Many health staff were put in a tricky position, and had the mentality of: “If I don’t test, I don’t have Covid, so I can still work”, Conradie said. She said while the Covid cases had plateaued, she remained concerned that if the leave policy did not change, future outbreaks could spread faster and more patients would be compromised by getting Covid while in hospital. “We need to be able to provide care to our patients ... but we also need to be safe in our own practice, and if we need time off, we need to be able to actually leave that desk,” she said. Conradie wanted to see the Government revisit support options for health staff afflicted by Covid. Health NZ said it was limited in the information it could provide in response due to staff being on leave during the holiday period. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 21:36:54 Z /news/health/far-north-deputy-mayor-kelly-stratford-shares-her-journey-to-sobriety/ /news/health/far-north-deputy-mayor-kelly-stratford-shares-her-journey-to-sobriety/ Blackouts, bruising, and a sprained ankle from alcohol-fuelled nights were once a normal part of Far North Deputy Mayor Kelly Stratford’s life. Throughout many of her teenage and adult years, she partook in binge drinking sessions, had bottles of wine stashed in her handbag, and drank homemade gin “like it was water”. But a health scare in 2017 prompted the 47-year-old of Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai, Ngāi Te Rangi, Welsh and Irish descent to turn her life around. Stratford, who recently celebrated her seventh year of sobriety, wants to share her story about the damaging effects of alcohol abuse, particularly as people celebrate the New Year. “Sometimes I’d go out and I wouldn’t remember part of the night. “I had injuries; a sprained ankle, and bruises down my side. “I didn’t know how they happened, mostly likely during a fall.” Stratford said she drank to cope with stress such as a difficult life event or person, or hosting a kid’s party. “Every time there was a stressful situation I felt I needed something to get me through. “It was that hankering for a drink when I got stressed. “I even carried a bottle around in my bag. “I drank to excess; when I drank it was hard for me to stop.” Stratford’s wake-up call came when she visited her doctor for a check-up in 2017. She was having problems with digestion and tightness in her chest, sparking fears she was having a heart attack. “I went to the emergency department and had ECG monitoring, which was okay, but the doctor sat me down and said, ‘you’re obese’.” Kelly Stratford sticks to coffee and iced tea these days, and makes an effort to look after her health. Photo / Jenny Ling Stratford was nearly 100kg at the time. She was also going through a particularly stressful time which included moving house and selling the Trainspotter Cafe in Kawakawa which she ran with her husband Daniel. She was on the Whangaroa-Bay of Islands Community Board and was standing for a spot on council to replace Willow-Jean Prime who had won a seat in Parliament in 2017. Stratford was elected a first-time councillor in 2018. After the doctor’s appointment, she was scrolling on social media when Kelly Rennie from Busy Mum Fitness popped up on her Facebook feed. Stratford embarked on Rennie’s fitness programme with a focus on exercise, nutrition, water, stress management, and the biggie - no alcohol. “The biggest adjustment was no alcohol, but I didn’t think anything of it because I had stopped drinking in the past, like when I was pregnant. “One week in I started having severe joint pain and shaking. “It made me think, holy crap I think my body has got addicted to alcohol. I really felt the need to have a drink; it was so strong, I’d never noticed it before.” As the withdrawal symptoms subsided, and with more mental clarity, Stratford was compelled to delve deeper into why she drank. Stratford - who was named the new deputy mayor of the Far North in 2022 by then newly-minted Mayor Moko Tepania - attended counselling sessions, and admitted to friends and whānau she had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Hiking is one of the ways Kelly Stratford keeps healthy and manages stress. Her three children were supportive, though they told it to her straight. “They would tell me stories about when I was drunk ... that I’d get really loud and aggressive. “Having clarity helped me have conversations with loved ones who told me I wasn’t a nice person when I drank. “Buying a couple of bottles of wine a day wasn’t healthy, blacking out on a drinking evening wasn’t normal. “It wasn’t until I stopped drinking that I realised that.” These days Stratford opts for non-alcoholic drinks like soda water and iced tea, and manages stress with gardening, hiking, and gym sessions at OutFit North in Paihia. She meditates, reads books, and listens to podcasts about living sober. “I still have fun. I don’t miss the buzz that alcohol gave me, because I find that buzz just being around people.” Stratford’s message to others this festive season is: “Be safe. “Think about the negative impact of alcohol. It’s a drug. “Drink to enjoy but not to medicate or suppress. “It’s okay to sit in your feelings, you don’t have to suppress them with alcohol.” Stratford is grateful for that wake-up call seven years ago. “Everyone has some form of trauma. “For me stopping drinking, I had to deal with things that had happened in the past that were triggering or things I had not resolved. “It led me to confront not just the weight, but the deeper stuff ... everything I’d been drowning out.” Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues. Tue, 31 Dec 2024 03:23:30 Z /news/health/locum-midwife-fails-labouring-mother-baby-dies-during-birth-after-shoulder-gets-trapped/ /news/health/locum-midwife-fails-labouring-mother-baby-dies-during-birth-after-shoulder-gets-trapped/ Medical staff worked for nearly an hour to try and revive a baby boy who was partially trapped in his mother’s cervix by his shoulder during a prolonged labour and delivery. But, despite staff administering eight doses of adrenaline to restart his heart, resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and the boy was declared dead 54 minutes later. A coronial inquiry later found the baby died from intrapartum death - which is after the onset of labour but before they are born - as a result of prolonged first and second stages of labour complicated by shoulder dystocia. Now a report has been released by Health and Disability Commissioner Rose Wall listing a series of failures by a locum midwife who was caring for the mother, who is only identified as Ms A. Wall said the locum’s practice on that day “did not comply with midwifery competency”. “During the labour, (the midwife) did not undertake regular maternal observations, she did not always follow recommended practice regarding fetal heart auscultation and monitoring and she did not assess the progress of Ms A’s labour in an appropriate and timely manner.” She said that although the locum called for assistance when preparing to deliver the baby, once help arrived no one was made aware of any problems. Wall said the failure by the locum in not recognising that shoulder dystocia had occurred ultimately led to the baby being born “showing no signs of life”, while the mother went on to develop sepsis which she later recovered from. She said the mother felt her baby “deserved much better care than was provided” adding that midwife made her believe the hospital she was in was safe to birth. “This is a decision I regret every day,” the mother told the HDC during the investigation. Ms A’s mother told HDC that her daughter “and my moko did not get the care they deserved”. “Because of this we lost our moko and almost lost our daughter too. In this day and age, a healthy mum with a healthy baby should have the best care and our moko should not have died.” ‘All is well’ Wall said Ms A, a Jehovah’s Witness, experienced an “uncomplicated pregnancy” under the care of her lead midwife. However, that midwife went on leave and handed care over to a locum midwife who was on when the mother went into labour and called to say she was having contractions about three minutes apart at about 1am She was told to wait a little longer before the locum received a second call at 3.30am requesting to go to the birthing centre in the small rural town. After arriving at 4.15am, the mother was around 5cm dilated with her contractions increasing in regularity, mobilising well, and “showing no reason for concern”. Her next, and last noted, dilation record was at 10.55am at 8cm but by mid-afternoon a doctor asked the locum how the labour was progressing, because of concerns raised by “multiple independent staff about the labour”. He was told it was slow but “the baby was perfect”. At 2.26pm, the locum began messaging other midwives to discuss a care plan, and her original midwife noticed a missed call from her so went to the hospital at 4.30pm to take over while the locum rested for a few hours. At 6pm a senior nurse suggested that the woman be transferred to a bigger hospital for tertiary-level care but it never happened. The next vaginal exam happened at 9.01pm which showed the top of the cervix had swollen causing the anterior portion to come in front of the baby’s head. The locum noted she did not have any concerns at this point and by 10.12pm the mother began pushing. However, she said she took full ownership of her lapse in clinical judgment in not doing four-hourly maternal observations during labour and birth. A nurse who started the late shift questioned the locum at 11pm about why the labouring mother was still at the hospital but was reassured that “all was well”. There’s a discrepancy around exactly what time the baby was born, either 12.30am or 12.38am, but the mother’s partner was asked by the locum to press the emergency bell. The original midwife arrived at 12.43am and asked what help was needed and was told, “to help deliver the baby” but the locum did not say why she needed help. When she examined the mother she discovered the baby was suffering “severe shoulder dystocia and was trapped by Ms A’s pubic bone”. The baby was eventually delivered at 12.53am “showing no signs of life”. In her findings, Wall said overall she found the locum’s labour documentation “inadequate”, her maternal observations were not taken and findings from vaginal examinations were incomplete and documentation of the fetal heart did not consistently align with recommended practice. There was also an absence of documented discussions and “plans” made with the mother A about progress, and options for ongoing management. “Consequently, it is not apparent what (her)s interpretation of the labour was, or Ms A’s involvement in any decision-making.” Wall said she initially assumed the locum recognised the baby’s shoulder was stuck at 12.30am, however given there were no notes to say why she requested the original midwife to come “and nor was this crucial piece of information passed on to another nurse who said she was not asked to stay and help or made aware of any problem.” “It is difficult to ascertain with any certainty if (she) did or did not recognise the shoulder dystocia. “If she did not, this is very worrying, and represents a significant deficit in knowledge. But if she did, this is arguably more concerning as she failed to undertake the most basic measures such as calling for help and this represents a significant departure from expected practice and I disagree with her comment that there ‘was no delay in … requesting multidisciplinary assistance'." ‘I am deeply and sincerely remorseful’ In the coronial inquiry the locum offered her “deepest apologies and sincere remorse” for the couple’s loss of their baby, and the “deep grief and trauma of the loss of family memories”. “I have acknowledged fault for my role in your labour and birth. I am deeply and sincerely remorseful.” She added she had “never experienced anything like this outcome in her long professional career”. Wall asked the locum to provide a written apology to the woman for multiple breaches of the midwifery code, undertake further training, and recommended that the Midwifery Council of New Zealand “consider whether a further review of (her) competence is warranted, in light of the findings of this report”. The locum was referred to the director of proceedings, to consider disciplinary action, but no further action was taken. Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at 九一星空无限 for nine years and has been a journalist for 20. Mon, 02 Dec 2024 01:45:26 Z /news/health/new-zealands-biggest-hotspots-for-whooping-cough-revealed/ /news/health/new-zealands-biggest-hotspots-for-whooping-cough-revealed/ Health officials declared a whooping cough epidemic, with 263 cases reported in four weeks. Wairarapa has the highest infection rate at 25.4 cases per 100,000 people. Te Whatu Ora urges vaccination, highlighting the risk to infants, with 50% needing hospitalisation. The lower North and South Islands are the biggest hotspots for whooping cough as an epidemic sweeps the country, official data shows. Health officials on Friday declared a whooping cough epidemic and put a nationally coordinated response in place. There have been 263 cases of whooping cough in the four weeks to November 15 – the highest number of cases over a month to date for all of 2024, Health NZ Te Whatu Ora said. Te Whatu Ora urges vaccination, highlighting the risk to infants, with 50% needing hospitalisation. Photo / NZ Human Rights Commission. The latest data collated by ESR showed the highest rates of infection were in Wairarapa, Southern, Whanganui and Capital and Coast health districts. It broke down rates of infection in the four weeks to November 8. Wairarapa had 13 cases, which was by far the highest rate at 25.4 cases per 100,000 people. That was followed by Southern at 11.6 (42 cases), Whanganui at 11.4 (8 cases) and Capital and Coast at 10.4 (34 cases). Te Whatu Ora was urging people to get vaccinated, and said babies are particularly vulnerable to the life-threatening infection. “Around 50% of pēpi who catch whooping cough before the age of 12 months need hospitalisation and 1 or 2 in 100 of those hospitalised pēpi die from the infection,” said public health medicine specialist Dr Matt Reid. “While there have been no deaths so far during 2024, sadly, three infants died last year from whooping cough, and we want to stop that from happening again.” Whooping cough: What you need to know Childhood vaccinations to protect against whooping cough are needed at ages six weeks, three months and five months, and again at four years A further booster is given at age 11 years (school year 7). Vaccination is free for pregnant women. Adults are eligible for one free booster from age 45 (if they have not had four previous tetanus doses) and can get one free from age 65. Whooping cough causes breathing difficulties and severe coughing fits. The cough can go on for weeks or months which is why it is sometimes called the “100-day cough”. People are most infectious in the early stages - with the first signs of whooping cough usually appearing around 1 week after infection Symptoms (after about one week): A blocked or runny nose Sneezing A mild fever Uncontrollable coughing fits that last for a few minutes Coughing that leads to vomiting A thick mucus that can make you vomit or choke During coughing spells, young babies may gasp for air and may briefly stop breathing and turn blue Mon, 25 Nov 2024 23:25:53 Z /news/health/health-workforce-boosted-with-funding-for-50-new-senior-doctors-75-nurses/ /news/health/health-workforce-boosted-with-funding-for-50-new-senior-doctors-75-nurses/ New Zealand’s health workforce is to be boosted with 50 new senior doctors and about 75 senior specialist nurses. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Health NZ Commissioner Professor Lester Levy said about $30 million in extra funding will boost Health NZ’s clinical workforce. A further $12m fund will help with minor hospital improvements, the pair said in the announcement at Whangārei Hospital on Tuesday. Reti said the approximately $20m for 50 senior doctors will help fill critical workforce gaps and address health targets, particularly in regional or provincial hospitals. “This will reduce wait times, enhance patient safety and support vulnerable specialties like dermatology,” he said. The $10m for senior specialist nurses and allied health professionals will focus on areas where there are critical shortages, such as rural areas and in particular specialties like mental health, maternity and critical care. The comments come as Health NZ is under increasing pressure to meet its health targets while shaving $1.4 billion off costs. Its board was sacked in July and Levy put in as commissioner to help control overspendingto the tune of $130 million a month. Since then, Health NZ has accepted just over 400 voluntary redundancies from staff not on the clinical frontline. More redundanciesare expected. At the same time, clinical staff said they are under pressure due to a lack of suitable staff, with the likes of Dargaville Hospital operating without doctorson site for most overnight shifts. Nurses have complained roles are not being filledwhen staff are on leave or the position is vacant. Levy said the Health NZ back office, such as administrators and managers, had swollen to a size it should never have got to and some of those jobs could be cut without having an impact on patients. He said clinical recruitment into rural and provincial areas was key, to help address inequities in those areas/ Levy said recruitment would need to be done differently to help fill these rural gaps. Mon, 25 Nov 2024 23:07:39 Z /news/health/obesity-challenge-crack-down-on-junk-food-ads-takeaway-shops-says-helen-clark-foundation/ /news/health/obesity-challenge-crack-down-on-junk-food-ads-takeaway-shops-says-helen-clark-foundation/ A third of NZ adults are obese and policies focused on individual responsibility are failing, a new report says. Tackling obesity will require cracking down on junk food advertising, the proliferation of takeaways, and bringing in new levies on unhealthy products. The Government has not committed to any changes, but says it is ‘actively seeking advice’ on nutrition changes. When Dr David Galler first began working in Middlemore Hospital’s intensive care unit, his shifts were taken up by mostly young people with injuries from alcohol and violence. During his 30 years at the hospital, the make-up of patients gradually shifted. By the late 1990s, he and his colleagues were increasingly tied up by people with preventable, long-term conditions, in particular complications from diabetes. Former Middlemore intensive care specialist Dr David Galler says obesity-related illnesses consumed more and more of his workload during his career, at huge expense and frustration. Photo / Jason Oxenham The rates of people with obesity-related problems rose exponentially through the 2000s. It was grim, dispiriting work, Galler said. “It was a bit like repairing broken panes of glass in a demolished building. You repair that pane of glass at considerable cost to them, their families and the state. Three months later the same person comes in with three broken panes. And then you never see them again because they’re dead.” Though obesity rates have gradually risen during the past 30 years, the political approach to the problem in New Zealand has barely changed. A report released today aims to jolt politicians into changing tack. Galler is among those endorsing its message. The Helen Clark Foundation report, Junk Food and Poor Policy, says successive governments over several decades have primarily approached obesity as a matter of individual responsibility. This approach would continue to fail unless the country’s broader food environment was addressed, the report concludes. Its authors say meaningful change would require tackling overexposure to cheap, convenient, unhealthy food that was promoted by sophisticated marketing, often targeted at children. “For Kiwis to be healthy, they need to be living in a healthy food environment,” foundation executive director Murray Bruges said. “But our streets, supermarket shelves and school canteens are packed with food that is convenient, highly processed and high in fat, salt and sugar, while our airwaves amplify and target these unhealthy products.” Helen Clark Foundation executive director Murray Bruges. Obesity is now the leading risk factor for death and disability in this country, ahead of smoking. Ministry of Health data released last week shows more than a third of New Zealand adults were obese – the third-highest rate in the OECD. Related illnesses cost the health system $2 billion a year and the economy an estimated $9 billion in lost productivity. Despite the growing social and economic toll, few New Zealand governments had introduced evidence-based, long-term steps to reduce obesity, the foundation says. Instead, they had opted for voluntary or industry-led schemes like the Health Star Rating, minor policy tweaks or brief campaigns focused on personal responsibility. Relatively small-scale reforms have stalled or rapidly dropped, often falling victim to claims of “nanny state”. One example: the Helen Clark-led Labour Government changed the rules in 2008 to allow only healthy options in school canteens, before this was quickly reversed by National when it came into power. Massey University research published last week found that, 15 years later, a fraction of school canteens met nutrition guidelines. The report says the food system is “stacked against individuals” and people could not change if they lived in an environment that made change impossible. Community leader Dave Letele says his neighbourhood is swamped by cheap, unhealthy food outlets: "We are surrounded by everything that's bad for us." Photo / RNZ “Choice implies an equal starting point,” said community leader Dave Letele, who runs health programmes for low-income households in South and West Auckland. “And that’s just not the case.” He is exasperated about the number of fast-food outlets in his community. Previous analysis by the foundation found the concentration of takeaways was highest in the most deprived suburbs in New Zealand. “How has this been allowed to happen?” he said. “Where we are just surrounded by everything that’s bad for us, right at our fingertips?” The Helen Clark Foundation made three overarching recommendations: creating a healthier food environment; embedding healthier food across hospitals, schools, daycares and other publicly owned entities; and adopting and expanding new treatments like modern weight-loss drugs. The first recommendation includes measures that have been occasionally floated in New Zealand, but never gained traction: stricter rules for advertising junk food, giving local government power to control new unhealthy food outlets (similar to alcohol laws), and making the Health Star Rating on food packaging mandatory. It also includes a levy to incentivise reformulation of products that are high in salt or sugar. Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health Boyd Swinburn says levies on sugar are now mainstream policy worldwide. Photo / NZPA Professor Boyd Swinburn, of the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health, said with 100 countries now using a sugar tax, it was not a radical policy. “Even in the UK over the chaotic period of the Tory government with Brexit and Covid and Boris Johnson, they still managed to get through some world-leading legislation around taxing sugary drinks and banning junk food marketing to kids. So, I think it’s time that we caught up in this country with the rest of the world.” A Soft Drinks Levy introduced in the UK in 2016 led to a 35% reduction in the total sugar sold over four years and lowered hospital admissions for dental treatment, the report says. Sales of these products remained the same throughout this period because companies altered their products rather than pay the levy. Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says he is seeking advice on what actions the Government could take to improve nutrition in New Zealand. Photo / RNZ Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey, who is responsible for nutrition, did not directly address the recommendations, but said he was actively seeking advice on what actions the Government could take to improve nutrition in New Zealand. “The Government funds the Heart Foundation in New Zealand to work with food companies to reduce sugar and salt in their products, Health NZ also funds Green Prescriptions for people wanting to be more active, with the most common reason being to support weight management.” NZ Food and Grocery Council chief executive Raewyn Bleakley said a tax on sugary drinks was a “crude tool” and that innovation, reformulation, and education were better options. Council members had worked with the Heart Foundation to reformulate their products and remove around 760 tonnes of sugar in the last decade, she said. Bleakley said the food industry followed a code for advertising products to children, and took its responsibilities in this area very seriously. Isaac Davison is an Auckland-based reporter who covers health issues. He joined the Herald in 2008 and has previously covered the environment, politics and social issues. Sun, 24 Nov 2024 19:41:08 Z