health
Categories under health
- covid-19 (322)
- long covid (11)
- vaccines (11)
Outsourcing poverty: Paula Bennett’s shame
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 29th, 2013 - 51 comments
A charity is taking on the funding of the essential work on monitoring poverty, in the face of Paula Bennett, Bill English and John Key et al failing to do their job: a return to Dickensian & Edwardian times.
Tales from the precariat: AAAP
Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, September 13th, 2013 - 71 comments
Auckland Action Against Poverty did 3 days of advocacy action in New Lynn. Their press releases & videos show the struggles of low income Kiwis to survive in John Key’s corporate-loving NZ. The tales tell of a need for real social security legislation & a more client-friendly WINZ.
Labour supports Plunket
Written By: - Date published: 12:47 pm, August 8th, 2013 - 61 comments
Another good policy announcement from David Shearer.
“The problem gambler”: Key & SkyCity
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, August 8th, 2013 - 10 comments
Brand Key – CEO of NZ Inc, speculator, gambler, spinmeister – epitomises the “neoliberal revolution”. Gambling & other consumerist addictions are blamed on the individual. A court case against SkyCity shows the contradictory links between gambling, smoking, corporate influence & “insatiable consumerism.”
Botulism scare products
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, August 5th, 2013 - 109 comments
The information on which products are at risk from the Fonterra botulism scare has taken far too long to come out. Thanks 3 News for this list.
Conscience exceptions are for people with a conscience
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, July 14th, 2013 - 63 comments
The ability of doctors to refuse to provide proper healthcare if God says it’s bad is again in the spotlight, with a Blenheim GP refusing to prescribe the Pill to a patient because he decided she needed to have babies, and her views on the matter don’t mean shit. But are we seriously going to label that as an act of “conscience”?
Come in Houston…
Written By: - Date published: 5:56 pm, July 11th, 2013 - 16 comments
Story of a 111 response time.
Caregivers in equal pay spotlight
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 pm, June 24th, 2013 - 22 comments
John Ryall writes on the case of long-term caregiver Kristine Bartlett who took a landmark case to the Employment court this morning. It is on the application of the Equal Pay Act 1972 into gender segmented work. Hopefully this will help reduce the lack of progress on closing our male-female wage gap.
OP: Fluoridation – it does reduce tooth decay
Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, June 21st, 2013 - 306 comments
Ken Perrott at Open Parachute has been debunking some of the nonsense around fluoridated water by investigating claims (his background is in scientific research). It is refreshing after reading some of the recent misinterpreted drivel around about the science.
Who benefits?
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, June 21st, 2013 - 42 comments
The leaderless uprising in Brazil exposes unbearable inequalities in a dysfunctional post-growth world. Extravagant sports events and expensive stadium contrast with anti-public service austerity measures. Home building lags in Christchurch, while Key looks to asset sales to fund a stadium.
Surplus 2014/15: an excuse for not doing what needs doing
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, May 6th, 2013 - 30 comments
John Key’s excuse for the planned veto of the extension of paid parental leave is that it would put the 2014/15 surplus at risk. There’s several reasons that’s bullshit, the main one being: why is going just under or just over some arbitrary line in the Crown’s books the Nats’ one aim for the economy? The truth is, Key’s using the surplus as an excuse for not doing the right thing.
Councillor Bruce Wilson: racist and incompetent
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, April 6th, 2013 - 60 comments
Councillor Bruce Wilson thinks it’s a “joke” to say we should sterilise Maaori women who smoke. If you don’t think he should resign for his racism, let’s consider if he should resign for being too ignorant to function.
How austerity is destroying Britain… coming soon near you
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, April 1st, 2013 - 79 comments
A raft of Tory policies have been dismantling the British welfare state: bedroom tax, privatising the NHS: NZ’s NAct government is following the same pattern of slyly changing small things, adding up to major changes that are ultimately socially & economically destructive.
NRT: Insanity
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, March 19th, 2013 - 7 comments
I/S at No Right Turn on the insanity of scrapping the home insulation programme.
Smokefree? Then Cut the Crap!
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, March 18th, 2013 - 48 comments
Apparently the government is concerned for the general health of people in New Zealand. Apparently, an expression of this concern is the roll out of policy initiatives that will result in New Zealand being smoke free by 2025.
Think big & embrace the rot
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, January 20th, 2013 - 43 comments
The World Bank has recently issued a report saying NZ needs to focus more on being friendly to multinational corporations. Matt McCarten argues that some multinationals are bad for our health. And sugary food and drinks are rotting Kiwi children’s teeth.
Ear treatment cuts another attack on the poor
Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, January 15th, 2013 - 27 comments
The Nats want to cut the budget for surgery to install grommets, a technique for treating persistent ear infection (especially in children). Naturally those most effected by this ill-considered move will be children from poor families.
Climate Change & Poverty
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, January 9th, 2013 - 54 comments
The wildfires in Australia are an immediate cause for concern. Such events will be more common as average temperatures rise. Joseph Stigliz warns of an urgent need for structural change to respond to economic decline, climate change, poverty and inequality.
Help our kids!
Written By: - Date published: 2:25 pm, December 10th, 2012 - 4 comments
Irish has already covered the appalling statistics from the Children’s Social Health Monitor. What struck me was the paucity of the Government’s response. Tony Ryall – unavailable for comment – merely put out a statement saying the Government was doing plenty as 33% of the budget went on social security and similar things. One might […]
The elective surgery “success story”
Written By: - Date published: 7:14 am, November 29th, 2012 - 60 comments
In August we were sold a “success story” – the number of elective surgeries was up and waiting times were down. Last night we learned the untold backstory, with reports of complex procedures being dropped to focus on making the numbers look good. Yet another example of the Nats’ micro-management gone wrong.
Earthquake Red Flags
Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, October 19th, 2012 - 9 comments
Two years on and the chief executive of the Canterbury District health board David Meates has started to see some worrying trends showing up in Christchurch/Canterbury. People are failing to take their meds. Binge drinking and other dangerous behaviours are on the increase. Government is adding to the problem, not fixing it.
The cancer-mongers’ new ads
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, September 23rd, 2012 - 43 comments
I reckon my theory that the tobacco industry’s stupid ‘agree/disagree’ ad campaign is actually just a way of chucking millions at cash-strapped media outlets to buy their silence (and even backing from Granny) has been confirmed. By one simple fact. The new TV ad, which appeals to crass nationalism to argue that we shouldn’t adopt the Aussie plain-packaging law, is voiced by an Aussie.
I wonder who earned their Christmas bonus for coining the term “Breastapo”?
Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, September 4th, 2012 - 25 comments
There’s been a lot of coverage of breastfeeding “controversies” in the last couple of months.
We’ve reposted Queen of Thorns’ take on it…
Key knows best about everything
Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, August 25th, 2012 - 26 comments
Key’s claim that illegal euthanasia is happening in NZ has sparked outraged denials from medical professionals. But Key, of course, is not backing down. Once he’s opened his mouth he knows that he knows best.
Can’t buy me love
Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, August 24th, 2012 - 16 comments
The Cancer-mongers’ ad campaign is complete crap. Ineffectual ads that won’t get anyone on side. Doesn’t matter though. They’re not aiming to convince you with the ads themselves. The actual aim’s to put a few hundred thousand dollars in media outlets’ pockets with the promise of more for favourable coverage. The Herald made it a bit blatant though – running a fawning editorial the day after the first full-page ad.
Replying to cancer-mongers
Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, August 16th, 2012 - 23 comments
The Australian Government has won a Supreme Court case on its plain packaging law. The tobacco companies are now planning to take it to the WTO. I hope Gillard responds to the law suit with a letter along the lines of: “Dear Cancer-mongers, Consider yourselves lucky we don’t nationalise your assets and pass a law to have you arrested for corporate homicide. Go fuck yourselves. Regards, Julia.”
A modest proposal
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, August 8th, 2012 - 25 comments
I plan to start a business. I will be a job creator. 50 people will have jobs thanks to me. The whole community will benefit. My business will make poisoned puppy toys. Don’t get me wrong. They won’t kill every puppy who chews on them every time. Only 50% over the puppies’ lives. 30 puppies a year will die per job created. But – jobs! Does it make it better if I’m only selling the poison puppy toys in Australia?
Fiscal responsibility
Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, July 24th, 2012 - 86 comments
John Key doesn’t want to go ahead with plain packaging of cigarettes. The cancer sellers would sue. It could cost a few million to beat them in the international courts (me, I would just create a law of corporate homicide and nationalise their NZ assets). Key baulks at the cost, the risk. But something in the hundreds of millions for free shares to looters? Key reckons that’s a great investment.
Minimum pricing
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, July 3rd, 2012 - 136 comments
All the evidence (eg) shows that increasing the price of harmful substances is the best way to decrease their use and, particularly, their abuse. Minimum pricing is one effective measure to do that for alcohol. But John Key disagrees. Based on … nothing. He hasn’t even taken the time to understand what minimum pricing is.
Katherine Rich on the Health Promotion Board: The next outrageous piece of Nat cronyism
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 am, June 28th, 2012 - 50 comments
Putting the CEO of the leading lobbying agency and industry promotional group for companies promoting sales of sugar, fat and alcohol on the Board of the public health agency supposed to prevent harm to young NZers is an outrageous act of cronyism.
Scraping cents, but costing us dollars
Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, June 18th, 2012 - 86 comments
Another day another story of National scrimping short term savings that will cost us much more in the long run. This time, they’re scrapping free sex advice for teenagers. It’s almost like they want more youth on the DPB to give them a scapegoat to demonise…
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