Could anyone give me their experience of Hospital waiting lists?
I am about to go into the system for a hip operation.
First there is the wait for an appointment for x rays, followed by a review, followed by a specialist appointment inside four months, if I get into the top points.
Apparently within another four months I may qualify hopefully for surgery.
I just wondered what the “on the ground” experience was, as I have heard people can go on and off the list depending on money available to do a number of operations.
So, do I hold my breath or plan my life anyway? 2018. A pivotal year personally at 76.
PS. pain is so bad I am now on a walker, though the inflammation has been greatly helped by rose hip oil capsules twice daily plus pain meds.
Patricia I have been waiting since 2007 for an (ACC) covered Hernia operation to be done with (only local anaesthetic administration) in either HB or Gisborne.
No surgeon in NZ will perform a ‘local anaesthetic operation on a hernia’ – even a simple inguanal hernia as mine is.
You may wonder why I have need of ‘local anaethsetic’?
I have extreme drug reations to chemicals and drugs and my medical specialists have requested only local anaestic administration be used and not use either ‘general or spinal’ administration with me as it may cause death.
We need labour coalition to fix this impass now that national are gone.
There are many still awaiting surgery as I am so we need to do better, and thanks for the question I hope this helps.
Hi Patricia – close relative (78) had her hip done under epidural and sedation. Went very well and quick recovery time. Up and about quickly and excellent long term outcome. Sadly great variation between DHBs and waiting times.
My mother, now in her mid-80s, has had a number of hip operations over the last few years, starting from when she broke her hip in a fall.
Prior to the fall, she was experiencing pain and lack of function, and was in the early stages of a hip replacement process. Immediately after the fall, hardware got put in the top of her femur to give her some mobility back in the short term (a hip replacement then and there wasn’t feasible because of the break location).
After recovery had progressed far enough, she went back into the queue for a replacement. The schedule kept shifting, so she went ahead with her life including making arrangements for overseas travel to visit family. Then shortly before departure she got scheduled for the op at a time that would have required cancelling the trip. She decided the trip was more important to her and went ahead with that, so she lost her place in the queue.
However, it was only a few months after her return that they were able to schedule her back in and she got the replacement not much later than she would have otherwise.
So it seems to me that planning her life and living it anyway worked out ok for her. Her experience also looks to me like the health authority involved (Waitemata) do recognise that people have lives to live, and it’s one of the factors they have to account for when juggling all their different priorities. No, the timeline wasn’t as fast or convenient for her as it might have been with a fully-paid private route, but it did look to me like the system did a fair job of balancing the different constraints it has to work under.
Of course, your experience may end up wildly different…
Hiya patricia…sorry to hear of your troubles…and such a pity that the option of legal medical cannabis is not available to you….I have heard that even a balm can be quite relieving for such pain. 😉
My recommendations….be available for surgery once you get to the “You do need the surgery and you’re now on the list stage.” My partner ended up on such a list a few years ago and settled in for a long wait…couple of weeks later they had a ‘gap’, he got a call, “Can you come in tomorrow morning?” and voilla!
Another guy I know was told he could have the hip surgery done nowish if he was willing to go to Rotorua Hospital rather than wait for it to be done at Waikato.
Now…I wouldn’t ever suggest that anyone manipulate the system, but, if perchance, a person had a fall or a stumble and was writhing in agony (say in the middle of a busy pedestrian crossing at rush hour) and an ambulance was called to transport said person to A&E then suddenly the situation is an ‘accident’ and an ’emergency’ and voilla (again !) operating theatres and orthopeadic surgeons miraculously become available. This happened to my ninety year old neighbour some years ago after some time languishing where you seem to be. Afterwards she commented that she should have had her fall months earlier. 🙂
And another elderly friend, then in her 75th year, needed cataract surgery. She became highly pissed off at seemingly every doctor upon the road to the surgery asking her if she had medical insurance. This was 28 years ago and she did…but that wasn’t the point…there was, even then…this herding of as many patients as possible out of the public system and into the private system. More often than not it is the same surgeons performing in both venues…and my friend knew she was being profiled…
She was getting to the stage of being unable to drive so with great reluctance went private….then the insurance company tried to rip her off.
Your are entering shark invested waters mate….
If you truly want to become depressed…google “hip surgery unmet need” and you’ll find some uplifting academic research that rather coldly calculates the odds of making it to the table.
“Firstly, replacing joints in patients who have lived with disabling arthritis for a significant period of time, and who have more co-morbidities, is likely to result in poorer outcomes with higher postoperative complications. Secondly, managing these patients in the community will require increased resources. Thirdly, operating on ‘end-stage’ osteoarthritis can be surgically demanding, resulting in the use of more expensive implants, more extensive rehabilitation and intensive nursing; all of which require added resources.”
Where you come on the public service waiting list is based on need.
The higher your perceived need the quicker you will be seen.
While I wouldn’t wish to direct you to lie I would suggest you talk up the impact it is having on your life/mobility as much as you possibly can with the help of a supportive general practitioner.
And tell them you are in severe pain most of the time. It is, or at least was, more important than whether you can get around.
The Doctor who assessed me before I had mine replaced told me that you have to tell them the pain is unbearable. It is not the Doctor who decides whether you get on the queue. It is someone working in the DHB office who only sees your responses to a questionnaire.
It is an enormous change in your circumstances though.
No more pain.
“I had depressed myself earlier with the documents you listed xx.”
Actually…that quote I put up…“Firstly, replacing joints in patients who have lived with disabling arthritis for a significant period of time, and who have more co-morbidities, is likely to result in poorer outcomes with higher postoperative complications. Secondly, managing these patients in the community will require increased resources. Thirdly, operating on ‘end-stage’ osteoarthritis can be surgically demanding, resulting in the use of more expensive implants, more extensive rehabilitation and intensive nursing; all of which require added resources.”
wasn’t supposed to depress…its a hint. 😉 😉
Also…use your previous diagnosis of polio for all its worth…seriously, its a ‘co-morbidity’ that could/has already exacerbated your dodgy hip.
The last thing they wan’t is for you to lose independence…you’ll cost ’em more in the long term.
My partner has been a full time wheelchair user since 1970. At some stage, a tumble from his chair must have broke a hip (he can’t feel the pain) and it has set a bit weird. A few years ago he suddenly got an ugly, red swollen lump on that hip. Made sitting in his w/c really difficult. Chances of a hip replacement for someone who will never walk again and is already dependent on others for support is zero. This preparation was recommended ….https://www.nz-online-pharmacy.com/products/traumitane-recovery-action-cream-75g.html…twice daily. Way more effective than the hot rubs or the anti inflammatory rubs…and very gentle on a chemically sensitive skin. Tears of relief when the ugly red lump went away…..
My theory ,for what it’s worth,is to always try and get a woman surgeon.Their success rate is better AFAIK.They seem more kind,caring and delicate in surgical matters,more finesse,nimble fingers.Its a conveyer belt system,quite efficient and impersonal.I suppose I can be accused of being sexist with my observation.Too bad.
Your theory is bullshit. It’s best to get an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in hips and performs multiple operations per week, furthermore it’s preferable that the surgery is performed in one of the main regional centres.
I would assume that these ops are performed by specialists in that field,not by anyone who walks through the door.Anyway your condemnation of my theory as b/s moved me to find out if it had any substance. http://time.com/4975232/women-surgeon-surgery/
only as a generality, it can’t be applied to individuals. And it’s not so much about gender making someone more suited, it’s that there are broad differences that affect things. Some are biological, some are social, good luck figuring that out.
Here’s the two useful paragraphs from that Time piece:
“Even after those adjustments, patients of female surgeons were 4% less likely to die, be readmitted or experience complications 30 days after their surgery compared to patients of male surgeons.”
So if there really is a difference, and not just an artefact of torturing the data, then the difference is still very very small.
“In the meantime, he says, gender shouldn’t be a factor in deciding which surgeon should be in charge of your next operation. “You should select a surgeon based on the rapport you have with him or her, what your family physician recommends, and the research you do,” says Satkunasivam. “You should be equally confident with a male or female surgeon.” ”
Not that you’re likely to have much choice in New Zealand’s system, mind. But it still points to the value of doing what you can to build rapport with your practitioners.
I agree, and it’s a big failing of the NZ system that it’s relatively difficult to choose the specialist or surgeon you see. Not impossible, but there is little attention paid to the value of having someone you get on with.
Given that reports written to claim there’s a difference between A and B usually find a way to maximise the apparent size of that difference, I interpret that reported 4% difference to mean that the rate of post-operative adverse events for female surgeons is say 4.85% and the rate for male surgeons is 5.05%, to end up with an average rate of 5% for all surgeons.
Yes it’s possible the rates are of the order of 2% and 6% respectively (allowing for there being a lot more male surgeons than female surgeons, to get a mean of around 5%). But if that were the case, I would expect the headline to be something like “Post-operative adverse events are 3 times higher for male surgeons than for female surgeons”
Thanks Zorb6 I will re-apply for my ACC operation now asking for a Woman for my operation too, as as a man while in Canada I underwent several medical proceedures and in several cases my experiences with women specialists/surgeons I recieved a full careful treatment and recovery that was provided was excellent there, so I agree with you there.
Bottom line, to qualify for hip or knee replacement there has to be “bone on bone” – if there is any padding inbetween they will make you wait that bit longer. Then you wait for the operation which is usually within 4 months. I don’t know about knee reconstructions or partial knees. I have had a knee replaced and it has worked wonders for me. I kept off pain killers and just used plenty of athletic strapping and local pain rubs like Deep Heat. Hips are a bit more difficult to keep the pain under control. Fish Oil and Glucosomine with Chondroitin also are great for hips and knees.
“Fish Oil and Glucosomine with Chondroitin also are great for hips and knees.”
Thanks for the info Kate, I am beginning to get hip problems and I have told my JP surgery is out. At my age, it would be a complete waste of time and money. Sooner they did it on younger persons or spent the money on some poor unfortunate kid.
My hip plays up at night keeping me awake I take the occasional Panadol as I am not a pill popper but have stayed away from those other products as I was not sure how they would work. Was about to visit my JP for his advice but now I will visit the chemist and buy some of those products
I hope my hip joint does not get too bad as we do a lot of photography, well, the photography is a means to an end it to get us out in the wild to appreciate this country of ours before it is well and truly stuffed.
Take the fish oil and glucosomine morning and night – I use quite high doses of the fish oil and what ever the glucosomine says on the label you can up the dose on that as well. It made all the difference to me when I started taking it twice daily instead of just the once. I presume you are using a walking stick. Also swing both legs out of the car when you get out and when getting up off dining chairs swing both legs around as well – try and keep the hips and legs together when sitting – no crossing legs or letting your legs lay apart when sitting.
As for your age – if it means you are going to have a better quality of life and you have over all general good health, then I think you should get it done and I am sure your doctor will agree.. We are all entitled to health care in this country.
Thank you for the tips. I invested in a swivel seat for the car. My problem is I have to lift my left leg now because of polio as a child…. adds to the woes.
Thanks for your reply Kate. No, I am fortunate that I can walk with no problems and have no need for a walking stick, I feel it has only just started, well been like this for the last 2 years about and only get pain when I lie down in bed or drive for long stretches.
Thanks for the general tips about getting up off chairs etc.,
Yeah, I agree with your last sentence Kate, but I have been fortunate had several hand ups along the way that has given me a successful life. I know we are all entitled to health care but after the Tories have destroyed the public system. and now with the limited health care and money available I feel in my very late years I don’t need expensive procedures just for a few years before I kick the bucket.
My GP (not JP as written in my first response. that is known as an SOS Silly Old Sod Syndrome) would agree with you.
Halfcrown, I mentioned Vital rosehip GOPO It has been clinically tested in 15 trials. (I could not use anti inflammatory aids other than this as they depressed my kidney function.) My hip to knee was hot and inflamed and within a week it had improved and a month later I realised I was able to sleep and sit a great deal longer and my hip was hot at one point only.
I have just started Glocosamine and chondroitin. It is not cheap, but will help as the tablet has Vit D etc. I don’t get out much currently as I had polio as a child and this is my “good” leg and I’m prone to falls.
I blessed the election, as we were in Australia when my hip was suddenly totally bad. The internet and this site gave me something else to focus on at 3.a.m.
Christmas and New Year are a “slow time” for progress with hips etc. (possibly car accidents, holiday period in general). Good luck with the treatment.
We have ordered the next lot of rosehip and await it from Chemist Wharehouse Auckland. An Australian crowd just starting up here. Norm got his glucosamine
from Go Healthy online. Cheers.
I too have a knee injury and am awaiting an operation on it to but no light at the end of the tunnel yet as there is a very slow rate of surgery of knee replacement now during 2017 so 2018 may be better.
My knee surgery Specialist comes from Hamilton to Gisborne and can only book twice on (two wednesdays) a month and he said last time that he is booked for six months ahead.
My knee injury was an ACC claim as it was pinned and crushed by a boat against a reef while fishing.
My inside left knee meniculus was ‘torn’ so it now feels like bone on bone and aches occassinally too.
The emergency doctor only gave me an opiate last year in may, (which I didn’t take)
I have used your treatment of fish oils and Glocosamine and chondroitin and use a floor cycle to excercise with now.
Now I have two small bottles of “Vital 3” I just recieved from my wife as she sent an order to ‘Vital3.com’ in NY for some as she saw it on the website.
Before I try three drops with water every morning do you know about the product?
Cleangreen, no not that one. I hadn’t seen that before. Just read about the USA trials and patent online now.. Try it, as it doesn’t affect other meds. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I’ll be interested to hear of your progress. Please let us know. Good luck.
From people I know who’ve been through this, keeping the pressure on helps. The people managing the lists are working in a stressful situation (not enough funding), but I think polite but firm persistence, especially if you are being given the run around, can keep them focussed. It’s work, but if you’re not getting your medical needs attended to, go back to your GP, get a letter, give it to the hospital, phone them, talk to the manager etc. Yes there are processes and rules, but people get dropped out because of the limits of the system, and reminding them of your rights can get you back in and reprioritised.
(and yes, that means someone else will get dropped off. If this is manageable for you, start hassling your local MP as well).
Hah! I know another guy, in his seventies, who still blames Labour for all the failings in the Public Health system. His usual MO when told to wait his ‘turn’ for hip, knee, shoulder surgery (he has had all of these) is to visit his local MP (always National) and proceed to rant and rave with promises to return if they don’t sort it. Seems to work. Alternatively, it could be the fact that he has a rather well developed sense of entitlement and conveys such to whichever health professional has the misfortune to suggest that there might be a wait.
I had surgery in 2013 at Waikato Hospital. To speed the process up, my GP referred me to a private specialist surgeon who also worked in the public system.
After the consultation, the surgeon put me on the waiting list, advising it was urgent case. I had to pay for the private specialist and an MRI.
Five months later I had the operation. If I didn’t go private for the specialist surgeon consult and MRI, it would have added another six months to the process.
It seems wrong that I had to pay around $1,500 myself because the system is so slow.
Maybe you could do something similar to speed things up, if possible?
I hope things go well for you and you have a speedy recovery.
Thank you all for your responses. In your head you know you are not alone with this, but at 3.a.m it can feel like that!
I am cheered by your suggestions, I guess I worry they may not be very quick, as my doctor said possibly Nov, and I thought “well I’m going to live my life.”
I wonder why Greenwald never appears on New Zealand television….
…the centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy, really in the wake of World War II through the Cold War, and then even with the fall of the Soviet Union, has been to align with and to embrace and to support dictators, tyrants and repressive regimes, as long as they serve the interests of the United States. So, anybody in their right mind who ever takes seriously pronouncements from official Washington that they’re motivated by anger over repression or a defense of the political rights of people in other countries is incredibly naive at best, to put that generously.
Just this week, Juan, there was an amazing leak that Politico published, which was a State Department memo written to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that explicitly said what has been long obvious, but usually isn’t put into words so clear, that human rights is not actually something the U.S. government believes in; it is a cudgel that it uses to undermine and bash countries that don’t serve its interests. They use denunciations of human rights abuses to undermine and weaken governments that are contrary to their agenda, like in Iran, while at the same time, this memo said—this isn’t me saying this, this is the State Department memo saying—they overlook and even sanction repressive behavior on the part of their allies.
And it goes beyond the Trump administration. I mean, if you look at how official Washington works in terms of, say, the leading think tanks in Washington, the Brookings Institution, for example, which has become incredibly popular among liberals in the Trump era, is funded with tens of millions of dollars by the government of Qatar, one of the most repressive regimes on the planet. The Center for American Progress, which is probably the leading Democratic Party think tank in the United States, is funded in—one of their biggest funders is the government of the United Arab Emirates.
Destroy a county’s economy via sanctions. Sit back and wait for things to hopefully boil over. Give a further nudge, a push or a shove if possible. If and when country disintegrates, point out it was a basket case of a place and ride in on a white horse of humanitarianism to rip it wide open for “free market” exploitation democracy …to be governed by western friendly administrations.
Okay. Now I’ll watch the vid and be very surprised if Greenwald is deviating from that basic line that repeats in country after country that the west has a dim view of.
What will 2018 bring for Donald Trump? Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. One more Republican that won’t be afraid to criticise him. And even, if it ever gets that far, vote for conviction in an impeachment proceeding.
The vacuous Megan Whelan said nothing this morning when her guest said that
boycotting Israel “reminds some people of the Nazi boycotts of the Jews”.
RNZ National, Wednesday 3 January 2018, 9:30 a.m.
I tuned in to this outrageous little piece of propaganda masquerading as analysis toward the end, so I wasn’t sure who was speaking. I assumed he was someone from the Israeli Consulate, because he made several sleazy insinuations against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, and talked condescendingly and dishonestly about Lorde’s decision to boycott Israel. I thought it might be the infamous Dr David Cumin, who reared his head in late 2016 in order to denounce Marama Davidson….
But this voice was different to Cumin’s. I knew I’d heard him before, but who WAS it? He spoke as smoothly and with the same nerveless dishonesty as Dr Cumin. It might have been the Wellington dentist David Zwarz, who used to be the go-to man whenever the media needed a local comment supportive of a massacre in Gaza, or the shooting of unarmed Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank or East Jerusalem. But it wasn’t David Zwarz.
Who WAS it?
Finally, at the end of the interview, his patsy Megan Whelan identified him: “That was Professor Robert Ayson, from Victoria University’s School of Strategic Studies.”
Of course! Robert Ayson!!! This bloke has form. A couple of years ago, he insisted to me by email that U.S. troops kill civilians with the best intentions….
…in seeking to target people and groups they believe to be in particular locations they sometimes make poor judgements about the wider consequences.
regards
Rob
I replied:
The United States military was repeatedly given the coordinates of Kunduz Hospital. They didn’t get their targeting wrong. When they “conquered” Fallujah General Hospital in November 2004, U.S. troops tied up doctors and nurses, and forced patients out of their beds, before also tying them up. Again, that doesn’t seem like getting their targeting wrong.
There is something I find even more disturbing than the malicious propaganda these people routinely dispense: the silence, bordering on approval and complicity, of the person supposed to be interviewing them. David Cumin’s patsy was Jesse Mulligan, who like the others in the studio remained silent as Cumin poured scorn on Marama Davidson and the rest of the protestors who broke through Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza in 2016. I suspect this was a condition insisted on by Cumin before he spoke.
Robert Ayson’s patsy this morning was Megan Whelan, who seems to have no knowledge whatsoever of the situation in Palestine, or of the movement to boycott Israel. On such ignorant and compliant accomplices do Israeli apologists depend.
Yes. Megan and Jim are both extremely ‘nice’.
I think possibly RNZ are using the holiday period to train the next generation of personalities and presenters.
At times I think they must also be using it to train the new breed of panel operators (or whatever they call them these days) too.
Well worth the read about the actions of twitter and facebook. Happy to promote the violence of the state. But God help you if you say “F%^k off” to rapist or their apologists, you will get banned.
The more Washington lashes out in anger at those who will not bow to the unipolar world order, the more the rest of the world fights back. As the launch of its Yuan/Gold-settled oil futures looms, China is escalating its de-dollarization scheme further by seeking a bilateral rial-yuan agreement with Iran.
Once the US dollar loses its place as the Reserve Currency of the world, which should have happened when they dropped the Gold Standard under Nixon, the US economy will crash and burn as the world stops using the US$ for trade.
According to a VICE News special investigation, US troops are now conducting 3,500 exercises and military engagements throughout Africa per year, an average of 10 per day. US mainstream media rarely discusses this ongoing war, thus giving the military ample space to destabilize any of the continent’s 54 countries as it pleases.
“Today’s figure of 3,500 marks an astounding 1,900 percent increase since the command was activated less than a decade ago, and suggests a major expansion of US military activities on the African continent,” VICE reported.
Following the death of four US Special Forces soldiers in Niger on October 4, US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, made an ominous declaration to a Senate committee: these numbers are likely to increase as the US is expanding its military activities in Africa.
But wait, there’s more…
The old colonial ‘Scramble for Africa’ is being reinvented by global powers that fully fathom the extent of the untapped economic largesse of the continent. While China, India and Russia are each developing a unique approach to wooing Africa, the US is invested mostly in the military option, which promises to inflict untold harm and destabilize many nations.
It’s not just the US that is trying to grab all of the remaining resources of the world for themselves.
And people still think that we don’t need a defence force.
People might want to check out this article (https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/01/02/the-10-dumbest-rightblogger-writings-of-2017/) – a review of the 10 most ridiculous set of excuses and obsfucations used by far right commentators when trying to spin dumb comments and decisions from Trump. It’s informative and entertaining and there are lot of links.
It’s not the 10 worst comments or decisions (that would be a hard list to compile – imagine having to decide what to leave out), the focus is more on how media commentators, bloggers, spin docs etc aligned with Trump try to find or manufacture some sense in what he’s saying and doing.
The “Italian Job” is a great English movie that Fintan O’Toole sees as a metaphor for their Brexit mess.
“Which brings us to The English Job of 2018. The British government is currently like Croker’s gang – immobilised by an impossible choice while their grand project teeters over the abyss. They can keep moving towards the fool’s gold of hard Brexit, but if they do their economy will go over the cliff. Or they can keep the bus from falling by moving away from their dreams towards the far end.”
You mean the O’Toole piece? It seems to be a question of how many times you can use one movie reference in a single opinion piece.
I suspect ‘hard Brexit’ (what ever that means) will be about as terrible for the UK economy as Brexit was in fact. Remind me wasn’t a Brexit outcome going to cause the UK economy to enter recession?
The supporters of Brexit I suspect didnt want it. They were hoping that there was a no vote so they could have the continued luxury of moaning about the EU without having to do anything. Now they have to back their words up with actions and they have no idea what to do except bumble along. They are probably waiting for someone to say, “let’s not do this’.
Mega-mergers have been happening since the 1980s when deregulation set in – and we’ve been told of the consequences for poorer services, higher prices and other forms of monopoly powers since.
I reckon it’s been quite some time since either has seen his own button in the flesh.
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018
For a second I thought you said ‘his most irresistible tweet ‘. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. I do hope the North Korean leader has a sense of humour. Good luck to possible talks that the North and South might have which I heard about on RadioNZ today.
There is a crash coming.
And it will be bigger than 2008.
‘Global instability appears to be the big risk for NZ economy
This year could see a geopolitical crisis on the scale of the financial crash a decade ago, a New York-based political risk consultancy is warning.
Citing “daunting” global political challenges, Eurasia Group said that “if we had to pick one year for a big unexpected crisis – the geopolitical equivalent of the 2008 financial meltdown – it feels like 2018”.
Now look at them yo-yos, that’s the way you do it
You play the [odds on the casino see]
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb
Agriculture is killing us.
And the article doesn’t mention the damage agriculture does to our environment.
‘Agriculture remains New Zealand’s most dangerous industry to work in, according to WorkSafe New Zealand.
As of November 2017, nine people lost their lives working in the industry last year – with three of those people dying as a result of quad bike accidents.
With a total of 124 deaths in the past six years, the sector is New Zealand’s deadliest. ’
Thanks for the link draco – I remember the table being tweeted – and good that the Royal Society of Statistics has chosen this (or rather the 69 lawnmower deaths per year) to be the most significant statistic of the year – and one that is on the increase.
Reminds me of the story about the guy who was driving home from work and saw someone cutting their hedge with a rotary mower. Wow that’s a great idea he thought! On his subsequent trip into the hospital with all his fingers chopped off – the doc in emergency says: “Don’t tell me – but you were driving home and saw this guy cutting his hedge with a rotary mower – right?
“Yeah! How did you know?
” because I’ve just treated him.”
President Trump is threatening to suspend the US$400 million a year it spends in the Palestine Authority areas, if the Palestinians don’t get to the peace negotiating table:
The owners of Fusion GPS, the outfit who commissioned Steele to investigate and report on Trump, have penned an op-ed saying Trump’s operation is nothing more than a money laundering front.
A very interesting piece – thanks for the link Joe. Pretty much confirms what I have been thinking and saying for the past year. Interestingly Steele chose on his own bat to go to the FBI with the results of his investigation, independently of who had commissioned him, it was that serious. This confirmed with the FBI what they had been hearing from different sources.
The fact that Trump is shunned by every major bank in the US and has used Deutsche Bank for all his business activity, and that he has so many dealings with Russian Oligarchs (who are only oligarchs because of their intimate relationship with the Kremlin) it is hardly surprising that there was something fishy going on. And the twitter outburst today merely confirms it. “He doth protest too much”.
It is beyond my comprehension that so many nation’s leaders including Australia, Britain and maybe even NZ are prepared to do business with such a corrupt regime as the Trump administration. Link:
Congress should release transcripts of our firm’s testimony, so that the American people can learn the truth about our work and most important, what happened to our democracy.
Why don’t Fusion GPS leak their own testimony then?
Close, I reckon. The material would have legal privilege if released by the committee – but not if leaked by the submitters, who could then be arrested or sued for defamation etc by interested parties.
I suspected as much. But they could still release an ‘overview’ without revealing the actual content of the testimony. That should be enough to point people in the right direction and set a dialogue going.
Actually I think they have done that already in the piece that joe links to above. It’s pretty clear that the Testimony they gave would be along those lines that the Steele investigation revealed a great number of questionable relationships between Trump, his organisation, and the campaign, and Russians with links to the Kremlin. Trump has already been convicted via his casinos of money laundering. http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/trump-taj-mahal/index.html
The deal wrt to Florida Mansion sale to a Russian Oligarch reeks of money laundering as well. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/why-did-a-russian-pay-95m-to-buy-trumps-palm-beach-mansion/
to name but two examples.
These people have Trump in their pocket.
‘Google has moved more than £14 billion ($26.8b) into a tax haven in a controversial bid to slash its bills.
The internet search giant funnelled the cash through low-tax European countries and then into Bermuda, in a switch thought to have saved it £2.7b ($5.1b) in 2016.
To reduce its bills, Google books most of its international advertising revenues – including those from the UK – in low-tax Ireland.
It then passes this on to a company in the Netherlands, where there are also generous tax laws, in a strategy known as “the Double Irish with Dutch Sandwich”.
From there the money is sent to Bermuda, where the corporate tax rate is zero.
The Internal Revenue Service is demanding a whopping $7 billion or more in back taxes from the world’s most profitable hedge fund, whose boss’s wealth and cyber savvy helped Donald Trump pole-vault into the White House.
Suddenly, the government’s seven-year pursuit of Renaissance Technologies LLC is blanketed in political intrigue, now that the hedge fund’s reclusive, anti-establishment co-chief executive, Robert Mercer, has morphed into a political force who might be owed a big presidential favor.
The American New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt’s first two terms combined the goals of financial stabilization, reconstruction, conservation, and employment—jobs for the jobless; public works; power systems and new industries, especially in the South; soil conservation and reforestation to battle the Dust Bowl; and a potent mix of regulations and insurance to assert public power over high finance.
Doesn’t that sound like the sort of thing we should be doing. It might save us big grief if we could batten down the hatches, borrow some money while it is still cheap and do something about our infrastructure. Alternatively we could continue on back to the glory days of previous laissez faire approaches and use child labour down mines, women naked to the waist etc. Men working in bare feet building roads. Old people in workhouses. The RW haven’t got any ideas about governing for the people, when push comes to shove it’s them at the front of the queue for any benefits, advantages to be handed out.
I’m sick of us paying pollies to drive the mammoth vehicle straight into a blinding disaster. They are trying to bring us back to where we should have been ten years ago. But now times are different and upskilling the problem solving to practical, rather than theory based would be good.
Talking about miserly sods who make mega bucks. This morning I was listening on RNZ to the back story of the Scandanavian flat pack empire Ikea. The guy who owns it has spent his life cost cutting, dodging tax and making it his life ambition to shave costs from the day of its inception. Now I have no truck with shaving costs, but to have all his well earned profit going into tax havens makes me feel a bit dirty as if I need a shower.
It must be a miserable existence to spend your entire life just wanting more and more and never giving a little to make life better for his employees and to support his country with the largesse of his good life – taxes to help the country to be a decent place to live. This skinflint is worth millions and is in the world’s top rich list. Good for him for being so successful but a really black score for being such a miserable shit. We have many more like him in this world and what a sorry state the world is in for it.
I put the arsehole Peter Thiel in the same bracket. Pops down to NZ. Ingratiates himself with wannabe billionaires like John Key. Spreads a bit of largesse around to make it look like he’s generous. Buys a swanky mansion down Queenstown way. Rumoured to have purchased other properties – probably for tax avoidance/evasion purposes. Finally signs a deal with the Key government… does the dirty on them and skives off with all the profits… fleecing the NZ taxpayers in the process.
‘He said it was the worst conditions the area had seen in decades.
“This is my first year where I’ve had to make the decisions, which has been a baptism by fire. My father has been on the farm 44 years, running it, born and bred on the farm, he’s never seen anything like this.”
The muppets sandflys were at it again today were ever I go the sandflys are following me playing with them selves I see there moves and lol.
I have told stories about when I was young and I said when he tried to hit me I ran away some people have enterpered that as I was badly beaten well know I had fights with people a couple of years older than me but because cause of my grate grandmother Mana everyone treated me really well after she died it changed but not totally. I figure out that it was them knowing that my mama will and the money in my accounts you see at the time of the incident of taking me to the bank I did not know it was to draw out my money. It wasn’t until one of my favourite aunties asked what happened to the money and her will and that mama told her that she was leaving everything to me that I came to that conclusion of being used for the money my MAMA has a lot of Mana. My wife had a hard life when she was young what I don’t get is intelligent people around her when she was young would have known what was going on and chose to do nothing WTF.
Alcohol was used to destroy Maori Mana.
Alcohol and a deceit full society.
Ana to kai
Postmodernism has long been looked upon as an indecipherable ideology and a source of amusement. In 1996 Alan Sokal, a physics professor at New York University, had a hoax article published in ‘Social Text’ an academic journal of postmodern cultural studies. In ‘Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of ...
In a recent interview with RNZ (14th of January), NZ Council of Civil Liberties Chair Thomas Beagle, in response to Simon Bridges condemnation of the post-Trump Twitter purge of local far Right and other accounts, said the following: “Cos the thing about freedom of expression is that it’s not just ...
Let’s be clear: if Trump is not politically killed off once and for all, he will become a MAGA Dracula, rising from the dead to haunt US politics for years to come and giving inspiration to his wretched family of grifters and thousands of deplorables well into the next decade. ...
Since its demise as an imperial power, and especially its deindustrialisation under Thatcher, the UK's primary economic engine has been its role as a money laundry, using its network of overseas territories as tax havens to enable rich people around the world to steal from the societies they live in. ...
Last month OMV quit the Great South Basin and surrendered its offshore exploration permits outside of Taranaki. This month, Australian-owned Beach Energy has done the same: Beach Energy Resources New Zealand has decided to abandon all of its oil and gas exploration permits off the South Island coast, including ...
The new Northland case has been linked to the South African strain of Covid-19, one of a number of new, more contagious Covid variants. Here’s how they emerge and why. Let’s start with the basics. The genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 is a strand of RNA ...
MARVIN HUBBARD, US citizen by birth, New Zealand citizen by choice, Quaker and left-wing activist, has been broadcasting his show, "Community or Chaos", on Otago Access Radio for the best part of 30 years. On 24 November last year, I spoke with him about the outcome of the 2020 General ...
This is a guest blog post by Daniel Tamberg, Potsdam, co-founder and director of SCIARA GmbH. The non-profit organisation SCIARA is developing and operating a flexible software platform for scientific simulation games that allows thousands of players to explore, design and understand possible climate futures together. Decision-makers in politics, business, ...
Yesterday's Gone: Cold shivers are running up and down the spines of conservatives everywhere. Donald Trump may have gone, but all the signs point to there being something much more momentous in the wind-shift than a simple return to the status quo ante. A change is gonna come. ONE COULD ...
Is it possible to live and let live in the post-Trump era? The online campaign to vilify Christopher Liddell, ex-White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to Trump, makes for an interesting case study. Liddell is a New Zealander whose illustrious career in corporate America once earned him plaudits ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 17, 2021 through Sat, Jan 23, 2021Editor's Choice12 new books explore fresh approaches to act on climate changeAuthors explore scientific, economic, and political avenues for climate action ...
This discussion is from a Twitter thread by Martin Kulldorff on 20 December 2020. He is a Professor at Harvard Medical School specialising in disease surveillance methods, infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety. His Twitter handle is @MartinKulldorff #1 Public health is about all health outcomes, not just a single ...
The Treasury forecasts suggest the economy is doing better than expected after the Covid Shock. John Kenneth Galbraith was wont to say that economic forecasting was designed to make astrology look good. Unfair, but it raises the question of the purpose of economic forecasts. Certainly the public may treat them ...
Q: Will the COVID-19 vaccines prevent the transmission of the coronavirus and bring about community immunity (aka herd immunity)? A: Jury not in yet but vaccines do not have to be perfect to thwart the spread of infection. While vaccines induce protection against illness, they do not always stop actual ...
Joe Biden seems to be everything that Donald Trump was not – decent, straightforward, considerate of others, mindful of his responsibilities – but none of that means that he has an easy path ahead of him. The pandemic still rages, American standing in the world is grievously low, and the ...
Keana VirmaniFrom healthcare robots to data privacy, to sea level rise and Antarctica under the ice: in the four years since its establishment, the Aotearoa New Zealand Science Journalism Fund has supported over 30 projects.Rebecca Priestley, receiving the PM Science Communication Prize (Photo by Mark Tantrum) Associate Professor ...
Nothing more from me today - I'm off to Wellington, to participate in the city's annual roleplaying convention (which has also eaten my time for the whole week, limiting blogging despite there being interesting things happening). Normal bloggage will resume Tuesday. ...
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weaponscame into force today, making the development, possession, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons illegal in international law. Every nuclear-armed state is now a criminal regime. The corporations and scientists who design, build and maintain their illegal weapons are now ...
"Come The Revolution!" The key objective of Bernard Hickey’s revolutionary solution to the housing crisis is a 50 percent reduction in the price of the average family home. This will be achieved by the introduction of Capital Gains, Land, and Wealth taxes, and by the opening up of currently RMA-protected ...
by Daphna Whitmore Twitter and Facebook shutting down Trump’s accounts after his supporters stormed Capitol Hill is old news now but the debates continue over whether the actions against Trump are a good thing or not. Those in favour of banning Trump say Twitter and Facebook are private companies and ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Democrats now control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives for the first time in a decade, albeit with razor thin Congressional majorities. The last time, in the 111th Congress (2009-2011), House Democrats passed a carbon cap and trade bill, but it died ...
Session thirty-three was highly abbreviated, via having to move house in a short space of time. Oh well. The party decided to ignore the tree-monster and continue the attack on the Giant Troll. Tarsin – flying on a giant summoned bat – dumped some high-grade oil over the ...
Last night I stayed up till 3am just to see then-President Donald Trump leave the White House, get on a plane, and fly off to Florida, hopefully never to return. And when I woke up this morning, America was different. Not perfect, because it never was. Probably not even good, ...
Watching today’s inauguration of Joe Biden as the United States’ 46th president, there’s not a lot in common with the inauguration of Donald Trump just four destructive years ago. Where Trump warned of carnage, Biden dared to hope for unity and decency. But the one place they converge is that ...
Dan FalkBritons who switched on their TVs to “Good Morning Britain” on the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, were greeted by news not from our own troubled world, but from neighboring Venus. Piers Morgan, one of the hosts, was talking about a major science story that had surfaced the ...
Sara LutermanGrowing up autistic in a non-autistic world can be very isolating. We are often strange and out of sync with peers, despite our best efforts. Autistic adults have, until very recently, been largely absent from media and the public sphere. Finding role models is difficult. Finding useful advice ...
Doug JohnsonThe alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to see one of their corpse flowers bloom. More than ...
Getting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...
Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts AmherstTo mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...
Israel chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...
Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
The green light for New Zealand’s first COVID-19 vaccine could be granted in just over a week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today. “We’re making swift progress towards vaccinating New Zealanders against the virus, but we’re also absolutely committed to ensuring the vaccines are safe and effective,” Jacinda Ardern said. ...
The Minister for ACC is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to join the Board of ACC on 1 February 2021. “All three bring diverse skills and experience to provide strong governance oversight to lead the direction of ACC” said Hon Carmel Sepuloni. Bella Takiari-Brame from Hamilton ...
The Government is investing $9 million to upgrade a significant community facility in Invercargill, creating economic stimulus and jobs, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene have announced. The grant for Waihōpai Rūnaka Inc to make improvements to Murihiku Marae comes from the $3 billion set ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
Upscaling work already underway to restore two iconic ecosystems will deliver jobs and a lasting legacy, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The Jobs for Nature programme provides $1.25 billion over four years to offer employment opportunities for people whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 recession. “Two new projects ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
A gang turf war gripped the South Auckland suburb in late 2020, forcing schools to lock down and armed police to patrol the streets. Community leaders are now warning the cycle of violent retribution could continue in 2021, unless radical interventions are made.The violent altercations that loomed large in Ōtara ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Véronique Duché, A.R. Chisholm Professor of French, University of Melbourne In this series, writers pay tribute to fictional detectives on the page and on screen. When I first heard that Rowan Atkinson was to put on Maigret’s velvet-collared overcoat, I wondered ...
Auckland writer Olivia Hayfield* explains how she resurrected 16th-century playwright Christopher Marlowe to star in her new novel, Sister to Sister. Olivia Hayfield is a pen name. Real name: Sue Copsey. When I’m planning my modern retellings of historical tales, I read widely on the characters and see who leaps out at ...
The Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine could be approved as early as next week, Marc Daalder reports Medsafe will be asked to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 on February 2, the Government has announced. The Medicines Assessment Advisory Committee (MAAC) is an independent panel that provides advice on some medicine approvals in ...
COMMENT:By Bryan Kramer, PNG’s Minister of Police who has defended Commissioner Manning’s appointment today in The National My last article, announcing that I intend to make a submission to the National Executive Council (NEC) to amend the Public Service regulation to no longer require the Commissioner of Police to ...
The Point of Order Trough Monitor was triggered today by the announcement of a $9 million handout for Southlanders – sorry, some Southlanders. The news came from the office of Grant Robertson who, as Minister of Finance, prefers to invest public money rather than give it away – especially when ...
Few people outside of her campaign team gave Chlöe Swarbrick any chance of winning in Auckland Central this year – but the Green Party MP was too busy to listen. Here’s how they turned the electorate green.First published November 12, 2020.Three Ticks Chlöe is part of Frame, a series of short ...
Interactions between parents and healthcare providers could have a big impact on the wellbeing of our children, according to new research. The way parents and healthcare providers interact has lasting implications for children’s health, new research has found – and that includes immunisation uptake.Released today, the report is based on research ...
The Opposition starts the political year calling for emergency, temporary legislation to free up house building National leader Judith Collins has set five priorities for her party over the next three years - but excluded climate change, education and Crown-Māori relations. Giving her first 'state of the nation' speech as party ...
One of the biggest challenges facing the Ardern government is in public health. New Zealand may have escaped the pressures heaped on other health systems by the Covid-19 pandemic but its health service has had its problems, not least those exposed in the first report from Heather Simpson and her ...
New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has revealed that 14 close contacts of the Northland community case have returned negative test results. Yesterday he announced two close contacts – her husband and hair dresser – were negative. In his tweet, Hipkins described the news as “encouraging”. However, New ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the arbitrary and opaque experiments that Google is conducting with its search engine in Australia, with the consequence that many national news websites are no longer appearing in the search results seen by some users. The Australian, ABC, Australian Financial ...
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta says councils can take stronger action against companies dumping contaminated waste water, even though they have identified loopholes in the law on fines. ...
Drag Race Down Under, part of the popular RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise, is filming in New Zealand. In their own words, local drag talent share what drag means to them and how it might be impacted by the show.RuPaul’s Drag Race is, quite simply, a television phenomenon. Love it or ...
For a long time, weighted blankets were considered a specialist device. Now they’re popular with even the most normal sleepers.Growing up, Temple Grandin spent time on her aunt’s cattle ranch in America, watching cow after stressed cow enter a squeeze chute and come out calm as the dead sea. She ...
Increased provisional tax thresholds, immediate low-value asset write offs and allowing the deferral of tax payments and use of money interest (UOMI) write offs were the most popular tax measures introduced by the Government to help businesses survive ...
The latest fleeing driver statistics show the numbers of incidents sky-rocketing out of control through 2020 with Police deciding the only tactic is to give up on chasing altogether, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “The inconvenient truth is ...
With new revelations of the appalling racism behind Israel’s refusal to provide Covid-19 vaccines to 4.5 million Palestinians under its occupation and control, PSNA has renewed our call for the government to speak out alongside the United Nations ...
The Youth of NZ will be standing up for climate action once again, on January 26th outside of Parliament for School Strike 4 Climate NZ’s 100 Days 4 Action campaign rally. “COVID-19 may have stopped us in our tracks in the past. However, I tend ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Parwinder Kaur, Associate Professor | Director, DNA Zoo Australia, University of Western Australia Koalas are unique in the animal kingdom, living on a eucalyptus diet that would kill other creatures and drinking so little their name comes from the Dharug word gula, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By S. Anna Florin, Research fellow, University of Wollongong Archaeological research provides a long-term perspective on how humans survived various environmental conditions over tens of thousands of years. In a paper published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution, we’ve tracked rainfall in northern ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Binoy Kampmark, Senior Lecturer in Global Studies, Social Science & Planning, RMIT University Since 2005, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has been one of the most stable and enduring of political forces, both in Europe and on the global stage. During her 16 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Véronique Duché, A.R. Chisholm Professor of French, University of Melbourne In this series, writers pay tribute to fictional detectives on the page and on screen. When I first heard that Rowan Atkinson was to put on Maigret’s velvet-collared overcoat, I wondered ...
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Could anyone give me their experience of Hospital waiting lists?
I am about to go into the system for a hip operation.
First there is the wait for an appointment for x rays, followed by a review, followed by a specialist appointment inside four months, if I get into the top points.
Apparently within another four months I may qualify hopefully for surgery.
I just wondered what the “on the ground” experience was, as I have heard people can go on and off the list depending on money available to do a number of operations.
So, do I hold my breath or plan my life anyway? 2018. A pivotal year personally at 76.
PS. pain is so bad I am now on a walker, though the inflammation has been greatly helped by rose hip oil capsules twice daily plus pain meds.
I can help with this.
My mum needed a hip replacement which was completed about 2 weeks before Christmas in the Waikato.
Was all done under public health. Total time from docs to surgery was under 2 months.
Edit Mum is about the same age as you also.
Thanks James. I’m in Rotorua. I believe it varies.
Patricia I have been waiting since 2007 for an (ACC) covered Hernia operation to be done with (only local anaesthetic administration) in either HB or Gisborne.
No surgeon in NZ will perform a ‘local anaesthetic operation on a hernia’ – even a simple inguanal hernia as mine is.
You may wonder why I have need of ‘local anaethsetic’?
I have extreme drug reations to chemicals and drugs and my medical specialists have requested only local anaestic administration be used and not use either ‘general or spinal’ administration with me as it may cause death.
We need labour coalition to fix this impass now that national are gone.
There are many still awaiting surgery as I am so we need to do better, and thanks for the question I hope this helps.
Yes, I also have issues being an asthmatic and ex polio. LOL never really “ex” as the effects are life long.
I have heard of a hip op done as you describe. I’ll ask my friend where her surgery was done 5 years ago.
I hope things improve for you as that is a painful situation, and limiting.
Hi Patricia – close relative (78) had her hip done under epidural and sedation. Went very well and quick recovery time. Up and about quickly and excellent long term outcome. Sadly great variation between DHBs and waiting times.
My mother, now in her mid-80s, has had a number of hip operations over the last few years, starting from when she broke her hip in a fall.
Prior to the fall, she was experiencing pain and lack of function, and was in the early stages of a hip replacement process. Immediately after the fall, hardware got put in the top of her femur to give her some mobility back in the short term (a hip replacement then and there wasn’t feasible because of the break location).
After recovery had progressed far enough, she went back into the queue for a replacement. The schedule kept shifting, so she went ahead with her life including making arrangements for overseas travel to visit family. Then shortly before departure she got scheduled for the op at a time that would have required cancelling the trip. She decided the trip was more important to her and went ahead with that, so she lost her place in the queue.
However, it was only a few months after her return that they were able to schedule her back in and she got the replacement not much later than she would have otherwise.
So it seems to me that planning her life and living it anyway worked out ok for her. Her experience also looks to me like the health authority involved (Waitemata) do recognise that people have lives to live, and it’s one of the factors they have to account for when juggling all their different priorities. No, the timeline wasn’t as fast or convenient for her as it might have been with a fully-paid private route, but it did look to me like the system did a fair job of balancing the different constraints it has to work under.
Of course, your experience may end up wildly different…
I too have family in Australia. That is part of the equation at my age .
Hiya patricia…sorry to hear of your troubles…and such a pity that the option of legal medical cannabis is not available to you….I have heard that even a balm can be quite relieving for such pain. 😉
My recommendations….be available for surgery once you get to the “You do need the surgery and you’re now on the list stage.” My partner ended up on such a list a few years ago and settled in for a long wait…couple of weeks later they had a ‘gap’, he got a call, “Can you come in tomorrow morning?” and voilla!
Another guy I know was told he could have the hip surgery done nowish if he was willing to go to Rotorua Hospital rather than wait for it to be done at Waikato.
Now…I wouldn’t ever suggest that anyone manipulate the system, but, if perchance, a person had a fall or a stumble and was writhing in agony (say in the middle of a busy pedestrian crossing at rush hour) and an ambulance was called to transport said person to A&E then suddenly the situation is an ‘accident’ and an ’emergency’ and voilla (again !) operating theatres and orthopeadic surgeons miraculously become available. This happened to my ninety year old neighbour some years ago after some time languishing where you seem to be. Afterwards she commented that she should have had her fall months earlier. 🙂
And another elderly friend, then in her 75th year, needed cataract surgery. She became highly pissed off at seemingly every doctor upon the road to the surgery asking her if she had medical insurance. This was 28 years ago and she did…but that wasn’t the point…there was, even then…this herding of as many patients as possible out of the public system and into the private system. More often than not it is the same surgeons performing in both venues…and my friend knew she was being profiled…
She was getting to the stage of being unable to drive so with great reluctance went private….then the insurance company tried to rip her off.
Your are entering shark invested waters mate….
If you truly want to become depressed…google “hip surgery unmet need” and you’ll find some uplifting academic research that rather coldly calculates the odds of making it to the table.
https://nzoa.org.nz/system/files/Quantifying%20the%20demand%20for%20hip%20and%20knee%20replacement.pdf
https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/read-the-journal/all-issues/2010-2019/2016/vol-129-no-1432-1-april-2016/6861
“Firstly, replacing joints in patients who have lived with disabling arthritis for a significant period of time, and who have more co-morbidities, is likely to result in poorer outcomes with higher postoperative complications. Secondly, managing these patients in the community will require increased resources. Thirdly, operating on ‘end-stage’ osteoarthritis can be surgically demanding, resulting in the use of more expensive implants, more extensive rehabilitation and intensive nursing; all of which require added resources.”
The very best of luck patricia….
Where you come on the public service waiting list is based on need.
The higher your perceived need the quicker you will be seen.
While I wouldn’t wish to direct you to lie I would suggest you talk up the impact it is having on your life/mobility as much as you possibly can with the help of a supportive general practitioner.
And tell them you are in severe pain most of the time. It is, or at least was, more important than whether you can get around.
The Doctor who assessed me before I had mine replaced told me that you have to tell them the pain is unbearable. It is not the Doctor who decides whether you get on the queue. It is someone working in the DHB office who only sees your responses to a questionnaire.
It is an enormous change in your circumstances though.
No more pain.
Rosemary, this is as I thought. Thanks for your good wishes.
Rosemary that has been the experience of friends in the past. I had depressed myself earlier with the documents you listed xx.
“I had depressed myself earlier with the documents you listed xx.”
Actually…that quote I put up…“Firstly, replacing joints in patients who have lived with disabling arthritis for a significant period of time, and who have more co-morbidities, is likely to result in poorer outcomes with higher postoperative complications. Secondly, managing these patients in the community will require increased resources. Thirdly, operating on ‘end-stage’ osteoarthritis can be surgically demanding, resulting in the use of more expensive implants, more extensive rehabilitation and intensive nursing; all of which require added resources.”
wasn’t supposed to depress…its a hint. 😉 😉
Also…use your previous diagnosis of polio for all its worth…seriously, its a ‘co-morbidity’ that could/has already exacerbated your dodgy hip.
The last thing they wan’t is for you to lose independence…you’ll cost ’em more in the long term.
My partner has been a full time wheelchair user since 1970. At some stage, a tumble from his chair must have broke a hip (he can’t feel the pain) and it has set a bit weird. A few years ago he suddenly got an ugly, red swollen lump on that hip. Made sitting in his w/c really difficult. Chances of a hip replacement for someone who will never walk again and is already dependent on others for support is zero. This preparation was recommended ….https://www.nz-online-pharmacy.com/products/traumitane-recovery-action-cream-75g.html…twice daily. Way more effective than the hot rubs or the anti inflammatory rubs…and very gentle on a chemically sensitive skin. Tears of relief when the ugly red lump went away…..
Rosemary thanks. I use painaway from Aus. It will be good to find a helpful thing here. You both deserve a good New Year xx
My theory ,for what it’s worth,is to always try and get a woman surgeon.Their success rate is better AFAIK.They seem more kind,caring and delicate in surgical matters,more finesse,nimble fingers.Its a conveyer belt system,quite efficient and impersonal.I suppose I can be accused of being sexist with my observation.Too bad.
Are you saying that someone could be better at a job simply because of their physical sex ?
Your theory is bullshit. It’s best to get an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in hips and performs multiple operations per week, furthermore it’s preferable that the surgery is performed in one of the main regional centres.
I would assume that these ops are performed by specialists in that field,not by anyone who walks through the door.Anyway your condemnation of my theory as b/s moved me to find out if it had any substance.
http://time.com/4975232/women-surgeon-surgery/
So you agree that a persons physical sex can make them more suited to a particular job or task ?
only as a generality, it can’t be applied to individuals. And it’s not so much about gender making someone more suited, it’s that there are broad differences that affect things. Some are biological, some are social, good luck figuring that out.
Here’s the two useful paragraphs from that Time piece:
“Even after those adjustments, patients of female surgeons were 4% less likely to die, be readmitted or experience complications 30 days after their surgery compared to patients of male surgeons.”
So if there really is a difference, and not just an artefact of torturing the data, then the difference is still very very small.
“In the meantime, he says, gender shouldn’t be a factor in deciding which surgeon should be in charge of your next operation. “You should select a surgeon based on the rapport you have with him or her, what your family physician recommends, and the research you do,” says Satkunasivam. “You should be equally confident with a male or female surgeon.” ”
Not that you’re likely to have much choice in New Zealand’s system, mind. But it still points to the value of doing what you can to build rapport with your practitioners.
I agree, and it’s a big failing of the NZ system that it’s relatively difficult to choose the specialist or surgeon you see. Not impossible, but there is little attention paid to the value of having someone you get on with.
Supposedly the chance of extreme adverse effects after surgery are 5%..i.e 1/20.On those odds ,even a 4% better success rate is a big plus imo.
Given that reports written to claim there’s a difference between A and B usually find a way to maximise the apparent size of that difference, I interpret that reported 4% difference to mean that the rate of post-operative adverse events for female surgeons is say 4.85% and the rate for male surgeons is 5.05%, to end up with an average rate of 5% for all surgeons.
Yes it’s possible the rates are of the order of 2% and 6% respectively (allowing for there being a lot more male surgeons than female surgeons, to get a mean of around 5%). But if that were the case, I would expect the headline to be something like “Post-operative adverse events are 3 times higher for male surgeons than for female surgeons”
Thanks Zorb6 I will re-apply for my ACC operation now asking for a Woman for my operation too, as as a man while in Canada I underwent several medical proceedures and in several cases my experiences with women specialists/surgeons I recieved a full careful treatment and recovery that was provided was excellent there, so I agree with you there.
Bottom line, to qualify for hip or knee replacement there has to be “bone on bone” – if there is any padding inbetween they will make you wait that bit longer. Then you wait for the operation which is usually within 4 months. I don’t know about knee reconstructions or partial knees. I have had a knee replaced and it has worked wonders for me. I kept off pain killers and just used plenty of athletic strapping and local pain rubs like Deep Heat. Hips are a bit more difficult to keep the pain under control. Fish Oil and Glucosomine with Chondroitin also are great for hips and knees.
“Fish Oil and Glucosomine with Chondroitin also are great for hips and knees.”
Thanks for the info Kate, I am beginning to get hip problems and I have told my JP surgery is out. At my age, it would be a complete waste of time and money. Sooner they did it on younger persons or spent the money on some poor unfortunate kid.
My hip plays up at night keeping me awake I take the occasional Panadol as I am not a pill popper but have stayed away from those other products as I was not sure how they would work. Was about to visit my JP for his advice but now I will visit the chemist and buy some of those products
I hope my hip joint does not get too bad as we do a lot of photography, well, the photography is a means to an end it to get us out in the wild to appreciate this country of ours before it is well and truly stuffed.
Take the fish oil and glucosomine morning and night – I use quite high doses of the fish oil and what ever the glucosomine says on the label you can up the dose on that as well. It made all the difference to me when I started taking it twice daily instead of just the once. I presume you are using a walking stick. Also swing both legs out of the car when you get out and when getting up off dining chairs swing both legs around as well – try and keep the hips and legs together when sitting – no crossing legs or letting your legs lay apart when sitting.
As for your age – if it means you are going to have a better quality of life and you have over all general good health, then I think you should get it done and I am sure your doctor will agree.. We are all entitled to health care in this country.
Thank you for the tips. I invested in a swivel seat for the car. My problem is I have to lift my left leg now because of polio as a child…. adds to the woes.
Thanks for your reply Kate. No, I am fortunate that I can walk with no problems and have no need for a walking stick, I feel it has only just started, well been like this for the last 2 years about and only get pain when I lie down in bed or drive for long stretches.
Thanks for the general tips about getting up off chairs etc.,
Yeah, I agree with your last sentence Kate, but I have been fortunate had several hand ups along the way that has given me a successful life. I know we are all entitled to health care but after the Tories have destroyed the public system. and now with the limited health care and money available I feel in my very late years I don’t need expensive procedures just for a few years before I kick the bucket.
My GP (not JP as written in my first response. that is known as an SOS Silly Old Sod Syndrome) would agree with you.
100% Half crown
I too am 73yrs old and feel the same here too.
Halfcrown, I mentioned Vital rosehip GOPO It has been clinically tested in 15 trials. (I could not use anti inflammatory aids other than this as they depressed my kidney function.) My hip to knee was hot and inflamed and within a week it had improved and a month later I realised I was able to sleep and sit a great deal longer and my hip was hot at one point only.
I have just started Glocosamine and chondroitin. It is not cheap, but will help as the tablet has Vit D etc. I don’t get out much currently as I had polio as a child and this is my “good” leg and I’m prone to falls.
I blessed the election, as we were in Australia when my hip was suddenly totally bad. The internet and this site gave me something else to focus on at 3.a.m.
Christmas and New Year are a “slow time” for progress with hips etc. (possibly car accidents, holiday period in general). Good luck with the treatment.
We have ordered the next lot of rosehip and await it from Chemist Wharehouse Auckland. An Australian crowd just starting up here. Norm got his glucosamine
from Go Healthy online. Cheers.
Patricia,
I too have a knee injury and am awaiting an operation on it to but no light at the end of the tunnel yet as there is a very slow rate of surgery of knee replacement now during 2017 so 2018 may be better.
My knee surgery Specialist comes from Hamilton to Gisborne and can only book twice on (two wednesdays) a month and he said last time that he is booked for six months ahead.
My knee injury was an ACC claim as it was pinned and crushed by a boat against a reef while fishing.
My inside left knee meniculus was ‘torn’ so it now feels like bone on bone and aches occassinally too.
The emergency doctor only gave me an opiate last year in may, (which I didn’t take)
I have used your treatment of fish oils and Glocosamine and chondroitin and use a floor cycle to excercise with now.
Now I have two small bottles of “Vital 3” I just recieved from my wife as she sent an order to ‘Vital3.com’ in NY for some as she saw it on the website.
Before I try three drops with water every morning do you know about the product?
Cleangreen, no not that one. I hadn’t seen that before. Just read about the USA trials and patent online now.. Try it, as it doesn’t affect other meds. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I’ll be interested to hear of your progress. Please let us know. Good luck.
Thanks for that Patrica I will be going ahead with the advice and suggestions from both you and Kate.
Thank you very much Kate very good advise.
I think it depends on what DHB you are in too.
From people I know who’ve been through this, keeping the pressure on helps. The people managing the lists are working in a stressful situation (not enough funding), but I think polite but firm persistence, especially if you are being given the run around, can keep them focussed. It’s work, but if you’re not getting your medical needs attended to, go back to your GP, get a letter, give it to the hospital, phone them, talk to the manager etc. Yes there are processes and rules, but people get dropped out because of the limits of the system, and reminding them of your rights can get you back in and reprioritised.
(and yes, that means someone else will get dropped off. If this is manageable for you, start hassling your local MP as well).
“…keeping the pressure on helps.”
Hah! I know another guy, in his seventies, who still blames Labour for all the failings in the Public Health system. His usual MO when told to wait his ‘turn’ for hip, knee, shoulder surgery (he has had all of these) is to visit his local MP (always National) and proceed to rant and rave with promises to return if they don’t sort it. Seems to work. Alternatively, it could be the fact that he has a rather well developed sense of entitlement and conveys such to whichever health professional has the misfortune to suggest that there might be a wait.
And fuck me…it really seems to do the trick…
Yes!!! xx May be I should bother Tamati Coffey LOL Ta Rosemary.
I had surgery in 2013 at Waikato Hospital. To speed the process up, my GP referred me to a private specialist surgeon who also worked in the public system.
After the consultation, the surgeon put me on the waiting list, advising it was urgent case. I had to pay for the private specialist and an MRI.
Five months later I had the operation. If I didn’t go private for the specialist surgeon consult and MRI, it would have added another six months to the process.
It seems wrong that I had to pay around $1,500 myself because the system is so slow.
Maybe you could do something similar to speed things up, if possible?
I hope things go well for you and you have a speedy recovery.
Thank you all for your responses. In your head you know you are not alone with this, but at 3.a.m it can feel like that!
I am cheered by your suggestions, I guess I worry they may not be very quick, as my doctor said possibly Nov, and I thought “well I’m going to live my life.”
Hoping the best for you
Good commentary by Glenn Greenwald about Iran.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqh0KgkupuA&ab_channel=DemocracyNow%21
I wonder why Greenwald never appears on New Zealand television….
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/1/2/glenn_greenwald_on_iran_protests_trump
That was his best comment.
Greenwald will never appear on NZ TV, they are corporate lap dogs barking the truth they want you to hear.
“Liberalism is good for you, why even question it – go back to your barbque, and look they changed government, so everything is fine.”
Never! Not even once. Well maybe a little bit.
I should have said, he will never appear again. As he did a few times in 2014 – remember ‘the moment of truth’?
No, I can’t remember it 🙄
I expect the probability he’ll appear on TVNZ again soon just went up. Murphy’s Law.
Destroy a county’s economy via sanctions. Sit back and wait for things to hopefully boil over. Give a further nudge, a push or a shove if possible. If and when country disintegrates, point out it was a basket case of a place and ride in on a white horse of humanitarianism to rip it wide open for
“free market” exploitationdemocracy …to be governed by western friendly administrations.Okay. Now I’ll watch the vid and be very surprised if Greenwald is deviating from that basic line that repeats in country after country that the west has a dim view of.
What will 2018 bring for Donald Trump? Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. One more Republican that won’t be afraid to criticise him. And even, if it ever gets that far, vote for conviction in an impeachment proceeding.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-drive-to-block-mitt-romney-from-senate-stumbles?ref=home
The vacuous Megan Whelan said nothing this morning when her guest said that
boycotting Israel “reminds some people of the Nazi boycotts of the Jews”.
RNZ National, Wednesday 3 January 2018, 9:30 a.m.
I tuned in to this outrageous little piece of propaganda masquerading as analysis toward the end, so I wasn’t sure who was speaking. I assumed he was someone from the Israeli Consulate, because he made several sleazy insinuations against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, and talked condescendingly and dishonestly about Lorde’s decision to boycott Israel. I thought it might be the infamous Dr David Cumin, who reared his head in late 2016 in order to denounce Marama Davidson….
But this voice was different to Cumin’s. I knew I’d heard him before, but who WAS it? He spoke as smoothly and with the same nerveless dishonesty as Dr Cumin. It might have been the Wellington dentist David Zwarz, who used to be the go-to man whenever the media needed a local comment supportive of a massacre in Gaza, or the shooting of unarmed Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank or East Jerusalem. But it wasn’t David Zwarz.
Who WAS it?
Finally, at the end of the interview, his patsy Megan Whelan identified him: “That was Professor Robert Ayson, from Victoria University’s School of Strategic Studies.”
Of course! Robert Ayson!!! This bloke has form. A couple of years ago, he insisted to me by email that U.S. troops kill civilians with the best intentions….
I replied:
He did not reply to that.
http://morrisseybreen.blogspot.co.nz/2018/01/prof-robert-ayson-explains-why-mass.html
—————————————-
There is something I find even more disturbing than the malicious propaganda these people routinely dispense: the silence, bordering on approval and complicity, of the person supposed to be interviewing them. David Cumin’s patsy was Jesse Mulligan, who like the others in the studio remained silent as Cumin poured scorn on Marama Davidson and the rest of the protestors who broke through Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza in 2016. I suspect this was a condition insisted on by Cumin before he spoke.
Robert Ayson’s patsy this morning was Megan Whelan, who seems to have no knowledge whatsoever of the situation in Palestine, or of the movement to boycott Israel. On such ignorant and compliant accomplices do Israeli apologists depend.
Aw you are awful @ Morrisey! But I like you
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJmg-879j5o )
Being vacuous these days can apparently be an asset amongst those that are aspirational members of the 4th Estate
Megan Whelan is one of the producers for Jim Mora’s light chat show. Today’s hapless non-performance was not unusual….
This transcript sums up what is wrong with the chattering classes.
Mora never discusses the profound issues and delights in trivia.
Yes. Megan and Jim are both extremely ‘nice’.
I think possibly RNZ are using the holiday period to train the next generation of personalities and presenters.
At times I think they must also be using it to train the new breed of panel operators (or whatever they call them these days) too.
Brilliant Morrissey
Well worth the read about the actions of twitter and facebook. Happy to promote the violence of the state. But God help you if you say “F%^k off” to rapist or their apologists, you will get banned.
https://leecamp.com/twitters-new-rules-reward-military-violence-small-time-threats-facebook/?mc_cid=465790d481&mc_eid=524e48683c
The US is fucked:
Once the US dollar loses its place as the Reserve Currency of the world, which should have happened when they dropped the Gold Standard under Nixon, the US economy will crash and burn as the world stops using the US$ for trade.
Shadow armies: The unseen, but real US war in Africa
But wait, there’s more…
It’s not just the US that is trying to grab all of the remaining resources of the world for themselves.
And people still think that we don’t need a defence force.
100% Draco I lived there in Africa for a year and you are right on there.
As I witnessed then there is a real power play of ‘international’ corporates as they scramble for Africa’s resources as you show there is again now.
People might want to check out this article (https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/01/02/the-10-dumbest-rightblogger-writings-of-2017/) – a review of the 10 most ridiculous set of excuses and obsfucations used by far right commentators when trying to spin dumb comments and decisions from Trump. It’s informative and entertaining and there are lot of links.
It’s not the 10 worst comments or decisions (that would be a hard list to compile – imagine having to decide what to leave out), the focus is more on how media commentators, bloggers, spin docs etc aligned with Trump try to find or manufacture some sense in what he’s saying and doing.
There are no political solutions. When people can lie to themselves, and other with this sort of ease.
Thoroughly depressing reading. No wonder right wingers are happy, with this level of self delusion.
The “Italian Job” is a great English movie that Fintan O’Toole sees as a metaphor for their Brexit mess.
“Which brings us to The English Job of 2018. The British government is currently like Croker’s gang – immobilised by an impossible choice while their grand project teeters over the abyss. They can keep moving towards the fool’s gold of hard Brexit, but if they do their economy will go over the cliff. Or they can keep the bus from falling by moving away from their dreams towards the far end.”
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-brexit-was-only-supposed-to-blow-the-bloody-doors-off-1.3342337
Smart writing!
You mean the O’Toole piece? It seems to be a question of how many times you can use one movie reference in a single opinion piece.
I suspect ‘hard Brexit’ (what ever that means) will be about as terrible for the UK economy as Brexit was in fact. Remind me wasn’t a Brexit outcome going to cause the UK economy to enter recession?
The supporters of Brexit I suspect didnt want it. They were hoping that there was a no vote so they could have the continued luxury of moaning about the EU without having to do anything. Now they have to back their words up with actions and they have no idea what to do except bumble along. They are probably waiting for someone to say, “let’s not do this’.
That is my theory anyway.
2017, The 4th year of super mergers.
Just thought of a slogan to keep repeating each time that Gnational gnashes it’s teeth again at the Labour coalition.
Think RATIONAL
Not National
Support LABOUR>>>
1000%
Think rational – direct action – take it back.
4th Year?
Mega-mergers have been happening since the 1980s when deregulation set in – and we’ve been told of the consequences for poorer services, higher prices and other forms of monopoly powers since.
I reckon it’s been quite some time since either has seen his own button in the flesh.
That must be his most irresponsible tweet yet.
America …decline and fall.
He’s watching the box.
That is very scary.
President watches Fox News and repeats their lines.
For a second I thought you said ‘his most irresistible tweet ‘. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. I do hope the North Korean leader has a sense of humour. Good luck to possible talks that the North and South might have which I heard about on RadioNZ today.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DSlMHArVMAARO3A.jpg
Health warning should have been attached.
Auuughhhh!!!@! My eyes!!!!!
Remind me to never click on one of your links ever again.
There is a crash coming.
And it will be bigger than 2008.
‘Global instability appears to be the big risk for NZ economy
This year could see a geopolitical crisis on the scale of the financial crash a decade ago, a New York-based political risk consultancy is warning.
Citing “daunting” global political challenges, Eurasia Group said that “if we had to pick one year for a big unexpected crisis – the geopolitical equivalent of the 2008 financial meltdown – it feels like 2018”.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/world/100298745/2018-feels-ripe-for-a-big-unexpected-crisis-eurasia-says
They are just guessing, they had a sweep at work on whether there will be a crash and most thought it would be in a year with 8 in it.
No wonder New Zealand has a problem with alcoholism.
The consumption of this class B drug is glorified.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11968990
New Zealanders told to conserve water.
Meanwhile, rich foreign corporations takes money for free and make mega bucks.
Why is New Zealand so stupid?
https://mobile.twitter.com/MPD_NZ/status/947972622804848640
We are likely to be in Dire Straits paying for not enough water for us with all this Money for Nothing. Just a bunch of yo-yos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcFFqGjz0_c
Now look at them yo-yos, that’s the way you do it
You play the [odds on the casino see]
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb
Agriculture is killing us.
And the article doesn’t mention the damage agriculture does to our environment.
‘Agriculture remains New Zealand’s most dangerous industry to work in, according to WorkSafe New Zealand.
As of November 2017, nine people lost their lives working in the industry last year – with three of those people dying as a result of quad bike accidents.
With a total of 124 deaths in the past six years, the sector is New Zealand’s deadliest. ’
https://t.co/Jrt6A6kQcv?amp=1
Thank you. Links appreciated.
Great article.
‘Jamie-Lee Ross eventually had a very nice meal.’
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/01/03/2017-parting-shots-from-the-right-tantrums-bloated-entitlements-and-low-low-expectations-for-our-youth-toru/
And the statistic of the year is…
11737 – 2
That’s not a statistic.
Thanks for the link draco – I remember the table being tweeted – and good that the Royal Society of Statistics has chosen this (or rather the 69 lawnmower deaths per year) to be the most significant statistic of the year – and one that is on the increase.
Reminds me of the story about the guy who was driving home from work and saw someone cutting their hedge with a rotary mower. Wow that’s a great idea he thought! On his subsequent trip into the hospital with all his fingers chopped off – the doc in emergency says: “Don’t tell me – but you were driving home and saw this guy cutting his hedge with a rotary mower – right?
“Yeah! How did you know?
” because I’ve just treated him.”
President Trump is threatening to suspend the US$400 million a year it spends in the Palestine Authority areas, if the Palestinians don’t get to the peace negotiating table:
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22967.pdf
Kinda puts the Lorde thing in the shade.
You can guarantee Iran will be ready with the cash to substitute-out the (massive) US aid contribution.
Chinese might be interested, too
The owners of Fusion GPS, the outfit who commissioned Steele to investigate and report on Trump, have penned an op-ed saying Trump’s operation is nothing more than a money laundering front.
Explains today’s twitter outburst.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/opinion/republicans-investigation-fusion-gps.html
A very interesting piece – thanks for the link Joe. Pretty much confirms what I have been thinking and saying for the past year. Interestingly Steele chose on his own bat to go to the FBI with the results of his investigation, independently of who had commissioned him, it was that serious. This confirmed with the FBI what they had been hearing from different sources.
The fact that Trump is shunned by every major bank in the US and has used Deutsche Bank for all his business activity, and that he has so many dealings with Russian Oligarchs (who are only oligarchs because of their intimate relationship with the Kremlin) it is hardly surprising that there was something fishy going on. And the twitter outburst today merely confirms it. “He doth protest too much”.
Interesting piece on how the oligarchs came to be.
(you’ll have to cough up an email address)
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/putin-oligarchs-children-by-anders-aslund-2017-06
yep! Public Private Partnerships have got nothing on these guys.
You mean Putin is a stinking capitalist, who would have thought…
Thanks for that joe90 @ 19
It is beyond my comprehension that so many nation’s leaders including Australia, Britain and maybe even NZ are prepared to do business with such a corrupt regime as the Trump administration. Link:
Why don’t Fusion GPS leak their own testimony then?
I guess such Testimony to Congress would be classified – and would be a breech of official information were it to be leaked.
Close, I reckon. The material would have legal privilege if released by the committee – but not if leaked by the submitters, who could then be arrested or sued for defamation etc by interested parties.
I suspected as much. But they could still release an ‘overview’ without revealing the actual content of the testimony. That should be enough to point people in the right direction and set a dialogue going.
Actually I think they have done that already in the piece that joe links to above. It’s pretty clear that the Testimony they gave would be along those lines that the Steele investigation revealed a great number of questionable relationships between Trump, his organisation, and the campaign, and Russians with links to the Kremlin. Trump has already been convicted via his casinos of money laundering.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/trump-taj-mahal/index.html
The deal wrt to Florida Mansion sale to a Russian Oligarch reeks of money laundering as well.
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/why-did-a-russian-pay-95m-to-buy-trumps-palm-beach-mansion/
to name but two examples.
These people have Trump in their pocket.
We should deal with these tax dodgers.
‘Google has moved more than £14 billion ($26.8b) into a tax haven in a controversial bid to slash its bills.
The internet search giant funnelled the cash through low-tax European countries and then into Bermuda, in a switch thought to have saved it £2.7b ($5.1b) in 2016.
To reduce its bills, Google books most of its international advertising revenues – including those from the UK – in low-tax Ireland.
It then passes this on to a company in the Netherlands, where there are also generous tax laws, in a strategy known as “the Double Irish with Dutch Sandwich”.
From there the money is sent to Bermuda, where the corporate tax rate is zero.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11969108
Just a thought….
The Scarlet Pimpernel – Madame Guillotine
The Internal Revenue Service is demanding a whopping $7 billion or more in back taxes from the world’s most profitable hedge fund, whose boss’s wealth and cyber savvy helped Donald Trump pole-vault into the White House.
Suddenly, the government’s seven-year pursuit of Renaissance Technologies LLC is blanketed in political intrigue, now that the hedge fund’s reclusive, anti-establishment co-chief executive, Robert Mercer, has morphed into a political force who might be owed a big presidential favor.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article147454324.html
To add a different flavour to the discourse on paranoid money men JK Galbraith:
https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2017/10/07/why-europe-needs-a-new-deal-not-breakup-op-ed-in-the-nation-with-james-k-galbraith/
Doesn’t that sound like the sort of thing we should be doing. It might save us big grief if we could batten down the hatches, borrow some money while it is still cheap and do something about our infrastructure. Alternatively we could continue on back to the glory days of previous laissez faire approaches and use child labour down mines, women naked to the waist etc. Men working in bare feet building roads. Old people in workhouses. The RW haven’t got any ideas about governing for the people, when push comes to shove it’s them at the front of the queue for any benefits, advantages to be handed out.
I’m sick of us paying pollies to drive the mammoth vehicle straight into a blinding disaster. They are trying to bring us back to where we should have been ten years ago. But now times are different and upskilling the problem solving to practical, rather than theory based would be good.
Talking about miserly sods who make mega bucks. This morning I was listening on RNZ to the back story of the Scandanavian flat pack empire Ikea. The guy who owns it has spent his life cost cutting, dodging tax and making it his life ambition to shave costs from the day of its inception. Now I have no truck with shaving costs, but to have all his well earned profit going into tax havens makes me feel a bit dirty as if I need a shower.
It must be a miserable existence to spend your entire life just wanting more and more and never giving a little to make life better for his employees and to support his country with the largesse of his good life – taxes to help the country to be a decent place to live. This skinflint is worth millions and is in the world’s top rich list. Good for him for being so successful but a really black score for being such a miserable shit. We have many more like him in this world and what a sorry state the world is in for it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04nmxy2
I put the arsehole Peter Thiel in the same bracket. Pops down to NZ. Ingratiates himself with wannabe billionaires like John Key. Spreads a bit of largesse around to make it look like he’s generous. Buys a swanky mansion down Queenstown way. Rumoured to have purchased other properties – probably for tax avoidance/evasion purposes. Finally signs a deal with the Key government… does the dirty on them and skives off with all the profits… fleecing the NZ taxpayers in the process.
And that’s just his NZ pursuits. What a skunk!
“It must be a miserable existence to spend your entire life just wanting more and more …”
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/dec/27/worlds-richest-500-see-increased-their-wealth-by-1tn-this-year?CMP=share_btn_tw
Pity RNZ can’t say the 2 words.
Climate change.
‘He said it was the worst conditions the area had seen in decades.
“This is my first year where I’ve had to make the decisions, which has been a baptism by fire. My father has been on the farm 44 years, running it, born and bred on the farm, he’s never seen anything like this.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/country/347422/storm-too-little-too-late-for-drought-ravaged-farms
Are you kidding me.
What the &*&^^%%^!!! this really gets my angry.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/100310666/alltime-low-28-barrels-of-oil-dumped-in-west-aucklands-waitkere-ranges
The muppets sandflys were at it again today were ever I go the sandflys are following me playing with them selves I see there moves and lol.
I have told stories about when I was young and I said when he tried to hit me I ran away some people have enterpered that as I was badly beaten well know I had fights with people a couple of years older than me but because cause of my grate grandmother Mana everyone treated me really well after she died it changed but not totally. I figure out that it was them knowing that my mama will and the money in my accounts you see at the time of the incident of taking me to the bank I did not know it was to draw out my money. It wasn’t until one of my favourite aunties asked what happened to the money and her will and that mama told her that she was leaving everything to me that I came to that conclusion of being used for the money my MAMA has a lot of Mana. My wife had a hard life when she was young what I don’t get is intelligent people around her when she was young would have known what was going on and chose to do nothing WTF.
Alcohol was used to destroy Maori Mana.
Alcohol and a deceit full society.
Ana to kai