Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

An urgent legal injunction has been filed to stop the incoming ban on new prescriptions of puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria.

Cabinet agreed last month to the new settings until a major clinical trial in the United Kingdom ends in 2031.

The drugs – known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues – would remain available for people already using them.

The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) said it had today filed an application for an urgent injunction to prevent the ban coming into effect on 19 December.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Simeon Brown said as the matter was now before the courts, “it would not be appropriate to comment”.

RNZ has also approached the Health Ministry for comment.

The move has been highly controversial, with a number of clinical groups criticising the government decision.

PATHA said it was asking for an urgent judicial review on the grounds that the incoming regulation was “illegal and unethical”.

President Jennifer Shields said the regulations were being enacted “based on politics, not on clinical evidence or best-practice decision making”.

“We won’t let transgender children in Aotearoa be subjected to harm just to ‘win a war on woke’.

“We’re taking this to court because we know what’s right, and we believe the law is on our side.”

Dr Rona Carroll – a GP specialist in gender affirming healthcare – said there was no evidence to justify this “extreme regulation”.

“Only a small number of young people in Aotearoa are prescribed reversible pubertal suppression, but for those who need it the negative impacts of this regulation will be huge. Politicians are ignoring the advice of health professionals, and are not acting in the best interests of children and young people who have a right to access healthcare free from discrimination.”

The coalition government’s move follows a major shift in Britain following the Cass Review – a four-year investigation commissioned by the National Health Service (NHS).

That review, spearheaded by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, found there was “not enough evidence to support their safety or clinical effectiveness”, and there were unanswered questions on their long-term impact on brain development and bone development.

In response, the NHS stopped routine access to puberty blockers for new patients. Other countries – including Sweden, Finland and Norway – had already tightened access and guidelines.

The Cass Review split opinion among clinicians and academics world-wide. While some endorsed the call of higher evidence standards, others criticised the report’s methodology and warned it downplayed the risk of denying treatment to young people.

New Zealand’s Health Ministry last year also released a report finding “a lack of high-quality evidence” on the benefits or risks of puberty blockers for gender dysphoria.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Firefighters have freed the driver of a logging truck who was trapped after a crash north of Balclutha.

Police said the crash occurred on Coe Road just after 11am on Monday.

Fire and Emergency said specialist equipment was used to free the driver shortly before 2pm

He has been flown to Dunedin Hospital in a serious condition.

Coe Road was closed between Paterson Road and Hillend Road.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Several burial plaques of First and Second World War soldiers have been stolen from grave sites in Invercargill.

Police said they are investigating the thefts from grave sites at St Johns Cemetery between 28 October and 22 November.

“Several of the stolen plaques were taken from the graves of Returned Service personnel who served in the First and Second World Wars, making this a particularly distressing crime for families and the wider community,” Acting Inspector Mel Robertson said.

Anyone with information on the stolen plaques are urged to contact the police via 105 and quote event number 251125/6603. Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch school says it has been provided with contaminated school lunches in a significant health and safety breach.

Haeata Community Campus, which covers from Year 1 to 13, has put up a post on Facebook saying they have recalled all of the lunches due to the contamination, but some had already been eaten by students.

It is asking parents to watch for symptoms of food poisoning such as vomiting and diarrhoea, and says more serious symptoms could include bloody diarrhoea, fevers and dehydration.

The Facebook post said the school will be complaining to the provider.

The school has been approached for comment.

More to come…

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A person has died after a car crashed into a tree and caught on fire.

Emergency services were called to the crash on State Highway 5 near Tapapa, Waikato at 10.45am on Monday.

Police said a car had collided with a tree between Harwoods Road and Tapapa Road.

The car caught on fire after the crash and the fire is reported to have spread to nearby vegetation, a police spokesperson said.

They said one person died in the crash.

The road remains closed while the Serious Crash Unit examines the scene.

Motorists are advised to expect delays and should take alternative routes where possible.

Trucks and heavy vehicles heading north between Rotorua and Tīrau will not be able to go past the intersection of Harwoods Road and State Highway 5, and a diversion has been put in place.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Minister for Pharmac says the departure of its former chief executive – which appears to have come with a $357,000 payout – was “very well managed” by the board.

Sarah Fitt resigned from the drug-buying agency in February after years of controversy over what has been called a culture of contempt and a fortress mentality.

She had been in the role since 2018 and faced criticism over interactions with and about a journalist.

When the agency came under criticism over changes to hormone replacement therapy patches in 2024, Pharmac’s board chair Paula Bennett and Associate Health Minister David Seymour – who has responsibility for Pharmac – refused to express confidence in Fitt.

Labour’s Ayesha Verrall at the Health select committee on Monday afternoon questioned Bennett about the $357,000 payout to a single employee, asking if it was made to Fitt.

Bennett acknowledged the payment was made under an employment contract, noting she has not notified Seymour of the figure.

“I don’t think I ever gave the minister a number, it’s confidential and it’s what’s to be expected in negotiations for… cessation payment for someone leaving,” she said.

“The truth is we were in negotiations as you would with someone exiting. They had an employment agreement, we negotiated that, we did everything within our powers to actually do the best for New Zealanders and New Zealand taxpayers but that was the terms of the agreement that I inherited and that’s – that’s what it is.”

Verrall responded that it was “well beyond the norm in the public sector”.

Seymour had appeared to confirm the assumption that the payment was made to Fitt was correct, saying Pharmac was a $2b a year operation for buying medicines for New Zealanders.

“Having the right leadership at the head is absolutely critical and I think the board’s managed it very well,” he said.

Verrall questioned whether it was a good use of taxpayer funds, considering the exit payment amounted to at least eight months salary for the highest-paid individual at Pharmac in that time.

“Well, you know, my views about employment law are on record and fairly expansive but we are bound by the laws of this country and we have done everything that we need to under them.”

Verrall asked if the matter had been “bungled”, but Seymour said he wasn’t involved and “as far as I’m concerned the board has operated very effectively in challenging circumstances”.

He pointed to having brought Malcolm Mulholland, a senior researcher and cancer patient advocate, on board as the chair of Pharmac’s advocacy committee after Mulholland previously protested against the agency’s decisions.

When Fitt resigned in February, Seymour thanked her, saying he was impressed by her commitment to Pharmac on its core role of expanding opportunities and access for patients.

Verrall had earlier asked about why a review into Pharmac’s culture had not been released in full.

Bennett said the report looked into “staffing issues”, and the advice the board received was that releasing the executive summary was enough.

She said a series of meetings and patient workshops had been run face-to-face and efforts were made to “genuinely not run it the Pharmac way, actually run it their way”.

“There was such a divide … I felt for us to do that we had to look eye to eye, we had to take the honesty and the bluntness of some of the hurt that had gone on.”

Bennett said she was present to “be the buffer if needed”.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Police Dive Squad is searching the water near Cape Reinga for a fisherman swept from rocks at Tapotupotu Bay.

The man was fishing at the remote location with friends when he was washed into the sea around 3pm on 23 November.

Police, Search and Rescue, Coastguard Air Patrol, Customs, Surf Lifesaving and the Northern Rescue Helicopter were all involved in the initial search.

It’s understood high winds in recent days have hampered the search but conditions at the Cape on Monday are fine with light seas.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A man who was taken to hospital with fractured ribs and bruised lungs was left paraplegic after a chest drain was inserted incorrectly.

The man had been admitted to Auckland City Hospital following a car crash in 2022 where, four days into his stay, he was assessed as having a build-up of fluid between the tissue lining his lungs and chest and would require surgery.

Health NZ’s Chest Drain Management policy stated, unless in an emergency, all chest drains for fluid aspiration should be guided by real-time radiology imaging.

However, said the request for real-time radiology imaging was not accommodated by the Interventional Radiology team, for reasons Health NZ were unable to determine, according to a Health and Disability Commission (HDC) report released on Monday.

A chest ultrasound was scheduled to indicate where the drain should be inserted, but the patient was in pain and could not be moved for the scan, the report said.

A different technique was used, that was deemed to be less painful and invasive.

Two attempts were made by a registrar to insert the chest drain using the different technique, before other doctors took over.

Dark, old-looking blood was drawn from the patient, and he began to sweat. His condition deteriorated and a code red was issued, the report said.

“The code red response was described in the [Serious Adverse Event Review] as chaotic, noisy, and without a clear code leader or any detailed communication or indication of the volume of blood that [the patient] had lost.”

“Sadly, as a result of hypovolemic shock and cardiac arrest, [the patient] developed ischaemic bowel and spinal cord injury, which resulted in paraplegia from the level of the T9 vertebrae, and suspected mild hypoxic brain injury,” the report said.

The investigation by the HDC revealed the chest drain was inserted incorrectly, which led to a hepatic vein injury and massive bleeding.

Other issues had arisen from the resuscitation efforts, it said.

“…the procedure room was cluttered, and there was a lack of code leader to determine when a code red and subsequent code blue was required.”

“In addition, the communication among the staff present was poor, and the equipment required for a code red and/or code blue was not readily available as it should have been.”

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell recommended Health NZ’s chest drain policy be updated, encompassing environmental safety, training and education requirements, as well as technical guidelines, and oversight of relationships.

She wanted a copy of the updated policy within six months of the report.

Caldwell also recommended the senior clinician who made the decision to perform the procedure without real-time radiology, write an apology to the patient.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

An Auckland teenager has been missing for more than two weeks.

Police are now asking for the public’s help in finding her.

Metallica, 13, was reported missing from the Manurewa area, in South Auckland but is known to often visit the Wellsford area.

She’s described as about 160cms tall with long black hair.

Police are asking anyone who knows where she is or with information to call 111 and quote reference number 251114/0125.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand