Most of you will be aware that the DHB is set waiting time targets by the Ministry of Health, with which it must comply.....

This is a polite reminder to referrers that referrals being sent to the DHB should be addressed to the appropriate department via the referral centre, and not directly to an individual Senior Medical Officer (SMO)....

The special access telephone numbers for GPs to use to contact the DHBs hospitals are:....

Click here to view....

Many thanks to those who have responded already to the GP survey which was attached to the last issue of clinical matters. We are aiming to do better than the 50+ that responded last time.....

Pertussis (whooping cough) occurs throughout the year in New Zealand with epidemic cycles, driven by waning immunity following both vaccination and natural infection, occurring about every two to five years. The last epidemic cycle began in August 2011 with pertussis cases returning to near pre-epidemic levels in mid-2014.....