Free flu vaccinations are in the pipeline for children under the age of 5 after an alarming number of toddlers ended up in hospital last winter.

With winter just three months away, the National Influenza Specialist Group aims to have 25 per cent of the population immunised. It is focusing on people who are at risk of being severely affected by the disease.

Government agencies are assessing the legality of a diet that promises people they will lose up to half a kilo a day by using a fertility hormone banned in the US.

A test which could have prevented hospital staff - who were checking the hearing of thousands of newborns - from screening their own ears was not used because it cost too much.

A law change this year means the Ministry of Health can now provide on-the-spot testing of illegal substances at venues across NZ. A number of providers are being trained in the use of reagents and field equipment to prevent harm from illegal drugs. Video / NZ Herald

Parents around the country should be given consistent advice about safe sleeping practices with their newborns.

The parents of a 6-week-old girl who died of whooping cough say they wish they had known the threat to their baby before they took her home from hospital.

An amputee says if it were not for synthetic cannabis he would have to take 27 pills a day for chronic pain.

A man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia tried to kill his brother-in-law days after being released from a mental health unit at Auckland Hospital.

The Government is more interested in Prince Charles' visit than in finding ways to combat the "major epidemic" of diabetes, nutrition and diabetes expert Prof Jim Mann says.

Newborns and unborn babies in later pregnancy have been dying in South Auckland at a higher rate than the national average for most of the past decade.

A champion bodybuilder has vowed to fight charges that he was behind a nationwide steroid dealing operation.

A champion bodybuilder is in custody accused of running a steroid dealing operation.

A big "explosion" over a year in bedbug infestations is being blamed on the hard-to-kill pests hitching rides to Auckland on increasing numbers of world travellers.

Legal high manufacturers will face huge application fees and testing costs for each product they want to sell, and eight years jail for selling banned substances.

A victim of a faulty hip replacement is not confident an inquiry will be launched into the implants, despite more Kiwis finding out their replacements could be faulty.

Residents of an understaffed rest home near Christchurch suffered from dehydration and weight loss, according to an official audit.

A health authority has taken charge of an Auckland rest home after planning and management failings amounting to "evidence of neglect".

The Govt is being urged to do more to ensure children are sun-safe at school after a study found just half of primary schools were working towards providing adequate shade.

Ambulances will no longer be sent to minor 111 calls as part of sweeping changes to help stem St John's $15 million-a-year loss.