A phone call by Emily Cotton's anxious mother probably saved the little girl's life after she became ill with a rare disorder.

Health officials are being accused of racism for deciding to transfer a mental health contract for Pacific people from Mangere's bankrupt Pacificare Trust to a mainstream agency.

A proposal to ban smoking at beaches and other public places doesn't have the support of John Key, who thinks it is too "nanny state".

Health officials tackling Maori smoking want new measures to ban the habit at beaches, playgrounds, bus stops and other areas.

A common blood-thinning drug is being recalled after a manufacturing blunder that could cause thousands of NZers to accidentally overdose.

Two DHBs propose to offer public hospital patients the option of paying for treatment that is not funded by the public health system.

The Crown is appealing a landmark Human Rights Review Tribunal decision enabling parents caring for severely disabled adult children to be paid.

Toxic sea slugs could be living in the waters around New Zealand but money to study them is proving harder to find than the slugs themselves.