An Auckland hospital has started putting off elective surgery after it was swamped with acutely unwell patients causing a shortage of beds.

The Government is falling short of key targets it set itself for reducing child abuse and rheumatic fever.

A nurse who punched a patient failed to provide care and skill, a Health Commissioner has found.

A St John Ambulance trial in which nurses call people back to assess their condition before sending an ambulance is being criticised by patients.

A US government laboratory mistakenly mixed a common flu strain with a dangerous and deadly type of bird flu and shipped it to another lab.

We take a look at 10 illnesses most people have probably never come across, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).

A fertility support group is calling for a change in government in vitro fertilisation funding so couples can get a third cycle free.

Starship's operating theatres have reached capacity and are no longer fully up to the job, say leaders of the children's hospital.

At first, Asisi Kaufusi's parents thought he had a cold.

When Andrew Hedge comes to the aid of the sick and dying, a look of calm crosses the patient's face.

Mental health nurses are speaking out against brutal violence inflicted by their patients, including being punched, kicked, burnt and stabbed and choked.

I met Dr Patrick Kelly in 2000 after a spate of infamous abuse cases brought to light the horrifying extent of child maltreatment in New Zealand.

There may be a perception that cannabis is benign, writes Dr Dale Bramley. But staff running mental health, addiction and emergency services can tell you beyond doubt that it's otherwise.

A high number of people who suffer a heart attack leave hospital without all the information they need - putting them at risk of another.

Amputee Diane Smith has had 208 consultations at Auckland's state-owned artificial limb centre, yet none of the legs it has made for her has ever fitted properly.

An international search has begun for a researcher to delve into child and teenage mental health after Cure Kids received a multi-million-dollar private donation.

A plan to modernise the sharing of patient records nationwide between healthcare providers has passed an early check-up with an initial

Hospital wards need to be redesigned to provide urgently needed defences against the spread of deadly, antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

Carmel Berry feels like she has been "sitting on a barbed wire fence" for almost a decade since having an operation to repair a prolapsed uterus.

A registered nurse looked up the medical records of her former husband's new partner more than 40 times.

A midwife who stopped monitoring a baby during birth against instruction from an obstetrician has been ordered to apologise to the infants mother over his death.

Thousands of critically ill or unconscious patients have been enrolled without their consent in clinical trials to test treatments in New Zealand hospitals.

St John is failing to get to emergency callouts in Auckland and some rural areas inside the time limits set for it, according to an internal report aimed at improving its service.

Three patients lost their lives after St John's life-saving defibrillators failed in a blunder linked to the ambulance service's poor record keeping.

Working at the hospice reminds you of what life is about - being with the people you love and who love you the most.

In an election year, it can be easy for the big issues, such as health, to become just political footballs, writes Ian McPherson.

PM John Key says leaving some synthetic drugs on the market was “a mistake” and Government should have banned all products until a rigorous testing regime was in place.

New Zealanders whose lives have been blighted by the dangers of legal highs are thrilled by plans to pull them from sale within a fortnight.