Clearhead, an online mental health support platform designed by NZ doctors, is calling on New Zealanders to prioritise their mental wellbeing ahead of the New Year to build resilience for 2021.

While we hope all people in the MidCentral DHB region enjoy a healthy and safe festive season, we want to remind our communities about the available healthcare options over this time.

The latest data from Health Canada’s Canadian Cannabis Survey reveals that there has been three years of consecutive increases in use since legalisation, and that almost 1 in 3 Canadian males over 16 consumed cannabis in the past 12 months, and 1 in 4 females.

A goal of eliminating community transmission of the pandemic virus causing COVID-19 is achievable and sustainable as a response strategy for COVID-19 and other emerging pandemic diseases, new research suggests.

The upgrade, which is being undertaken in nine stages and is scheduled to finish in the first half of 2023, will boost the number of operating theatres to eight and increase the amount of public surgery the DHB can undertake each year.

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says unpreparedness for COVID-19 and a sustained lack of investment in the resources required for safe staffing have left nurses and health care workers at Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) feeling unsafe and fearful for patient safety.

Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa says hundreds of early deaths are now certain among 4 out of every 5 diabetics not eligible for lifechanging diabetes medicines to be funded by Pharmac.

A quality assurance check showing some face masks used in the health sector don’t fully meet specifications won’t have any impact on national supply, the Ministry of Health said.

MidCentral and Whanganui DHBs will be serving patients a delicious Christmas Day menu on December 25, beginning with a traditional Christmas meal at midday.

Abuse of any kind unacceptable

Hawke’s Bay DHB’s chief executive Keriana Brooking says staff who work for the DHB, or in any other healthcare setting in Hawke’s Bay, should not have to face abuse, intimidation or violence of any kind at work.