Wellington, Sept 19 NZPA - Taranaki and Southland remain surprise pacesetters after a wild and woolly weekend of national provincial championship rugby.

Wellington, Sept 17 NZPA - Southland midfield back Kenny Lynn's rugby season has been cut short by a groin injury.

Lynn is to undergo surgery today, sidelining him for up to six months.

New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Jim Doyle today confirmed Manly winger Tony Williams had been removed from the Kiwi train-on squad named last week to prepare for the upcoming Four Nations and a one-off Test against Samoa.

New Zealand has much to learn from an Australian programme of research on the cost-effectiveness of 150 interventions to prevent or treat disease, according to researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington.

Hundreds of patients have added to the backlog of people waiting for images and surgery during a national radiographers' strike.

By Mary Longmore of NZPA

Wellington, Sept 3 NZPA - Obesity specialists today called for an end to the stigma over obesity surgery in New Zealand, claiming it is the most effective way of losing weight and keeping it off.

New Zealanders fighting the country's leading cause of cancer death will benefit following PHARMAC's announcement today of their decision to fund Roche's Tarceva® (erlotinib), a treatment that extends survival and improves quality of life for advanced lung cancer sufferers 1.

Funding a new drug for people with advanced lung cancer and widening access to two other cancer treatments are features of a new agreement PHARMAC has reached with pharmaceutical company Roche Products (NZ) Ltd.

Waikato DHB will postpone some surgical bookings to cope with next Tuesday's nationwide strike by union staff who provide x-ray, scans and other radiology services.

The strike affects all Waikato DHB hospitals including Waikato, Thames, Tokoroa, Te Kuiti and Taumarunui.

The recently renovated Emergency Department (ED) at Tauranga Hospital includes three resuscitation bays, one procedure room and an isolation room. The renovations are designed to assist the treatment of critically injured people.