System Fix host Barbara Fountain joins New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa colleague senior journalist Martin Johnston for what started out as a rundown of events in health reform since health minister Simeon Brown took the reins in January, but which turned into a challenge to stay ahead of new announcements. After months of limited action in the sector, the start of 2025 has turned into a series of sprints. The initial recording was in June; two updates have been added. 

Welcome to 2025. System Fix host Barbara Fountain joins regular panellists Gabrielle Baker and Tim Tenbensel as the health sector year starts with the surprise, or maybe not surprise, arrival of a new health minister - Simeon Brown. The team talk about what the change means for the reforms of the New Zealand health sector currently awash with job and spending cuts. We also canvas the future of funding and how a new minister might work to meet everything expected of him by the boss, prime minister Christopher Luxon  

System Fix host and New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa editor Barbara Fountain talks to colleague and journalist Fiona Cassie about her feature story "Boiled frogs, tight nooses: The making of a PHO contract" to learn more about the mysterious general practice contract "negotiation" process run under the PHO Services Amendment Agreement Protocol, or PSAAP to its friends

After a sojourn, the System Fix panel is back with an update of the last five months in health reform - that is the time BEFORE health minister Shane Reti turned Te Whatu Ora and the reforms on their head by ditching the board and installing a commissioner. The Government Policy Statement on Health, a reality check on health targets, the puzzling road ahead for iwi Māori partnership boards and the move towards social investment are just some of the topics we touch on in Episode 27. Join host Barbara Fountain and regular panellists Gabrielle Baker and Tim Tenbensel for this latest health reform fix

How well do you remember those early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when New Zealand watched in apprehension as overseas the virus spread uncontrolled in Italy, health workers died on the job, and morgues ran out of room for the bodies of the dead. Specialist GP and writer Lucy O’Hagan remembers. In Waiting for COVID, Dr O’Hagan takes a personal journey back through her writings and observations of “COVID times”, reflecting on what the virus and the country’s reaction meant for primary care and beyond. Lest we forget, Dr O’Hagan reminds us there was a time when the team of 5 million saved the lives of thousands. 

Hand–arm vibration syndrome develops in stages and prevention is critical; when function deteriorates, it is necessary to consider it lost, unless a lot of hard work is put into rehabilitation, professor in occupational and environmental medicine David McBride explains. He reminds listeners of the usual occupational health algorithm: identify the hazard, assess the exposure, control the hazard, monitor the hazard and the individual, and give information and training

Exposure to high levels of whole-body vibration, such as that caused by driving forklifts and other forms of material handling equipment, can and does cause intervertebral disc degeneration. Professor in occupational and environmental medicine David McBride explains

It's a cracker episode with panellists and health policy experts Gabrielle Baker and Tim Tenbensel joining me, Barbara Fountain, to catch up on the latest in health reforms. The panel convened in the middle of a week that started with the Parliamentary debate on the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora. You’ll hear about:  The impact of the closure of Te Aka Whai Ora on Māori patients and providers and the wider reforms; The resulting brake on the rollout of localities, the increased role for iwi Māori partnership boards and where all this leaves the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee; Tim rails against the use of urgency in Parliament (elective dictatorship) and the misnomer that is the health postcode lottery; The new health status report gets a plug, even if just as a useful resource tool; Gabrielle updates us on progress on the second stage of the Wai2575 claim concerning tāngata whaikaha Māori, Māori with lived experience of disability.  All this and more

The year 2023 is quickly becoming a distant memory as the great Kiwi summer does an excellent job of wiping the neural slate clean. System Fix host Barbara Fountain takes the opportunity of an unexpected convalescence, to refresh her memory by looking back at her editorials in 2023. The heart of New Zealand Doctor Rata Aoteraroa is in primary care and you will hear that theme loud and strong in this episode of System Fix. It's not a comprehensive look at the year - more of a fly by. So settle in and drift back to early 2023 when Jacinda Ardern was prime minister, Andrew Little was health minister and Rob Campbell was chair of Te Whatu Ora

Recent changes to the Arms Act 1983 and the launch of Te Tari Pūreke are intended to support the safe and responsible use of firearms in Aotearoa, making our communities safer. This article by Kendra Hill and Cathy Stephenson answers some common questions about the implications of these changes for health practitioners