At Auckland City Hospital, about 10 surgery patients in every 1,000 will suffer a major internal infection after their operation.

A baby is the latest casualty of a highly infectious measles outbreak, as health workers treat fresh cases in the Taupo region.

A Friday-night assault of a Waikato businessman, now in a coma, is another example of unnecessary violence fuelled by alcohol, a top emergency department doctor says.

The all-clear has reportedly been given to a young boy whose New Zealand-born mother fought against life-saving cancer treatment for him in Britain.

Minister rejects 'nanny state' intervention as health survey shows NZ is getting fatter, with three in every 10 adults now regarded as obese.

A class action by Australian and New Zealand victims of the morning sickness drug thalidomide against its manufacturer has been settled for $81 million.

Being a mother sometimes feels like I'm carrying a donkey, writes Deborah Hill Cone.

Apart from the serious threats they pose to personal and community health, resistant infections also carry a large economic impost, says Kevin McCracken.

We hear a great deal about Obamacare and the debate over health insurance in the US, yet there is little media comment on NZ's health insurance issues, says Brian Gaynor.

Increasing understanding of Maori and Pacific health and more funding for community health are among the goals for new members on Auckland's district health boards.

Governments ignore warnings of antibiotic-resistant strains, and the feeding of drugs to animals, at their peril, writes Sue Kedgeley.

A woman whose spinal tumour was misdiagnosed several times by hospital staff has been denied compensation because ACC says the mistake didn't cause further injury.

A woman with a life-threatening spinal tumour was told by staff she was just stressed and needed to take a "long holiday".

The 21 winners of Auckland's health board elections will be required to induce GPs to check more patients' hearts and offer more help to quit smoking.

At the 75th anniversary of social security, the system needs improvements, writes Margaret McClure.

The shattered family of Casey Nathan, who died hours after giving birth to son Kymani, are coping with the tragedy.

Mothers of sick children are offered more meals per day at public hospitals in Auckland than in Hamilton, and whether a mother is breastfeeding plays a lesser role or none at all.

A woman has been denied accident cover after she was told her workplace injury was the result of childbirth - despite giving birth 37 years ago.

A "life-changing" new drug designed to treat the hepatitis C virus can almost treble the cure rate for patients, studies have shown.

The Auckland District Health Board is in the firing line again after yesterday admitting it accidentally kept 14 tissue samples from 10 dead patients, despite the coroner ordering a return to families.

Mother-of-three Nicola Mapletoft has been put off having a fourth child because her last birth was a caesarean.

Few hospitals are meeting government benchmarks for emergency department treatment, with many urgent cases not being seen by a doctor within recommended times.

The son of a Kiwi mother is recovering from the radiotherapy which he finally underwent despite her fears, with no signs of cancer on his last scan.

Young Jimi Samuels changed remarkably after he had a battery-powered device surgically inserted to treat a problem with his heartbeat.

A 90-year-old woman was sent home from hospital at 1.30am - with a drip attachment still in her arm - in what her family say was a traumatic discharge.

A dialysis patient is refusing medical treatment until issues with an Auckland taxi company, which transports patients to and from their appointments, are sorted.

A school principal is considering lodging a complaint with the Medical Council after a boy was accidentally given a Gardisal injection.

Health experts want to target boys from the age of 11 who identify as gay to be first for vaccinating against genital warts and a range of cancers.

Charging $3 for a 20-minute hospital visit is profiting from people's suffering, says Scott McGill.

Hospital carpark operators charging the same as spots in the CBD have been accused of "making money out of misery".