NEWS HR

March 6, 2018

A doctor who missed red flags in diagnosing her patient’s oesophegeal cancer has been fined more than $20,000. The Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal found “Dr H” had failed to refer her patient to a specialist or for an endoscopy on four separate occasions despite him presenting cancer symptoms. The tribunal said this amounted professional misconduct and censured the doctor, a female general practitioner who has permanent name suppression, ordering her to pay 30 per cent of the tribunal costs amounting to $21,636. Dr H has appealed the tribunal’s decision to the High Court.

March 1, 2018

Ryman healthcare ex-CEO Simon Challies now pushing pills

CHRISTCHURCH: Ex-Ryman Healthcare chief executive Simon Challies has moved into the health food supplements business. The businessman who revealed last May he had Parkinson's disease was one of a group who last year invested $500,000 in a new Christchurch business. He has also become a director of the supplements firm. Challies said that after he left Ryman, he and wife Tracey went on holiday to Fiji for a fortnight where he found leaving the stress of corporate life beneficial. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2011 but continued on with Ryman for a further six years, with the full support of the board. "I first noticed the symptoms about a decade ago, but it was still a huge shock to get my diagnosis in 2011," Challies said last year. A chance meeting with fellow Christchurch businessman Michael Mayell sparked his involvement in the new venture. Mayell founded Cookie Time biscuits and food products, then the new business Nutrient Rescue whose website cited his "drive for innovation and his growing awareness of the need for us to change our diet and our dominant agriculture systems." Mayell said this morning: "I didn't pick Simon. The universe picked Simon and me. My late mother had lived at a Ryman village in Christchurch and at her funeral last year, I gave an address saying it was the kindest place I had ever been. Simon was at that funeral because his wife Tracey is friends with my sister. "Then a few months later, his business partner brought him to meet me and I mentioned the need for more capital. Some of Simon's friends also put money into Nutrient Rescue. He brought his management expertise into the business. The timing of his arrival was perfect from the business perspective. It was perfect for him too because here was a health food enterprise which he fell in love with. "Simon is the perfect balance to my big-picture vision and enthusiasm. Business is so much about the dynamics of the people," Mayell said. Challies said he had reduced his medication while using Nutrient Rescue's supplements. At the time he stepped down last year, Challies said he had been suffering. "I've been determined not to let it beat me. This is a demanding job and I've realised this year that my health was deteriorating and it was taking too great a toll on me personally, and on my family," he said last May.
February 27, 2018

St John staff were caring for a patient when an ambulance was stolen. Police used GPS to track a stolen ambulance to the Waihola area, where they used road spikes to stop the vehicle. Nobody was injured in the incident and a local man in his 30s was arrested at the scene.

February 26, 2018

The Southern DHB has been given a three-week extension to a deadline for improving workplace conditions in extreme heat at Lakes District Hospital. WorkSafe issued three ”improvement notices” to the DHB on February 9 requiring it to assess if heat stress was a significant risk to its workers and others, and to review its processes for mitigation and engaging with staff over the issue.

February 26, 2018

More than a dozen patients were caught smoking meth while in hospital between January 2011 and June 2017. One nurse suffered a head injury during their first day on the job as they struggled to deal with an angry, drug-fuelled patient, an industry representative said.

February 22, 2018

A Dunedin psychiatrist found guilty of sexually assaulting a mentally unwell patient has been struck off. Bruce James Spittle repeatedly molested the woman in 1999, when she was suffering from a number of mental health disorders. The 72-year-old was stripped of his medical license at a hearing of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal’s Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) in Auckland on Wednesday. He was also censured, and ordered to pay $5720 in costs.

February 19, 2018

LifeCare Residences has appointed David Knight as the new General Manager of Grove Place.

January 24, 2018

The second and final defendant in a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) case has pleaded guilty to fraud in the Auckland High Court today. Saul Roberts and Atish Narayan were charged in January 2017 under the Crimes Act and the Secret Commissions Act. Saul Roberts, the former Asset Manager for Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau Trust (Te Roopu) and Trustee and employee of Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority (Te Kawerau), faced five charges under section four of the Secret Commissions Act and today pleaded guilty to all charges. While acting as a Trustee at Te Kawerau in 2009, Mr Roberts received a secret payment of $45,000 in return for withdrawing public submissions he had lodged on behalf of Te Kawerau in opposition to a proposed change to a District Plan. The company that made the payment was unaware that Mr Roberts was acting without the knowledge and consent of his employer. In 2012, while employed by Te Roopu, Mr Roberts received secret commission payments in return for contracting work to certain suppliers to Te Roopu, including businesses owned by his co-defendant, Atish Narayan. Mr Roberts received a certain percentage of each invoice as a cash kickback. Atish Narayan, a supplier of goods and services to Te Roopu, pleaded guilty to two charges under section three of the Secret Commissions Act as well as one Crimes Act charge of ‘Obtaining by deception’ in August 2017. Mr Narayan owned two auto repair businesses which provided services to Te Roopu. Mr Narayan made undisclosed payments to Mr Roberts, in return for Mr Roberts arranging for vehicles owned by Te Roopu to be serviced or repaired at his businesses. Te Roopu, a public health care provider for people with intellectual disabilities, and Te Kawerau, set up to settle treaty claims, were the victims of the fraud. Mr Narayan was sentenced to 6 months’ home detention and ordered to pay $14,000 in reparation in October 2017. Mr Roberts will be sentenced on 27 February 2018.