The two mental health patients appealing against a hospital-wide smoking ban had significant disorders which would make them irritable whether they were allowed to smoke or not, the High Court at Auckland has heard.

The Waitemata District Health Board is defending its ban on smoking in its acute mental health units, saying it’s about "changing the culture".

Autistic boy Cameron Voice gets rattled by noisy classrooms and crowds.

A legal-high advocacy group says it empathises with Southland parents concerned about their children using synthetic cannabis.

The medical care of an elderly woman who died in Tauranga Hospital has been criticised by the Health and Disability Commissioner.Doctors failed to diagnose an abdominal hernia with bowel obstruction, and the woman died of a brain...

Staff at Tauranga Hospital missed a diagnosis of hernia and bowel obstruction in a 78-year-old woman for three days, the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) said.

A nurse and two patients challenging a DHB ban on smoking in acute mental health units say it is a matter of "human dignity".

A former mental health patient, who was denied the right to smoke, believes allowing addicted patients to smoke has far more positives than negatives.A judicial review of a smoking ban in an acute mental health facility is set to...

An increasing number of female medical specialists is putting district health boards under growing pressure because women work less than men, a senior doctors' advocate says.

The Auckland High Court will this morning begin hearing a case challenging the Waitemata District Health Board's ban on smoking.

An Australian law firm is calling on New Zealanders to get involved in a US class action if they think they have developed cancer by taking diabetes pills.

Powerhoop class What is it? A workout with a hoop-like device. Kids can join in, too, using smaller hoops. What's needed? Your own powerhoop (or hire one), gym gear, water. The experience:

British television presenter Kirstie Allsopp and her two sisters all face Angelina Jolie's breast cancer dilemma.Kirstie Allsopp, the Location, Location, Location presenter, says her 32-year-old sister, Sofie, had a double mastectomy...

A young father-of-three is learning to walk again after a terrifying battle with the deadly flesh-eating disease necrotising fasciitis.

A young father-of-three is learning to walk again after a terrifying battle with the deadly flesh-eating disease necrotising fasciitis.