News and Updates

News and Updates
Items that have appeared under News and Updates on the homepage can be viewed below.

Related information: PHAC News and Updates

2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004

2008

21 October
NHC advice to the Minister of Health on xenotransplantation application by Living Cell Technonlogies
Following the media statement by the Minister of Health to conditionally approve a clinical trial for eight diabetes sufferers by the company Living Cell Technologies Ltd (LCT), the National Health Committee has published a copy of its advice to the Minister.

11 August
Summary of proceedings from Prisoners Health Workshop
A summary of proceedings of a workshop entitled What would a health promoting New Zealand prison system look like?

Review of Research on the Effects of Imprisonment on the Health of Inmates and their Families
A growing and changing prison population has renewed interest in the effects of incarceration on the health of prisoners in many countries

10 July
Consultation on application by Living Cell Technologies
The National Health Committee is inviting written public submissions on the proposed trial and whether it meets the criteria set out under Section 96E(1) of the Medicines Act 1981. The closing date for public submissions is Friday 25 July 2008.

7 July
National Health Committee to advise on Living Cell Technologies application
The National Health Committee has been asked by the Minister of Health to provide him with additional independent advice on an application that has been made by Living Cell Technologies Pty Limited to conduct clinical trials of pig cell transplantation in New Zealand.

18 April
Māori and Informal Caregiving: A background paper prepared for the National Health Committee
A background paper has been prepared for the NHC that focuses specifically on Māori and informal caregiving - Comments and feedback sought

17 April
Review on Healthy Urban Planning
This review will provide a brief introduction to the modern development of the Healthy Cities approach and healthy urban planning and identify the key features and methods that need to be developed to make it successful.
17 April
Review on International Evidence Linking Health and the Urban Built Environment
This review will discuss the international evidence in relation to the health effects of the urban environment.

2007

14 October
Media release: New members of National Health committee (www.beehive.govt.nz)
Four new members have been appointed to the National Health Committee by Minister of Health, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said today.

12 October
To Have an 'Ordinary' Life - Kia Whai Oranga 'Noa' report - audio version of the plain language summary
An audio version of the plain language summary of the report To have an 'Ordinary' Life - Kia Whai Oranga 'Noa' is now available to download.

23 July

Informal Caregivers Literature Review

The National Health Committee commissioned a literature review on informal caregiving as part of a wider project on informal caregiving.
This review outlines the policy regime in New Zealand and internationally, and presents research on the impacts of caregiving on a caregiver's health, employment, finances and social life. The need to consider Māori concepts of disability and whānau is put forward.

20 March
Rural Health: A Literature Review for the National Health Committee
A literature review about rural health focused on New Zealand. December 2006.

Fifteenth Annual Report

20 February
Meeting the needs of people with chronic conditions - Hāpai te whānau mo ake ake tonu is a National Health Committee (NHC) report containing recommendations to the Minister about ways government agencies, health providers and community groups can manage chronic conditions. It includes summaries of case studies on people with chronic conditions and submissions for the project.

Report Focuses on Health Services for People with Chronic Conditions

2006

January
District Health Board decision-making about new health interventions: A Background Paper
This background paper summarises the information that was collected by the National Health Committee (NHC) to inform its May 2005 report to the Minister of Health Decision-Making about New Health Interventions . This paper provides greater detail about points that are summarised in the NHC’s advice, and it should, ideally, be read in conjunction with the May 2005 report.

District Health Board decision-making about new health interventions: A Background Paper

2005

December
Fourteenth Annual Report
This report summarises the year's work of the National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability, otherwise known as the National Health Committee (NHC). It also reports on the work of its sub committee, the Public Health Advisory Committee (PHAC).

Fourteenth Annual Report

June
Survey on the Usefulness of the National Health Committee 2002 Smoking Cessation Guidelines
Consultation with users of the 2002 NHC Guidelines for Smoking Cessation was conducted in order to identify and quantify its usefulness. This survey was commissioned to inform the scheduled 2005 revision of the Guideline.

This report contains the results of this survey. In-depth interviews were conducted with key informants and a postal and web-based survey was administered to health workers working in the area of smoking cessation.

Survey on the Usefulness of the National Health Committee 2002 Smoking Cessation Guidelines (PDF, 419 KB)

May
Spotlight on new health interventions
A National Health Committee report released today analyses the way new health interventions are introduced in New Zealand.

The report, Decision-Making about New Health Interventions , makes recommendations about how New Zealand can benefit more from new innovations by encouraging better and more informed decisions about how new drugs, devices and procedures are introduced.

Media Release: Spotlight on new health interventions

2004

December
Thirteenth Annual Report
This report summarises the year's work of the National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability, otherwise known as the National Health Committee (NHC). It also reports on the work of its sub committee, the Public Health Advisory Committee (PHAC).

Thirteenth Annual Report

October
Prioritising Health Services: A background paper for the National Health Committee
Prioritisation is a central and inevitable part of all publicly-funded health systems. To promote discussion of this issue, the National Health Committee has made available the following internal background paper that provides an overview of central themes in this area and the development of explicit prioritisation processes in New Zealand.

Prioritising Health Services: A background paper for the National Health Committee

HIV Screening in Pregnancy
HIV screening in pregnancy is an important and contentious issue in which there is much interest. The National Health Committee (NHC) has applied its screening assessment criteria to evaluate antenatal HIV screening in New Zealand.

HIV screening in pregnancy

April
Prostate Cancer Screening in New Zealand
Prostate cancer screening is an important, complex and contentious subject in which there is considerable interest. The National Health Committee has used its screening assessment criteria to assess prostate cancer screening in New Zealand.

Prostate Cancer Screening in New Zealand

March
Background papers informing the NHC publication To Have an 'Ordinary' Life

January
Summary of submissions in response to National Health Committee consultation paper on prostate cancer screening in New Zealand, date Jan 2004.
This summary summarises the results of the National Health Committee's (NHC) consultation with organisations and individuals, including consumer groups interested in prostate cancer screening. The consultation process was based on a consultation paper on prostate cancer in New Zealand distributed in September 2003. The consultation document invited submissions from the various stakeholders in the health and disability sectors.

Summary of submissions in response to National Health Committee consultation paper on prostate cancer screening in New Zealand

Page last updated: 21 October 2008