Two a penny

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The Warriors’ NRL playoffs hopes have been finally ended, being outclassed by St George at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium tonight.

Needing to win their final seven matches to have a mathematical chance of making the top eight for the post-season the Warriors were comprehensively beaten 29-4 by a clinical Dragons side that went four points clear at the top of the table with this win.

Having won eight of their last nine matches St George are the form side and are starting to really show the benefits of the tuning from master coach Wayne Bennett.

The Warriors lie 13th in the 16-team championship.

Left wing Brett Morris had a merry time down his touchline, running in two tries to take his season tally to 17 from 16 matches.

They were purring in most departments as they ran in five tries to one, scoring from just their second set of the afternoon and never being in danger.

Nathan Fien, dropped midseason by the Warriors and picked up by St George had a lively time off the bench after Bennett decided against starting him at hooker.

On the other wing veteran crowd pleaser Wendell Sailor had a busy game too while former Kiwi Chase Stanley was always lively with the ball in hand.

To their credit the desperate Warriors continued to give the ball plenty of air but were met by some stern defence from the Dragons. Fien came on at the end of the first quarter and was a menace to his old side around the rucks.

They also couldn’t match the visitors’ off-loading game and the Warriors attack was also guilty of going sideways too often to the frustration of the crowd of 13,500.

The Warriors’ chasing game was disappointing, failing to put enough pressure on St George. Big Manu Vatuvei produced 16 hit-ups but couldn’t break free.

Stacey Jones was in the thick of the action and there was the usual honest game from Michael Luck while Wade McKinnon kept trying to spark things from the back.

But with the Warriors pressing, impressive St George playmaker Jamie Soward hauled in a chip kick and sprinted 95m for a try to reassert their authority.

After leading 18-4 at halftime the Dragons’ standards slipped during a ragged third quarter that was scoreless.

“They did all things very well and they did it for all of the game.

The game petered out from there and the Warriors’ season effectively went with it – a wimpering finish for a side touted as title contenders earlier in the year. . They showed why they are leading the comp,” Warriors captain Steve Price told Sky Sport.

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The swine flu virus is more contagious than previously thought and is spreading faster than the 1918 Spanish flu, according to new research published today.

The letter written by University of Otago, Wellington researchers and published in the New Zealand Medical Journal today said that every person who caught swine flu would pass it on to an average of about two other people, meaning up to 79 percent of the population could be affected.

Associate Professor Michael Baker and Dr Nick Wilson from the Department of Public Health worked with Holland-based mathematical modeller Dr Hiroshi Nishiura to give the first published estimate for the reproduction of the virus in the Southern Hemisphere.

The number of people each person who catches swine flu will subsequently infect is known as the reproductive number.96, which is somewhat higher than the number we have previously used in modelling estimates,” Mr Baker said.

“Our best estimate of the reproduction number for the Influenza A virus in New Zealand is 1.5 which was published early in the pandemic based on data from Mexico.

“To date we have tended to use a lower estimate of 1. While up to 79 percent of the population could catch swine flu over the course of the epidemic, many would not realise they had it, they said in the letter.”

The researchers calculated this by analysing the spread of the virus from 2 June, when the first case of community transmission was recorded, to 16 June, before health authorities stopped recording all cases due to the rapid growth.

Mr Baker said the higher prevalence in New Zealand could be to do with do with the virus hitting the Southern Hemisphere in winter and due to large clusters of infected people in other cases.

While up to 79 percent of the population could catch swine flu over the course of the epidemic though many would not realise they had it, they said in the letter.6 percent.

Previous reports published in Japan suggested the reproduction rate there could be as high as two to 2.

However, the projected rate here could be reviewed after a more accurate analysis of the demographic and if the public responded to measures to help restrict the spread of the virus, Dr Baker said.

However, the rate here could be lower if the public responded to measures to help restrict the spread of the virus, Dr Baker said. .

The researchers pointed out that although it was more contagious than Spanish flu which killed thousands, the mortality rate was still very low – an earlier study released by the pair said the number of deaths could be as low as one in 10,000 cases.

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Murderers will no longer be able to claim they were provoked into committing their crime under a law change the government is planning.

Cabinet will consider the proposal in the next two to three weeks but Prime Minister John Key has given his approval, making it almost certain to go ahead.

Justice Minister Simon Power, in a speech to the Institute of Policy Studies in Wellington today, unveiled a raft of areas the government was looking at including updating the law around sexual crimes, better protection for children and the partial defence of provocation.

The jury yesterday found him guilty of murder.

The defence has sparked heated debate after Otago University tutor Clayton Weatherston argued he was provoked into stabbing girlfriend Sophie Elliott stabbed 216 times and was only guilty of manslaughter.

He told reporters: “I think (the defence has) had its time, I think there are other mechanisms on the statute book that deal with some circumstances that may arise”.

Mr Power said the defence “wrongly enables defendants to besmirch the character of victims, and effectively rewards a lack of self-control”.

Once Cabinet gave approval a bill would be drafted.

“It would be fair to say there would be lot of support around the Cabinet table for the move that Simon Power is leading,” he said.

Mr Key indicated Cabinet would be advancing it.

His defence argued that Mr Brown came on strongly to Ambach and might have attempted to rape him, leading Ambach to lose control and beat him with a banjo before ramming the stem down his throat.

Ferdinand Ambach this month favourably used the defence in his trial for killing Auckland man Ronald Brown, 69.

“It was on its own time track, I have been very careful to make no comment on the Weatherston trial or for that matter any other trial.

Mr Power denied today’s announcement was knee-jerk reaction to recent cases saying the work had been going on for some time.”

He would have delayed the speech had a verdict not been delivered.”

He would have delayed the speech had a verdict not been delivered.

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Isaac Ross didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when All Blacks team-mate Ali Williams went down with a recurrence of his Achilles tendon problems, handing a first test start on his home track to the impressive young Cantab.

Williams pulled up sore at the All Blacks’ training session at Rugby Park here today, and was immediately withdrawn from the starting lineup to face Italy on Saturday in the last of the Iveco series tests.

It’s yet another setback for the 61-test second-rower from Auckland who has struggled all year to shake off the injury. Bryn Evans comes on to the bench to cover the second row.

That prospect now looks a gloomy one, with Williams’ continuing problems putting a major cloud over his participation at Eden Park. There were high hopes he could come through this match and put himself squarely in the frame for the Tri-Nations which kicks off with a clash against the Wallabies on July 18 in Auckland. It’s yet another setback since he first picked up the strain in the Blues’ clash against the Hurricanes early in the Super 14.

Williams cut a desolate figure at the training session, watching on from the sidelines as his team-mates were put through their paces.”

But Ross was definitely examining on the bright side of things after the 24-year-old was called up to make the third start of his rookie campaign, but an all-important first one on AMI Stadium.

All Blacks doctor Deb Robinson confirmed the injury, saying: “It’s disappointing for Ali and over the next 48 hours we will determine the next best course of action as far as his injury management is concerned. “I felt sorry for him, but it was great for me.

“It was really mixed emotions,” said the athletic Cantab who has been calling the lineouts with a good degree of success. I felt gutted, but without them even saying, when I saw him go down I was like ‘that’s mine’.

“The first test on the home track – it’s going to be awesome. So I’m not complaining about it.”

Ross described the chance to start on Saturday night as a “bonus”, adding: “One man’s misfortune is another man’s pleasure. I was pretty fortunate to get to start the first two and this one is just icing on the cake.

“When I first made the team this was one of the games I was gunning for. His combination with the ageless Brad Thorn continues to impress and he says he feels ready to take another step forward on Saturday night against the combative Italian pack.”

Ross certainly feels a lot more settled now with those two tough tests against the French under the belt. “We know it wasn’t the perfect performance, so all we can do is go up from here. .

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Job losses are mounting as the Government advised that the country is staring down the barrel of a $50 billion recession.

Inland Revenue staff were told yesterday up to 250 jobs would be axed as government departments are told to tighten their belts and Finance Minister Bill English has issued a stark warning of trade-offs in the May Budget, which will outline a plan to tackle ballooning debt. .

The recession was expected to blow a $50b hole in the economy during the next three years, plunging the Government further into the red as costs climb and tax revenues fall. But tax cuts in 2010 and 2011 would only go ahead if they were affordable, Mr English said.

Labour leader Phil Goff said the Government was softening the public up for a broken promise on tax cuts.

“That’s $50 billion we will not recover as a nation, and $50 billion that cannot be taxed by the Government,” Mr English told a business audience in Auckland.

“I think [Mr English] is making the situation as black as he can in order to justify breaking a promise on tax cuts and slashing services to New Zealanders. The union said the cuts coincided with an increase in workload because of tax changes and KiwiSaver.”

Layoffs at Inland Revenue have alarmed the Public Service Association.

Inland Revenue commissioner Robert Russell said the redundancies among the department’s 6000 staff were voluntary at this stage.

“Our concern is that job cuts in the public service will push workloads to unmanageable levels that will threaten the provision of essential public services like those at Inland Revenue,” national secretary Richard Wagstaff said. Normally it would try to avoid redundancies by applying a sinking lid, but with the economy so uncertain, staff were staying put.

The department, like other businesses, was having to tighten its belt, he said.

“People who used to be very confident about being able to leave a job today and getting a new one tomorrow just don’t have that confidence.

“People who used to be very confident about being able to leave a job today and getting a new one tomorrow just don’t have that confidence.

Ports of Auckland said yesterday that it was cutting 30 jobs. Public service layoffs are expected to accelerate during the next few months as spending is scrutinised by a Cabinet razor gang.

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With no change in policy, debt would reach 70 per cent of gross domestic product by 2023 equivalent to $30,000 for every New Zealander.

Mr English warned that with the economy now in what was likely to be its sixth quarter of recession, and government gross debt set to double in the next three years, the Government had no choice but to bring debt under control or leave the country “especially vulnerable”.

“We will not let that happen.

If left to rise to those levels, it would eventually require “radical steps to bring it under control”.”

– TRACY WATKINS and VERNON SMALL,

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Trustees of real estate baroness Leona Helmsley’s estate say they’re giving US$136 million to charity – with just US$1 million going to the dogs.

Helmsley’s estate announced 53 charitable grants overnight, the bulk of which went to New York City hospitals and medical research.
Animal rights groups had rejoiced a year ago at public reports that Helmsley, sometimes called “The Queen of Mean” for the imperious way she treated her staff, had wanted her entire fortune to be donated to care for dogs.
But a subsequent judgment ruled Helmsley was unfilt when she executed her will.
The hotel queen’s will had named her dog, Trouble, as a US$12m beneficiary -but cut out two of her four grandchildren entirely, allegedly because they failed to name any of their children after her late husband.
The largest grant announced overnight, US$40 million, went to a digestive diseases centre at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Centre, while US$35 million went to start two research facilities in Helmsley’s name at Mount Sinai Medical Centre. Trouble’s trust fund was reduced to US$2m and the disinherited grandchildren were awarded US$4m.
The estate for Helmsley – who died in 2007 at age 87 – divided US$1 million equally to 10 animal rights charities, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and several groups that train guide dogs for the blind.
“Throughout their lives, the Helmsleys were committed to helping others through the innovations of medical research of responding to those in need during critical times and in other areas,” the trustees said in a statement.
A surrogate court judge ruled in February that trustees for the Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust had sole authority to decide which charities benefit from her estate.”
The grants include US$25 million to create a Helmsley Centre for Electrophysiology – the study of electrical properties of cells and tissues – at Mount Sinai, and US$10 million for the Helmsley Inflammatory Bowel Disease Centre. “We now have the privilege of continuing their good works by providing support where it will make a difference.
The foundation gave several US$200,000 donations to New York City homeless and poverty programs such as Citymeals-on-Wheels and Bowery Mission.
More than US$15 million was donated to health care systems in South Dakota, including funding for advanced cancer treatment and pharmacies at hospitals.
Helmsley was famously quoted as saying “only the little people pay taxes” before going to jail for tax evasion.
Helmsley was famously quoted as saying “only the little people pay taxes” before going to jail for tax evasion.

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Not guilty of friend’s manslaughter

Tuesday, 24 February 2009

CLEARED: Mossburn man Colin Bruce Taylor has been cleared of the manslaughter of Alistair Day. A fight broke out after Taylor discovered Mr Day was having an affair with his wife.

A Mossburn man accused of the manslaughter of one of his closest friends walked free after a jury in the High Court in Invercargill found him not guilty yesterday. Mr Day, 42, died after the incident. .
It took the jury little more than an hour to reach the not guilty verdict, a decision that was met with applause from the public gallery. The fight broke out after Taylor discovered Mr Day was having an affair with his wife.
During the course of the six-day trial, the jury heard from witnesses at the hotel, two pathologists and listened to 111 calls relating to the incident. Justice Christine French convicted and discharged Taylor on that charge, citing his previous clean slate and the stress endured during the past 12 months.
Taylor had already pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of assault.
It had been tough year not only for the family but the entire Mossburn community, and he felt sorry for the people who had had to give testimony, he said.
Reacting to the verdict, a male family member said the decision was a relief.
Despite evidence the punch thrown had been "lame" there was still a risk of injury involved, Ms Thomas said.
In her closing, Crown solicitor Mary-Jane Thomas said the question was not whether a heart event had caused Mr Day's death but whether the punch thrown by Taylor was the substantive cause of the death.
"If I punch somebody on the jaw when they're drunk on the tarmac, that in itself is dangerous, and a reasonable and responsible person would know that," she said.
"If I punch somebody on the jaw when they're drunk on the tarmac, that in itself is dangerous, and a reasonable and responsible person would know that," she said.
"No-one, not even the experts, can be sure of what caused Mr Day's death," he said.
Defence counsel Bill Dawkins said in his closing statement the jury could not be sure beyond a reasonable doubt that Taylor's punch was the substantive cause of death because evidence from both pathologists and witnesses suggested a heart event could have happened just before the punch.
A second pathologist enlisted by the defence, Dr Kenneth Anderson, said it was possible for someone to remain standing for several seconds after suffering a heart event.
Last week, the jury heard that an autopsy revealed Mr Day's heart was 50 per cent larger than normal and he was suffering from severe atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries), which meant he was at risk of a fatal heart event.
The situation outside the hotel, which involved heated words, accusations and pushing, could have led to such an adrenaline rush in Mr Day, Mr Dawkins said.
In some circumstances, he said, adrenaline surges, such as those experienced in highly charged situations, could help a person overcome feelings of unwellness.
Mr Taylor's wife Bernadette declined to comment on the verdict yesterday when contacted at her home by .The lack of bruising on both of Mr Taylor's hands and only superficial bruising to Mr Day's jaw was also proof the blow had been weak, he said.

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More bad loan advice received

By KATHERINE NEWTON Thursday, 19 February 2009

At least five more letters may have been sent from Work and Income telling Mangere clients to take out loans, despite Work and Income's claim a similar letter was an aberration. .
Ms King said she believed a letter she tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, that advised a Mangere client to take out loans and pawn possessions, was not a one-off."
Each of the letters seemed to have been written by the same person.
"I do know out of that Mangere office there have been at least six letters."
Ms King did not believe the problem was systemic, but was concerned by a similar case in Hamilton brought to her attention yesterday. "They're saying the same things.
In an email, the Hamilton woman told how a case manager advised her to take out a loan with QCard, an offshoot of Fisher & Paykel Finance, after her car broke down.
"The case manager saw this as an option for me even though I would be charged interest.
"I specifically said to her that I did not want to go to a finance company," the woman said.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has asked her ministry to investigate, saying such advice was unacceptable."
The woman said she was shocked at the advice she was given and disgusted that other clients had been told the same thing. He would follow up the Hamilton case.
Ministry chief executive Peter Hughes said he was not aware more than one letter had been sent out, calling the Mangere incident an "aberration".
Telling clients to take out loans was not ministry policy, he said.
Telling clients to take out loans was not ministry policy, he said.
"I'm disappointed that we did not do more to discourage that."
Some of the suggestions in the Mangere letter Ms King had tabled were made by the client herself, Mr Hughes said."
The ministry was clarifying its procedures rather than focusing on the case manager involved, a spokeswoman for Ms Bennett said. We need to make sure that the rest of our staff are clear that this is not an option.

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$80m paid out on medical accidents

Tuesday, 03 February 2009

Patients want more protection

Compensation to patients who suffered surgical errors, missed diagnoses and other "treatment injuries" may have topped $80 million last year.
Figures given to The under the Official Information Act show the biggest individual payout of more than $550,000 went to a patient blinded as a result of a treatment injury. Figures were unavailable for the last three months of 2008.
Between January and September, the ACC paid more than $63 million in new and continuing claims an average of $7 million a month.
ACC's director of clinical services, Kevin Morris, said the increasing number of claims did not mean hospital staff, dentists, pharmacists and other health workers were making more mistakes rather, it reflected greater openness. The cost of treatment injuries and medical misadventure has risen more than 250 per cent since 2001, from $26 million for 2643 claims to $69 million for 7235 claims in 2007. "In cases of medical error, there was a tendency for lawyers to get involved, which strung out the process considerably.
In July 2005, ACC replaced "medical misadventure" with the treatment injury category, meaning claimants no longer had to prove an error had been made. "As a result, there are more claims, but we see that as positive."
The average time to settle a claim had dropped from five months to 20 days."
Dr Morris said ACC data was fed back to health providers and professional groups, who now had a clearer picture of where errors occurred and could better prevent them. It's possible that some events were not being disclosed previously but now health professionals are happy to co-operate.
Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson agreed the "no fault" approach was fairer for patients.
Wound infections were the most common injury, followed by allergic reactions, bruising, nerve damage, skin infections, damaged teeth, skin tears, pressure sores and incisional hernias blowouts in the abdominal wall which formed when surgical cuts failed to heal properly."
However, he suspected health workers still hestitated to report incidents that could trigger disciplinary action. "It's not that health professionals wanted to stand in the way of patients getting compensation, but they would fight the claim because they didn't want a black mark beside their name.
"Doctors understand they have to be open and transparent. ."
Wellington lawyer and ACC specialist John Miller said the new system was fairer, but some inequities remained. We're all human and mistakes will always happen, but the only time that the medical profession gets into trouble is when it is less than open.

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BIGGEST PAYOUTS
Biggest individual payouts in 2008
– Blindness $552,435
– Osteomyelitis (bone infection) $483,359
– Adverse drug reaction $452,246
– Paralysis after spinal cord injury $295,485
– Ovarian cancer spread due to delayed diagnosis $206,644
– Stroke $190,910
– Lymphoma spread (delayed diagnosis) $188,215
– Brain haemorrhage $182,026
– Blindness $166,219
Payouts include ongoing medical and rehabilitation costs, as well as compensation paid directly to victim

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Broken vertebra missed

– Friday, 16 January 2009

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LAID UP: Glenn Daniels was discharged from Christchurch Hospital’s emergency department with an undiagnosed broken vertebra.

A man has been discharged from Christchurch Hospital's emergency department with an undiagnosed broken vertebra.
He was taken to the emergency department by ambulance and discharged with a diagnosis of "back strain and sprain".
Electrical engineer Glenn Daniels hurt his back on Sunday when he fell about three metres from a ladder on to a concrete floor.
"The physio said, `Man, I can't touch you while you are in so much pain; you need an X-ray'," Daniels said.
A few days later, Daniels had a pre-arranged appointment with his physiotherapist.
The Canterbury District Health Board has defended its treatment of Daniels, saying everything was done "by the book" and that there would always be some misdiagnoses.
The X-ray showed a broken vertebra in his lower back. .
Daniels said he was grateful he did not suffer worse injuries. "You would have thought it would be a pretty obvious test to do for someone who had fallen 3m on to a concrete floor.
"I'm really disappointed they didn't give me an X-ray," he said. He spends the day either lying on the couch or standing."
Because of his injury, Daniels cannot sit down and cannot go back to work for at least two weeks.
Daniels was seen by a "very senior doctor" who made a judgment on whether to do an X-ray.
Christchurch Hospital emergency medicine specialist Professor Mike Ardagh said he had reviewed Daniels' file and had no problem with his treatment.
Daniels was checked and told to visit his doctor if the pain increased, Ardagh said. Doctors had to weigh up the cost and potential damage exposure to radiation could cause, he said. Internationally, there was about a 1 per cent to 2 per cent rate of misdiagnosis, but Christchurch tended to be better. Emergency departments would always miss some cases, he said. Ongoing pain would cause patients to see their GP or return to the emergency department. Ardagh said L2 fractures, which Daniels had, could be severe but would not typically cause long-term damage.
A report by the Health and Disability Commissioner said the health board failed in its duty of care for Carroll.
The department was criticised for its misdiagnosis of Canterbury man Dean Carroll, who died in April 2007 of acute blood poisoning a day after being discharged.