Latest news with #Taupō-based
Scoop
a day ago
- Health
- Scoop
More Cancer Patients In Taupō Getting Treatment Closer To Home
Hon Simeon Brown Minister of Health More cancer patients in the Taupō region can now receive treatment closer to home, following an expansion of chemotherapy services at Taupō Hospital, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. 'For the first time in over 20 years, Taupō Hospital's chemotherapy clinic has doubled its operating days and now runs two days a week,' Mr Brown says. 'This expansion reflects growing demand, driven by the Government's $604 million investment in Pharmac to fund new cancer medicines and treatments.' That investment is delivering broader access to cutting-edge medicines like Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug now publicly funded not just for melanoma, but for other cancers such as bowel and bladder. 'More people in Taupō can now access the life-saving medicines they need, and that's driving increased demand for treatment locally. 'In the first half of 2025, 439 treatments, including chemotherapy and immunotherapy, were delivered to Taupō-based patients, up 39 per cent from 315 in the same period last year. 'To meet this demand, specialist nurses travel from Rotorua to deliver chemotherapy in Taupō, saving patients the need to make the trip themselves. 'Some of these treatments take just as long to administer as the return drive to Rotorua. Bringing care closer to home doesn't just save time – it eases the burden on patients and their families. It means fewer people having to take time off work, organise childcare, or travel long distances just to access the treatment they need. 'This service also benefits patients living further afield, with those in places like Tūrangi able to halve their travel time by going to Taupō instead of Rotorua.' The long-term plan is to expand chemotherapy services at Taupō Hospital to five days a week as demand continues to grow. 'Delivering faster access to cancer treatment is a key focus for the Government, which is why it's one of our five national health targets. 'This is what smart, patient-focused care looks like. We're building a health system that delivers for all New Zealanders and making sure people can get the cancer treatment they need, when and where they need it,' Mr Brown says.
Newsroom
01-08-2025
- Business
- Newsroom
A bottle of whisky brings controversial payments platform in from the cold
It was the online payment platform that the banks disdained. Westpac's Australian parent bank refused to accept it. ASB was scathing of its security. But now, those two New Zealand banks have embraced it, and other big banks are likely to follow with partnership deals by the end of the year. The story of how POLi has come in from the cold centres around a trial with Taupō-based online retailer Whisky and More – and a $179 bottle of Japanese whisky.
Otago Daily Times
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Films to celebrate all forms of cycling
Isobel Ewing (left) and Georgia Merton during their cycling journey along the Karakoram Highway between northern Pakistan and China. PHOTO: SUPPLIED The Big Bike Film Night is back this month for its 11th year to celebrate cycling in all its glorious shapes and forms. The films will be shown across New Zealand, with a showing at the Wānaka Community Hub planned for May 15 and 16. The night is set to feature a two and a-half-hour programme that has been proclaimed as "a feast of short films devised to delight the two-wheel devotee". With its humble beginnings in 2015, the film night is now a much-anticipated film festival that brings a love of cycling to cinemas, presenting an array of New Zealand and international movies. The films are specifically selected by Taupō-based curator Brett Cotter. "Each year I set out with just one goal — to bring together the best short cycling films from around the world for our audiences, celebrating the fun, the adventure, and inspiration that bikes enable," Mr Cotter said. The 2025 collection contains eight diverse films, some taking place in New Zealand's backyard and others in exotic places all over the world such as northern Pakistan and the suburban streets of Santa Barbara in the United States. The film night will also feature Inshallah, a short film created by former Wānaka residents Georgia Merton and Isobel Ewing in northern Pakistan. The pair created the film as they rode their bikes on the Karakoram Highway between northern Pakistan and China. The result promises to celebrate cycling while removing preconceptions in other parts of the world. Mr Cotter added that the festival's goal was to highlight the power of power of both storytelling and something as simple as a bike ride. "It's a real honour connecting communities with stories that captivate us, move us, and, most importantly of all, inspire us to get out and ride," Mr Cotter said. — APL
