Nine To Noon for Tuesday 30 April 2024

09:05 Pharmac restricts diabetes drugs amid global shortage

Two drugs for type 2 diabetes are being restricted to only those already prescribed them, due to a global shortage. From Wednesday funded access to dulaglutide and liraglutide known as Trulicity and Victoza respectively will be restricted. Between December last year and March about 5000 people started taking these medicines and Pharmac says if the growing trend continued it would start to have difficulty with filling prescriptions. The drugs are used alongside metformin and help to trigger the body's feeling of fullness. General Practice New Zealand chair Dr Bryan Betty says the drugs are a "game changer" for those with type 2 diabetes and he expects Pharmac to work to resolve the situation as soon as possible. Diabetes NZ chief executive Heather Verry says there's no doubt the shortage comes from a global demand to use the drugs for weight loss.    

09:20 Online websites targeting NZers with weight loss drugs

Online retailers are targeting social media users in New Zealand, by advertising controlled drugs like semaglutide and duromine, as a weight loss tool. Semaglutide is one of the drugs in short supply for diabetics, due to soaring international demand due to its weight loss properties. It is not an over the counter drug in New Zealand. Medsafe says it is difficult to shut-down the offshore operators, as they simply return to the internet under a new domain name. The medical regulatory body is working with Customs to identify packages that contain the prescription drugs. New Zealand Telehealth Forum chair Dr Ruth Large complained about an online retailer last November after seeing it advertising duromine, a controlled drug which suppresses appetite. She joins Kathryn to talk about the dangers of ordering such drugs online.

09:30 Cognitive tests to assess driver impairment called into question

Grey Power is calling for a change to elderly driver assessments, claiming the process for assessing driver capability is penalising some of the very people who need their licences the most. Grey Power acting vice president David Marshall says a nationwide survey of members has revealed a lack of practical driving assessors in the regions and also widespread use of cognitive tests - SIMARD-MD and Mini-ACE - to assess driver impairment. Canadian driving researcher Dr Alexander Crizzle, says there is no evidence to support the continued use of cognitive dementia tests to assess driver capability. In New Zealand, the driver licence renewal criteria require all licence holders to present a medical certificate confirming fitness to drive at age 75, then 80, and then every two years following. Waka Kotahi NZTA says it does not mandate cognitive tests for elderly drivers and maintains the use of such tools is left to the discretion of health practitioners. Draft guidelines on how to assess medical fitness to drive are currently under review and are expected to be released in June. 

09:45 US correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben

The US Supreme Court has heard an extraordinary case, in which Donald Trump's lawyers argued that presidents should have blanket immunity for criminal acts committed during their presidencies. And the first witness has testified at the former president's criminal trial in New York. Meanwhile President Joe Biden has signed off on a US$95b aid package for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel.

Danielle Kurtzleben is a political correspondent assigned to NPR's Washington Desk.

10:05 Abraham Verghese: the joys of medicine and writing

Best-selling author and Stanford University medical school professor Abraham Verghese has a new novel - a sweeping epic following three generations of a family in South West India across the 20th Century. The Covenant of Water will delight fans of his 2012 novel Cutting for Stone, which sold over 1 million copies and remained on the New York Times best-seller list for over two years. The story centres on a young Christian girl in Kerala, who is married to a 40 year old widower, and follows as she become matriarch of the family over decades in which India changes enormously. Abraham Verghese was born and grew up in Ethiopia - the son of expatriate Indian parents. He began medical school in Ethiopia, but his studies were interrupted by the civil war in 1974, and he continued in India before moving to the United States. He will appear live at the Auckland Writers Festival next month.

10:35 Book review: My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand 

Ralph McAllister reviews My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand published by Century

10:45 Around the motu: Chris Hyde in Hawkes Bay

For decades, the classic Kiwi sock brand Norsewear has provided relief from the big freeze - and economic survival for the small North Island village of Norsewood, near Napier. It now as now has a high-profile new owner, Tim Deane who is a former Fonterra managing director. Hawke's Bay Today's "Cyclone Gabrielle: Special Free Edition" has won the Best Use of Print award at the International News Media Association's 2024 global awards in London.And noise restrictions in the Hastings city centre have prompted the closure of a popular live music venue's outdoor stage after a complaint by guests at a nearby hotel. Common Room has announced it can no longer run its outdoor music events.

Chris Hyde is the editor of Hawkes Bay Today.
 

11:05 Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson

Rebecca discusses the arrest of Michael Chai, the director of a New Zealand-based company Blackwell Global Holdings. He was taken into custody trying to board a plane in the Philippines, bound for Hong Kong, and is wanted for alleged fraud in China. And Being AI (BAI) has debuted on the New Zealand stock exchange, but got off to a rocky start.

Rebecca Stevenson is a senior journalist at BusinessDesk.

11:30 Scott Bainbridge on the deadly legacy of Devonport nurse Elspeth Kerr

Elspeth Kerr was a prominent nurse in the Auckland suburb of Devonport in the 1930s and faced three trials over the poisoning of her foster daughter Betty.  Betty lived, but as police investigated they found cause to exhume the bodies of her husband Charles -  who had died just a few months before Betty became sick - and another patient called Emma Day. At the time, the case was sensational, but over time was lost to history - until a skeleton was unearthed under a Devonport house in 1992. Investigative author Scott Bainbridge has written The Trials of Nurse Kerr: The anatomy of a secret poisoner. It's his ninth book, he's also written Without a Trace and Still Missing. Nine to Noon last spoke to him about his book The Fix, which looked at one of New Zealand's biggest swindles. 

11:45 Sports chat with Glen Larmer

Dame Sophie Pascoe has withdrawn from the 2024 Paralympics, to spend time with her family following the birth of her first child. And the Blackcaps named their T20 World Cup squad this week. The Phoenix have sealed their best ever regular season, while the Warriors have challenges ahead after their shock loss to the Titans.