News Articles
Queensland Nurses Union demands change after aged-care failure
Date of Posting: 18-07-2019
Queensland nurses are calling for a ban on complex subcontracting arrangements in aged care, saying they pose a threat to elderly residents. The dramatic shutdown of a Gold Coast nursing home shows why "opaque" subcontracting arrangement Read More...
Health authorities are urging NSW residents to be alert to meningococcal disease symptoms
Date of Posting: 18-07-2019
NSW authorities are urging people to be alert to meningococcal disease symptoms as a peak nears, saying the potentially-deadly infection is hard to identify. Health authorities are urging NSW residents to be alert to meningococcal disease symptoms Read More...
Body and mind need care in mental illness
Date of Posting: 17-07-2019
The 18-year life expectancy gap between people with mental illness and the general population can only be bridged by protecting patients’ physical and mental health, according to a new study. As part of a Lancet Psychiatry Commission into me Read More...
1 in 10 patients are infected in hospital, and it's not always with what you think
Last Updated: 17-07-2019
Most people expect hospital treatment to make them better. But for some, a stay in hospital can actually make them sicker. Their wound might get infected after an operation or they might get a blood infection as a result of a medical procedure. Read More...
NSW hospital workers vote to strike
Date of Posting: 17-07-2019
NSW public hospital workers including paramedics, allied health and security staff plan to strike for four hours as they fight for increased hospital security. Public hospitals across NSW could descend into chaos with more than 22,000 workers plan Read More...
South Australian researchers trial confirm faster bee sting vaccine
Date of Posting: 16-07-2019
South Australian researchers have successfully completed trials of a bee sting vaccine that prevents allergic symptoms using a unique sugar-based ingredient. A new bee sting vaccine which could dramatically cut the time taken for people with sever Read More...
Queensland scientists unlock anorexia genes
Date of Posting: 16-07-2019
Queensland scientists have helped find the first eight genes associated with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Australian researchers helping to unlock the secrets of anorexia have found genetics play a huge role in the onset of the eating dis Read More...
From good to great: how an understanding of clinical governance can greatly impact your care
Last Updated: 16-07-2019
Let’s face it, for most of us ‘clinical governance’ is an unattractive term. As clinicians devoted to providing the best care to patients, the impact of good clinical governance is difficult to appreciate. In reality, it is far more Read More...
Face value: the surprising psychology of cosmetic surgery
Date of Posting: 16-07-2019
Australians spend over $1 billion annually on cosmetic surgery, but do we really know what we're buying into? As most procedures are performed in the private sector, where there are minimal reporting requirements, data in the field are sparse and Read More...
Australian-first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research scholarship unveiled
Date of Posting: 16-07-2019
An Australian-first scholarship aimed at encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses/midwives to pursue postgraduate research has launched in Adelaide today. The $20,000 scholarship is being funded by SA-based national nursing/midwife Read More...
Australian study shows protein is the key to cancer drug's effectiveness
Date of Posting: 16-07-2019
A protein could hold the key to ensuring treatment for some of the most serious cancers is successful, according to an Australian study. Patients undergoing treatment for some of the most serious cancers could be helped by a simple protein.[subscr Read More...
The Queensland Nurses Union is demanding an immediate financial help for nursing home staff
Date of Posting: 15-07-2019
Some staff who are owed money after the sudden closure of a Gold Coast nursing home can't afford to feed their families or pay mortgages and rent. The Queensland Nurses Union is demanding an immediate hardship payment for staff who are owed th Read More...
ACCC investigates whether baby bouncers, rockers and recliners are safe to use for sleeping
Date of Posting: 12-07-2019
Australia's consumer watchdog is conducting a safety review of a wide range of baby products used for sleeping including bouncers, recliners and rockers. Australia's consumer watchdog is investigating whether baby bouncers, rockers and rec Read More...
Influenza experts believe Australia is experiencing moderate flu season and not as severe as in 2017
Date of Posting: 12-07-2019
Influenza experts say Australia is experiencing a "moderately bad" flu season that has likely reached its peak already after starting early this year. About 300 people have died from the flu this year but experts believe Australia's Read More...
An Australian ban on a range of textured breast implants has been recommended
Date of Posting: 12-07-2019
The TGA is weighing up whether Australia should follow France and Canada's lead in banning some breast implants that have been associated with a rare cancer. An Australian ban on a range of textured breast implants has been recommended after a Read More...
Look up north. Here's how Aussie kids can move more at school, Nordic style
Date of Posting: 11-07-2019
Inactivity in school children has been in the news again with the release of a study into the health of Australian 11-12 year olds from around the country. The 1,800 person study found most children were healthy. But there was room fo Read More...
Minor fracture study packs a big punch for patients
Date of Posting: 11-07-2019
A Gold Coast Health led study into the treatment of a common hand injury is set to make a significant impact to fracture patient recovery times while also helping to ease Emergency Department demand. Research lead Dr Richard Pellatt said the rando Read More...
Older Aboriginal people are forced to live away from home due to lack of aged care services
Last Updated: 11-07-2019
Aboriginal Elder Mildred Numamurdirdi is forced to live in Darwin, 800km from her home and family in Numbulwar, because of a lack of aged care services. Australia is a wealthy nation after 28 years of sustained economic growth but has failed to lo Read More...
The federal government is seeking a review of concentrated caffeine products after NSW death
Date of Posting: 11-07-2019
The federal government is seeking a review of concentrated caffeine products after a Blue Mountains man died from caffeine toxicity. Lachlan Foote, 21, died on New Year's Day 2018 after making a protein shake with a teaspoon of pure caffeine p Read More...
A woman has told how maggots were found in a wound in her mother's heel
Date of Posting: 11-07-2019
A woman has wept while telling the aged care royal commission how maggots were found in a wound in her late mother's heel due to neglect by staff. A woman has told how maggots were found in a wound in her mother's heel shortly before her d Read More...
Researchers says seagulls carry superbug threat to humans
Date of Posting: 11-07-2019
An Australian tradition of sharing fish and chips with seagulls may need a rethink after researchers found the birds carry a drug-resistant E. coli superbug. Sharing your fish and chips with seagulls at the beach may harm your health, with researc Read More...
Culture is key when assessing Indigenous Australians' mental health
Last Updated: 10-07-2019
If a doctor suspects a patient may be at risk of depression, they will likely ask about the person’s mood, appetite, sleep patterns, and energy and concentration levels, among other questions. But understandings of mental health differ Read More...
Smoking at record low in Australia, but the grim harvest of preventable heart disease continues
Date of Posting: 10-07-2019
Smoking rates in Australia are at an all-time low. And yet, nearly 11,500 people are hospitalised from smoking-related cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) disease each year, while almost 6,500 die as a result. And it’s not just ol Read More...
Will they ever wake up? New study on consciousness after brain injury shows 'maybe'
Last Updated: 10-07-2019
Acute brain injury can result in significant damage and loss of consciousness, warranting life support and admission to an intensive care unit. A complex journey toward recovery begins, sometimes involving daily life-and-death battles. As t Read More...
The muscle-wasting condition 'sarcopenia' is now a recognised disease
Last Updated: 10-07-2019
Robin Daly, Deakin University and Andrea B. Maier, Melbourne Health As we grow older, the size and strength of our muscles progressively deteriorates. This can affect our capacity to perform everyday activities like standing up from a Read More...
How rehab helps heavy drug and alcohol users think differently
Last Updated: 10-07-2019
Around 16,700 Australians stay in residential rehabilitation centres each year, most commonly for problems with alcohol, amphetamines and opiates. Rehab is a structured, drug- and alcohol-free environment. Residents participate in the same Read More...
Safe and stable housing is crucial to the mental health of homeless Victorians
Date of Posting: 10-07-2019
A new campaign calls for mental health and housing systems to work together to better support homeless Victorians. Safe and stable housing is crucial to the mental health of homeless Victorians, a leading community organisation argues.[subscribe] Read More...
A report concerns new Sydney hospital 'wasn't safe'
Date of Posting: 10-07-2019
A report written shortly after Sydney's troubled Northern Beaches Hospital opened in 2018 revealed staffing issues and shortfalls in planning and preparation. The head of the union representing NSW doctors claims Sydney's troubled Northern Read More...
Allowing pharmacists to issue repeat prescriptions will save consumers time and money
Last Updated: 09-07-2019
The Australian Health Care Reform Alliance says letting pharmacists issue repeat prescriptions will save consumers time and money, but doctors remain opposed. A proposal to allow pharmacists to issue repeat prescriptions should be backed as consum Read More...
Physiotherapy should be part of standard care for prostate cancer
Date of Posting: 08-07-2019
Physiotherapy should be part of standard care for prostate cancer, which affects one in seven Australian men, according to APA physiotherapist Jason Crow. Mr Crow says while men are often reluctant to seek physio input, once they understand how im Read More...
Pink Elephants a clear referral pathway for women previously left unsupported after miscarriage
Date of Posting: 08-07-2019
The Pink Elephants Support Network is calling on healthcare professionals to use the charity as a clear referral pathway, after a new survey revealed an alarming number of women were not offered any information from healthcare professionals following Read More...
Experts and people with mental illness in Victoria say the system has failed
Date of Posting: 08-07-2019
Victoria's mental health royal commission is shining a spotlight on how people find help and navigate a system that's widely acknowledged to have failed. How do mentally ill Victorians find help in broken system?[subscribe] That's t Read More...
The SA government has launched a new flu awareness campaign
Date of Posting: 08-07-2019
The South Australian government has launched a new flu awareness campaign as the state's "horror" flu season continues. A new flu awareness campaign will urge South Australians to take more care about spreading the bug as the state c Read More...
South Australians with brain tumours now have access to a new type of radiation treatment
Date of Posting: 08-07-2019
A high-precision radiation therapy for patients with secondary brain tumours has become available in Adelaide. The image-guided radiation system will be used as a non-invasive form of intracranial radiation to deliver precisely targeted radiation Read More...
Dozens of flu outbreaks have hit NSW's aged care homes
Date of Posting: 05-07-2019
Health authorities are pleading with members of the public to get their flu shot as dozens of influenza outbreaks ravage NSW residential care homes and continue to claim elderly lives. NSW Health data released on Friday reveals 66 confirmed influe Read More...
Network and connect with the healthcare community at Victoria's largest FREE Healthcare Event
Last Updated: 05-07-2019
The 9th Annual Victorian Healthcare Week Free-to-attend Expo is returning Melbourne on the 23-24 July 2019 at its new home the Melbourne Convention Centre! Bringing together 1000+ attendees and 50 exhibitors over two days, the Victorian Healthcare Read More...
The NSW government has strengthened the rules around vaccine storage
Date of Posting: 05-07-2019
The rules around how doctors store vaccines have been strengthened after incorrectly stored shots sparked fears thousands of patients would need to be re-vaccinated. It comes after a government audit of general practitioners showed some were not m Read More...
Earn 12 CPD points at the FREE TO ATTEND Victorian Healthcare Week Expo 2019
Last Updated: 05-07-2019
The Free-to-attend Nurses and Clinicians Event is returning to Victorian Healthcare Week on the 23-24 July 2019 at the Melbourne Convention Centre. REGISTER FREE EXPO PASS HERE [subscribe] It’s no secret that everything that happens in he Read More...
Kids Helpline needs funding as 71,533 contacts go unanswered
Date of Posting: 04-07-2019
Kids Helpline, Australia’s only free confidential 24/7 national children’s counselling and support service, has today released alarming statistics showing 51% of requests for help to the service went unanswered over the first 6 mont Read More...
Ignoring cues for alcohol and fast food is hard - but is it out of our control?
Date of Posting: 04-07-2019
A UNSW psychology experiment has shown why it can be so hard to direct our attention away from cues that might lead to behaviour we’d like to avoid, like drinking alcohol and eating unhealthy food. Have you ever tried to stay away from fast Read More...
