News Articles
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...
Determined DNA hunt reveals exciting new schizophrenia clue
Date of Posting: 04-07-2019
An 18-year joint Australian-Indian study made possible by the recruitment, diagnosis and DNA screening of thousands of people in India has identified a new clue in the quest for causes of schizophrenia and potential treatments. A collaboration bet Read More...
New research shows smoking triples deaths from heart disease and stroke
Date of Posting: 04-07-2019
Smoking is killing at least 17 Australians a day from preventable heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular conditions, new research led by The Australian National University (ANU) has found. The study, the most in-depth in the world, shows Read More...
More than 500 workers protest Roundup use
Date of Posting: 04-07-2019
More than 500 workers at a Sydney council have walked off the job after management allegedly refused to heed their concerns over the use of glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup, which has been linked to cancer. Outdoor staff at Blacktown City Coun Read More...
Victorians who want to start a family will soon be able to access publicly funded IVF in the state
Date of Posting: 04-07-2019
It cost thousands of dollars for Melbourne woman Rachael McConaghie to become a mum and she wants the emotional journey to starting a family to be easier for others. She welcomed the Victorian government's promise to publicly fund fertility tr Read More...
A team of Adelaide cardiologists have successfully performed a world-first heart surgery
Last Updated: 04-07-2019
A team of Adelaide cardiologists have performed a world-first surgery to treat a serious heart condition they say could be life-changing for thousands of Australians. The non-invasive surgery, performed at St Andrew's Hospital last Friday, inv Read More...
People living in rural areas may be at lower risk of Alzheimer's disease
Last Updated: 03-07-2019
People who live in regional or remote areas may be at lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to our recent research. Using data from more 260,000 adults in New South Wales who were aged 45 and over, we found those livi Read More...
Had gestational diabetes? Here are 5 things to help lower your future risk of type 2 diabetes
Date of Posting: 03-07-2019
Gestational diabetes is a specific type of diabetes that occurs in pregnancy. Once you’ve had gestational diabetes, your risk of having it again in your next pregnancy is higher. So too is your lifetime chance of developing type 2 diabet Read More...
Study shows that HIV rates in Australia have dropped to 18-year low
Date of Posting: 03-07-2019
The number of people diagnosed with HIV has dropped to an 18-year-low, largely due to a decline in the infection among gay and bisexual men, a study has shown. HIV rates in Australia have dropped to an 18-year low, driven by a reduction in the num Read More...
Majority of Australians support the federal government's mandatory vaccination policy
Date of Posting: 03-07-2019
Joint research from the University of Sydney and the University of Western Australia indicates a majority of Australians support the "No Jab, No Pay" policy. More than 83 percent of Australians support the federal government's mandat Read More...
