News Articles
Global pact to shore up world's future pandemic defence
Date of Posting: 17-04-2025
Members of the World Health Organisation have reached an agreement to prepare the world for future pandemics after more than three years of negotiations, the organisation says. The legally binding pact is intended to shore up the world's defen Read More...
Dose of cultural medicine to 'decolonise healthcare'
Date of Posting: 16-04-2025
Including cultural medicine in mainstream healthcare may improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but a lack of understanding is impeding access. While 90 per cent of Indigenous people would like to access cultural Read More...
AI and 3D technology weaponised in fight against cancer
Date of Posting: 16-04-2025
Australian researchers will 'print' cancer cells in 3D and use artificial intelligence software to analyse them after receiving a $2 million grant to invest in the technology. Macquarie University and the Australian Cancer Research Foundat Read More...
Barriers to clear in private-public hospital talkse
Date of Posting: 16-04-2025
A taskforce will scour a private hospital operator's contract to run a public health facility is being examined as the company looks for a way out of the deal amid its uncertain future. Healthscope has proposed transitioning Sydney's 488-b Read More...
The Role of Allied Health in delivering Reablement and Wellness Services
Last Updated: 15-04-2025
From Quality of Life to Quality of Death As Australia prepares for the new Aged Care Act and strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards from 1 July 2025, reablement and wellness are emerging as guiding principles in aged care reform. These approach Read More...
Cost of mental healthcare stacking up on troubled youth
Date of Posting: 15-04-2025
Caring for mental health is hitting young people hardest in the hip pocket, with algorithmic social media bleeding into their lives and a cost-of-living crisis weighing on their wellbeing. Those are the findings of a study by behavioural science n Read More...
Hidden crisis in gynaecological cancers affecting women
Date of Posting: 15-04-2025
A hidden crisis is affecting women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer as treatment options vary and survival rates remain some of the poorest. Gynaecological cancers remain among the most lethal for women and include uterine (endometrial), ovari Read More...
'Reduce the misery' and get a flu jab, experts urge
Date of Posting: 15-04-2025
With winter closing in, health experts are urging people to get vaccinated against respiratory diseases, warning that the flu can be deadly. There have been more influenza B cases so far in 2025 than at the same time in recent years, particularly Read More...
'Ageism impacts everyone': Australians demand action
Date of Posting: 13-04-2025
There's a push for a national plan to tackle ageism, with the majority of people over 50 demanding better support ahead of the federal election. Six in ten people surveyed by advocacy group COTA Australia want action immediately, nominating th Read More...
Spotlight on IVF regulation over embryo mix-up
Date of Posting: 13-04-2025
IVF regulation is in the spotlight after a mix-up that led to a women giving birth to a baby not related to her, with little chance the genetic parents can claim custody. Leading fertility clinic Monash IVF revealed a woman at a Brisbane facility Read More...
Small business owners too overwrought for mental health
Date of Posting: 13-04-2025
Small business owners simply don't have time for mental health. They're head of operations, head of marketing, head of sales. They keep customers happy and suppliers and overheads paid, and complete an average of 15 hours of government pap Read More...
Woman gives birth to stranger's baby after IVF bungle
Date of Posting: 11-04-2025
A woman has given birth to another person's baby after their fertility care provider mixed up their embryos. Monash IVF, which operates across Australia, has apologised after a patient at one of its Brisbane clinics had an embryo incorrectly t Read More...
Young survivors say cancer does not end with remission
Date of Posting: 11-04-2025
Youth cancer survivor Dawson Sorby said words cannot describe how it felt to go into remission. His cancer was gone, but treatment was far from over.[subscribe] "I wasn't really able to process it at the time," he said. "A Read More...
'Forgotten' disability workers rally for pay boost
Date of Posting: 10-04-2025
Music from a loud brass band and union chants echoed through the top end of town as "forgotten" workers rallied for a pay boost. Dozens of disability support workers marched through Melbourne's city streets on Thursday to draw attent Read More...
Multibillion-dollar benefit of reproductive leave
Date of Posting: 10-04-2025
Australia loses more than $21 billion in productivity every year due to absenteeism but providing workers with one day of reproductive leave a month would significantly mitigate this economic cost. A report into the costs and benefits of implement Read More...
Tired doctors cannot 'switch off' from saving patients
Date of Posting: 09-04-2025
Saving lives has become harder amid a mass walkout of doctors who have been driven to breaking point as public hospitals struggle with millions of patients. Australian Catholic University academic Xavier Symonds says a stretched workforce does not Read More...
Doctor covering 150 patients pleads for fair treatment
Date of Posting: 09-04-2025
Thousands of surgeries, appointments and cancer treatments have been cancelled as hospital doctors walk off the job over staggering workloads and low pay. Doctors from dozens of NSW hospitals went on strike for the first time in 27 years on Tuesda Read More...
Diabetes drugs offer new hope for Aussies with dementia
Date of Posting: 08-04-2025
Diabetes medications, including a popular weight loss drug, are offering new hope for more than 400,000 Australians living with dementia. Promising research published in the JAMA Neurology finds newer diabetes drugs, including Ozempic, are linked Read More...
People conceived in winter store fat differently
Date of Posting: 08-04-2025
Hitting the treadmill or going for a run on a chilly winter's day is a race against genetic fate as much as it is about putting in the hard yards. A study by Japanese researchers published Tuesday in the latest issue of the peer-reviewed journ Read More...
Aid cuts could see more women die in childbirth, UN
Date of Posting: 07-04-2025
Cuts to aid budgets are threatening to undermine years of progress in reducing the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth, the United Nations is warning. Globally, there was a 40 per cent decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and Read More...
Doctors warned to take a chill pill and stop striking
Date of Posting: 07-04-2025
Doctors are being urged to reconsider a planned three-day strike with the government of the largest health system in the nation warning the job walk-off will put patient safety at risk. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the Australian Salaried Me Read More...
Loneliness triples women's risk of dying early
Date of Posting: 07-04-2025
Women who feel lonely over an extended period are three times more likely to die early than those who don't. Research by the University of Sydney has for the first time identified a causal link between loneliness and early death among middle-a Read More...
Australians enlisted to help flush out hidden dunnies
Date of Posting: 06-04-2025
Pining for a pee? Desperate for a deuce? Everyone experiences an urgent need when nature calls, but finding the nearest dunny can be a challenge. For those facing continence issues - be they children or the elderly, pregnant, disabled or dealing w Read More...
Doctors warned strike plan is not the right medicine
Date of Posting: 06-04-2025
Doctors are being urged to reconsider a planned strike with threats of legal and financial consequences, as further elective surgery cancellations risk adding to an extensive waitlist. Medical indemnity insurers warn doctors could face disciplinar Read More...
Scalpels down as doctors plan rare strike over pay rise
Date of Posting: 04-04-2025
Doctors will strike for the first time in decades after almost a year of unsuccessful negotiations for a pay rise they are told is impossible. But both sides of the dispute agree the impact on patient care in public hospitals should be minimal.[su Read More...
Teenage ailments linked to poor diets and bad habits
Date of Posting: 04-04-2025
While Timothy To was navigating the pressures of teenage life in high school, he had an added burden at home. With the adults in his life working, the then 13-year-old would care for his siblings and family members with intellectual disabilities w Read More...
Hearing aids to heart monitors: tech is going healthy
Date of Posting: 03-04-2025
Wearable gadgets did little more than count steps when they first appeared, promising to assess a user's health depending on whether they hit 10,000 a day. But the technology, which now ranges from smartwatches and fitness trackers to smart ri Read More...
Rural birth care 'crisis' looms amid staff shortages
Date of Posting: 03-04-2025
One rural birthing unit "teeters on the brink" and goes from "one disaster to the next" due to severe staff shortages. Another maternity service in a farming town of 15,000 closed four years after opening its doors, forcing spe Read More...
Falling vaccination rate risks horror flu season
Date of Posting: 03-04-2025
Vaccine uptake among Australians has been lower than previous years ahead of the flu season, with misinformation spreading online and pandemic fatigue also putting people off getting a jab. Half a million fewer people were vaccinated for influenza Read More...
New mums urged to exercise to improve their health
Date of Posting: 27-03-2025
New mothers should aim for two hours of moderate to vigorous exercise every week, such as brisk walking or cycling, researchers say. Getting back to exercise in the first 12 weeks after birth will help boost both physical and mental health and imp Read More...
More than 4000 complaints about private health insurers
Date of Posting: 27-03-2025
Poor customer service and protracted delays in processing claims by health insurers are frustrating thousands around the nation, a report has found. The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman received 4,241 complaints and over 1,600 enquiries about Read More...
Nurses, midwives accept pay deal after nine-month fight
Date of Posting: 27-03-2025
Nurses and midwives at a network of private hospitals will become the highest paid in their state after accepting a pay deal following lengthy negotiations. More than 1300 staff at St Vincent's Private Hospitals' Melbourne sites in Fitzroy Read More...
Alcohol risk ad blitz aims to stop overseas tragedies
Date of Posting: 25-03-2025
An ad blitz warning of the risks of overseas alcohol hopes to prevent tragedies like the one which killed two teenage best friends. The advertising campaign, launched on Monday, targets young Australians to raise awareness of overseas alcohol-rela Read More...
Dental body sinks teeth into private health policies
Date of Posting: 25-03-2025
Dentists want federal government action to ensure private health insurers can't hide behind hidden policy conditions. The Australian Dental Association is urging for tougher laws to provide more transparency, saying there is confusion and unce Read More...
One state won't leave cardiac arrest survival to chance
Date of Posting: 25-03-2025
There were no warning signs when teenager Austin Blight went into cardiac arrest. The 17-year-old collapsed unconscious at the gym, where staff rushed to his aid and quickly realised he didn't have a pulse.[subscribe] He survived because st Read More...
Doctor takes script fraud across interstate lines
Date of Posting: 24-03-2025
A doctor who stole a colleague's prescription pad and forged her signature had his tangled web of lies uncovered when he took his crimes interstate. His conduct was revealed in court documents presented before the Victorian Civil and Administr Read More...
State tops global cardiac arrest survival rates
Date of Posting: 24-03-2025
Those who have a heart attack in one Australian state are more likely to survive than they would in almost any other place in the world. The 2023/24 Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry annual report has been released, showing groundbreakin Read More...
Nurses strike for better pay at hospital under scrutiny
Date of Posting: 24-03-2025
Hundreds of nurses and midwives at a public hospital run by a private conglomerate under the spotlight of an inquiry, are walking out for more than 24 hours calling for better pay and conditions. Striking staff on Monday at Northern Beaches Hospit Read More...
The 'disease of the elderly' afflicting Aussie kids
Date of Posting: 23-03-2025
Before her then-four-year-old daughter's diagnosis, Arti Brown held a common perception that arthritis was a condition reserved for the elderly. "I hate the fact that I must have felt like that at the time," the Sydney mum told AAP.[ Read More...
Pill-testing scrapped as deadly opioid emerges
Date of Posting: 23-03-2025
A state government has been slammed for abandoning permanent pill-testing clinics after extremely potent synthetic opioids were found in Australian wastewater for the first time. Queensland has decided not to renew contracts for fixed pill testing Read More...
