News Articles
Rural mums put at risk by health care system in crisis
Date of Posting: 03-06-2024
Rural women are travelling hundreds of kilometres to give birth amid a health care crisis which is set to worsen with a severe shortage of specialists and midwives. Public maternity units across regional NSW are under enormous pressure, putting pa Read More...
Nations approve steps to better prepare for pandemics
Date of Posting: 02-06-2024
The World Health Organisation's member countries have approved a series of steps to improve global preparedness for and response to pandemics like COVID-19 and mpox. Nations agreed to amend the International Health Regulations, which were adop Read More...
Hospital crisis sees elective surgeries cancelled
Date of Posting: 02-06-2024
South Australia's emergency departments are in crisis, with staggering wait times on the first day of winter as respiratory illnesses including COVID-19 sweep the state. A system-wide 'code yellow' was declared for the state's publ Read More...
Nurses' staffing shortfall fight thrown out of court
Date of Posting: 31-05-2024
Nurses have lost a legal fight over claims of staffing shortfalls at public hospitals, with a judge throwing out a union bid to have the NSW government hit with penalties for understaffing. The NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association launch Read More...
Contact tracing ongoing in Queensland monkeypox cluster
Date of Posting: 30-05-2024
Ten linked cases of monkeypox have been recorded in Queensland with contact tracing underway by health authorities. The cluster is the largest recorded in the state but it is not linked to an outbreak found in Victoria last month.[subscribe] A Read More...
Hope in heartbreak as birth trauma report ushers change
Date of Posting: 30-05-2024
After her stillborn daughter Bella was taken away, Naomi Bowden had to stay in a maternity ward surrounded by labouring women and crying newborns. Then, at a six-week check-up, she was asked where her baby was by a healthcare worker who had not re Read More...
Gut health identified in combating Parkinson's disease
Last Updated: 29-05-2024
Australian researchers hope to slow or stop the progression of Parkinson's disease by targeting the gut rather than the brain. A Queensland University of Technology team has been awarded $4 million for the four-year trial that will look at com Read More...
More young women in ice rehab as health system buckles
Date of Posting: 29-05-2024
Young rural women are increasingly seeking help for ice addiction, but frontline workers say access to rehab has not improved since a landmark report on the use of the drug. Health workers had told state Labor MP Trish Doyle the use of ice was &qu Read More...
New hope to cut side effects of anti-psychotic drugs
Date of Posting: 27-05-2024
A new coating for anti-psychotic drugs mitigates weight gain as a side effect and boosts serotonin levels, offering the potential to change lives, researchers say. Researchers at the University of South Australia tested Lurasidone, a drug used in Read More...
Stop body shaming kids playing sport
Date of Posting: 26-05-2024
Swimmer Libby Trickett was training for the Commonwealth Games when a picture of her next to a confirmed drug cheat appeared on the front page of a newspaper, comparing and contrasting their bodies. "The intimation was that I was on drugs and Read More...
Pandemic treaty stalled as nations disagree on response
Date of Posting: 26-05-2024
A global treaty to fight pandemics such as Covid-19 is on hold after more than two years of negotiations as countries disagree how the world might respond to the next health emergency. After COVID-19 triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended e Read More...
Second US dairy worker infected with bird flu confirmed
Date of Posting: 23-05-2024
A second human case of bird flu has been confirmed in the United States since the virus was first detected in dairy cattle in late March, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. The infection of a dairy worker in Michigan expands t Read More...
Cardiac surgery suspended at major Melbourne hospital
Date of Posting: 23-05-2024
Cardiac surgery at one of Melbourne's busiest hospitals has been temporarily suspended due to a bypass equipment fault. Staff became aware of a technical issue involving a cardiopulmonary bypass machine at The Austin Hospital in Melbourne' Read More...
Dangerous replicas of weight-loss drug Ozempic banned
Date of Posting: 23-05-2024
Replica injectable weight-loss drugs will be banned to protect Australians from severe side effects that have led to hospitalisation. Medications that mimic appetite suppressant diabetes drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro will be prohibited from October.[ Read More...
New report outlines dementia breakthroughs over 25 years
Last Updated: 23-05-2024
A new report has highlighted more than 380 cutting edge research projects funded by more than $31 million from Dementia Australia Research Foundation, as it marks 25 years of support. In the report, More than a cure: 25 years of impact, specific p Read More...
The aged care facility creating best selling authors
Date of Posting: 23-05-2024
Proving age is no barrier to fulfilling your dreams, nor is moving into aged care, one residential community has read the room, that includes not one but two published authors, introducing a refurbished library and dedicating writing sanctuary. Be Read More...
What are the key highlights of the 2024 Australian Federal Budget regarding healthcare for the elder
Date of Posting: 22-05-2024
The 2024 Australian Federal Budget, announced on 14th May, unveiled a comprehensive plan to bolster healthcare services for older people, focusing on initiatives to support aging Australians in maintaining their independence and well-being. Here are Read More...
Spike in nightmares could be lupus warning sign
Date of Posting: 21-05-2024
A rise in the frequency of hallucinations and nightmares could be an early warning sign of autoimmune diseases like lupus, according to a study. Researchers called for doctors to ask about nightmares in the hope it could help detect when symptoms Read More...
Additional deaths probed after hospital failure claims
Date of Posting: 21-05-2024
More than 60 deaths at a major hospital will be examined after irregularities were found during investigations into accusations records were altered and legal reporting requirements not followed. Six deaths at Tasmania's Launceston General Hos Read More...
UK's blood scandal report 'a day of shame', says PM
Date of Posting: 21-05-2024
An infected blood scandal in Britain was no accident but the fault of doctors and a succession of governments that led to 3000 deaths and thousands more contracting hepatitis or HIV, a public inquiry has reported. Inquiry chair Brian Langstaff sai Read More...
Breast tissue 'breakthrough' to aid cancer research
Date of Posting: 20-05-2024
Researchers say they have managed to keep breast cancer tissue viable for at least a week outside of the human body, paving the way for enhanced cancer treatments. A new study, funded by the Prevent Breast Cancer charity, found breast tissue could Read More...
Thousands of nurses to vote on government pay offer
Date of Posting: 20-05-2024
Thousands of Victorian nurses will stop all industrial action if they vote in favour of a new "improved" pay offer from the state government. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation members closed one in four hospital beds and cancel Read More...
Health system under pressure as hospital data released
Date of Posting: 20-05-2024
Nearly half the patients arriving by ambulance to Queensland emergency departments are waiting more than 30 minutes on stretchers to be admitted. The latest public hospital performance data for January, February and March, showed 54.5 per cent of Read More...
Push-ups press the message of suicide prevention
Date of Posting: 19-05-2024
Thomas Halloran was the life of the party. A cheeky, fun-loving spirit who took life by the horns. Which is why his suicide at the age of 22 came as an unimaginable shock to his loved ones, including his older sister Annie Halloran.[subscribe] Read More...
Wastewater reveals divide in alcohol consumption
Date of Posting: 19-05-2024
Alcohol consumption is decreasing across the country, but city-dwellers are curbing their drinking at higher rates than their regional counterparts, a study has found. Wastewater samples from 50 sites across the country, collected over the past se Read More...
Funding package to help women who suffer miscarriages
Date of Posting: 19-05-2024
Women who experience miscarriage will receive bereavement support and boosted follow-up care through $9.5 million in new federal government funding. The support package will also address gaps in data to understand more about miscarriage, Assistant Read More...
Nurses close beds as 'fruitful' pay talks continue
Date of Posting: 17-05-2024
Victorian nurses have closed one in four hospital beds, forcing some surgeries to be cancelled, as they continue to negotiate for for better pay and conditions. Talks between the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Victorian Hospit Read More...
Prescriptions company MediSecure hacked in major breach
Date of Posting: 17-05-2024
Federal police are investigating a large-scale hack at electronic prescriptions provider MediSecure. In a statement on Thursday, MediSecure confirmed it identified a cyber security breach involving the personal and health information of individual Read More...
More nurses for NSW hospitals in staffing boost
Date of Posting: 16-05-2024
More frontline healthcare workers in NSW hospitals will deliver better one-on-one patient care and improve minimum staffing levels on shifts. A state government initiative to provide improved safe staffing levels is under way with two major Sydney Read More...
Blood proteins 'could warn of cancer before diagnosis'
Date of Posting: 16-05-2024
Researchers have discovered proteins in the blood that could warn people of cancer more than seven years before it is diagnosed. The scientists identified 618 proteins linked to 19 types of cancer including bowel, prostate and breast cancers.[subs Read More...
Review sparked after three deaths at mental health unit
Date of Posting: 16-05-2024
Queensland's mental health services have come under fire after multiple deaths at a Brisbane hospital. An independent review has been launched after three people died by suicide in the past 16 months at Prince Charles Hospital's mental hea Read More...
Six deaths under review after hospital failure claims
Date of Posting: 15-05-2024
Six deaths at a major hospital have been referred to the coroner for investigation after allegations records were altered and legal reporting requirements not followed. Tasmania's health department launched a review after a Launceston General Read More...
Surgery wait lists slashed for children
Date of Posting: 15-05-2024
Wait times for overdue elective surgeries have been slashed for children in NSW after more than 1000 were left for too long without planned procedures. The state's biggest children's hospitals reported a 92 per cent reduction in over Read More...
Internet use linked to higher wellbeing, study finds
Date of Posting: 14-05-2024
Using the internet may be good for your wellbeing, an international study has found. The findings suggest that despite popular concerns to the contrary, the association between internet use and wellbeing is likely to be positive.[subscribe] Res Read More...
Minister's plea before nurse and ambo industrial action
Date of Posting: 14-05-2024
Victoria's health minister is urging nurses and paramedics to resolve enterprise agreement issues quickly, with unions poised to ramp up industrial action. Mary-Anne Thomas says it's crucial patient safety isn't impacted by the looming Read More...
Kids reeling as bullying, screen time take heavy toll
Date of Posting: 14-05-2024
Bullying and too much screen time are a major cause of mounting mental health issues among children, sparking alarm for parents already struggling with cost-of-living pressures. More than half of Australian parents are seriously concerned about th Read More...
Cheaper drugs for cancer, kidney disease patients
Date of Posting: 13-05-2024
Australians with endometrial cancer or chronic kidney disease will benefit from new government subsides for key drugs. Dostarlimab, which is used in combination with chemotherapy to treat endometrial cancer, and Difelikefalin, which is offer Read More...
Aussies in the dark on major heart attack risk factor
Date of Posting: 13-05-2024
One moment, 24-year-old economics graduate Geoff Lester was refereeing a social basketball game in Brisbane with friends while making plans to move to London to become a "big banker wanker". Two hours later, he was going under the knife Read More...
Elective surgery target slashed by Victorian government
Date of Posting: 13-05-2024
A key target for 240,000 Victorians to go under the knife for elective surgery each year is no more, with the state government quietly moving the goal-posts. In 2022, the Andrews Labor government boldly set itself a target to carry out 240,000 ele Read More...
Reforms target scrutiny of fertility clinic services
Date of Posting: 12-05-2024
Assisted reproductive technology companies will face greater scrutiny and regulation under laws proposed by the Queensland government. The state health service will be able to enter and inspect premises, put conditions on licences and even suspend Read More...
