News Articles
Doctors wasting too much time on bureaucratic red tape
Date of Posting: 06-06-2023
GPs waste too much time on bureaucratic red tape using non-standardised templates and outdated data-sharing that should be spent on patient care. Improving collaboration between general practices, other specialists and hospitals would streamline t Read More...
Billion-dollar health and hospital grants 'ineffective'
Date of Posting: 06-06-2023
The federal health department's management of grants worth $2 billion under the Morrison government has been slammed for "deliberate breaches" of legal requirements. A scathing auditor-general's report released on Monday found th Read More...
World-first trial for pediatric brain cancer
Date of Posting: 05-06-2023
Charlotte Wyse was just fifteen months old when doctors found a large, malignant tumour on her brain. Known as paediatric ependymoma, the rare and devastating cancer is the third most common brain tumour in children.[subscribe] Charlotte endure Read More...
Qld nursing, midwifery students to get $5k rural bonus
Date of Posting: 04-06-2023
Queensland nursing and midwifery students in their final year will receive a $5000 payment if they undertake a placement at a regional or rural hospital. The state government has set aside $22 million for the payments in the 2023/24 budget, which Read More...
Parents urged to be on winter alert for deadly virus
Date of Posting: 04-06-2023
Parents are advised to look out for signs of breathing problems in young children over winter, with a report highlighting the deadly risks from a mostly unknown seasonal virus. The report found RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is responsible f Read More...
NSW meningococcal alert after person dies from disease
Date of Posting: 04-06-2023
People in NSW should be on alert for meningococcal symptoms after a Sydneysider died from the disease. NSW Health on Sunday confirmed a person in their 50s died from meningococcal, while a Sydney teen and a person in their 60s from the Central Coa Read More...
End of gay donor ban to drive life-saving plasma surge
Date of Posting: 03-06-2023
David Imber will be one of the first lining up to give life-saving blood plasma when decades-long restrictions on donations are lifted for gay and bisexual men in Australia. The deputy chair of the Victorian Pride Centre remembers growing up durin Read More...
Teenage smoking rates triple as vape crackdown looms
Date of Posting: 03-06-2023
Teenage smoking rates have increased for the first time in 25 years as the federal government prepares to crack the whip on vape use. Data from the Department of Health shows the proportion of smokers aged 14 to 17 had fallen to 2.1 per cent in 20 Read More...
Backflip over health worker COVID-19 bonus bungle
Date of Posting: 03-06-2023
More than 500 health workers given a $1000 coronavirus bonus payment in error will get to keep it after Tasmania's government backflipped on a repayment directive. On Thursday morning, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the department of health was Read More...
Report on second Melbourne safe injecting room complete
Date of Posting: 01-06-2023
A long-awaited report on a proposed second supervised injecting room in Melbourne has been handed to government, but it isn't being released immediately. Former Victoria Police commissioner Ken Lay delivered his final report on a possible tria Read More...
PM backs in prescription change amid pharmacy anger
Date of Posting: 01-06-2023
The prime minister defended changes to the amount of prescription medicines patients can receive, following criticism from the opposition and pharmacists. Under planned changes, up to six million people will be able to buy two months' worth of Read More...
Bold cigarette warnings on table to stub out smoking
Date of Posting: 01-06-2023
Individual cigarettes could have health warning labels under reforms designed to stamp out smoking. Health Minister Mark Butler revealed the government's ambitious plan to overhaul tobacco controls and reduce smoking rates to less than five pe Read More...
Mental health emergency call-out reforms on ice
Date of Posting: 31-05-2023
A plan for Victorian paramedics to take the lead on emergency mental health call-outs has been put on hold over fears it would increase pressure on ambulance services. The final report of a royal commission into Victoria's mental health system Read More...
'It's simple': calls for protections for NSW doctors
Date of Posting: 31-05-2023
The peak NSW health body is calling for doctors to be awarded the same protections from aggressive patients as emergency workers. In an amendment to the NSW crimes act last year, frontline emergency and health workers were given increased safeguar Read More...
Air in childcare settings heavy with plastic pollution
Date of Posting: 31-05-2023
The air inside Australian homes and offices is loaded with microplastic pollution but childcare centres are the worst of all, a new study suggests. Griffith University researchers have taken a forensic look at air quality in indoor environments wh Read More...
Age bias linked to delayed bowel cancer diagnosis
Date of Posting: 30-05-2023
Younger people with bowel cancer symptoms may make 10 or more visits to a GP before finally being diagnosed due to age bias, experts say. People aged 25 to 44 are more likely to be diagnosed with the deadly disease at later stages as GPs often hav Read More...
Study spotlights vaccine benefit for Indigenous people
Date of Posting: 30-05-2023
Indigenous people at higher risk of developing respiratory infections are being urged to keep up-to-date with COVID-19 boosters, as a study finds its effectiveness against serious disease. The study, conducted by researchers at the Menzies School Read More...
Multiple sclerosis numbers climb by 30 per cent
Date of Posting: 30-05-2023
Multiple Sclerosis cases in Australia have risen by 30 per cent over a four year period. The latest data shows that 33,335 Australians were living with MS in 2021, an increase of 30 per cent over the four years since the previous update in 2017 (2 Read More...
NSW health workers take action over stalled pay rises
Date of Posting: 29-05-2023
NSW paramedics, nurses and other health workers are ramping up their industrial action, impatient that a promised pay hike has failed to materialise two months after Labor was swept to power. Scrapping the three per cent public sector wage cap was Read More...
Vapers urged to see health risks through the haze
Last Updated: 29-05-2023
Young Victorians are being told to see through the haze as part of the largest anti-vaping campaign in Australia's history. A new Quit campaign highlighting the risks of vaping has been launched alongside research by Cancer Council Victoria Read More...
Horses offer 'magnetic' calm for rehabilitation clients
Date of Posting: 28-05-2023
In the hills north of Brisbane, a mental health and addiction treatment centre is home to a group of four-legged staff who can calm clients just by their presence. The health benefits of animal therapy, alongside other treatment methods, for peopl Read More...
WA nurses union fined $350,000 over strike for pay rise
Date of Posting: 28-05-2023
The nurses union has copped a $350,000 fine for organising a strike during which thousands of West Australian health workers fought for better pay and conditions. About 3000 nurses and midwives walked off the job at hospitals across the state on N Read More...
Heavy metals, nicotine, arsenic in retail vape products
Date of Posting: 27-05-2023
Widely available vape products have been found to contain toxic heavy metals, carcinogens and nicotine, according to new tests. Queensland's Health and Environment Committee tested the chemical composition of 17 e-liquids available from retail Read More...
Public hospitals should give abortions, committee says
Date of Posting: 27-05-2023
All Australian public hospitals should be able to perform abortions to ensure regional and rural people have equal access to reproductive health care. A parliamentary inquiry report, entitled Ending the Postcode Lottery, was tabled on Thursday, fi Read More...
Spike in flu cases places unvaccinated elderly at risk
Date of Posting: 27-05-2023
With just a week until winter, less than half of the elderly population in NSW have had a flu vaccination, as cases of the potentially deadly infection surge. Influenza infections have spiked over the past week, with more than 2100 cases recorded Read More...
Qld gov defends putting patients up at Sea World Resort
Date of Posting: 25-05-2023
The Queensland government has defended a decision to put patients up at a theme park resort after leaked documents showed public health patients staying at the Sea World Resort due to a shortage of beds. The opposition grilled new Health Minister Read More...
Health gets $900m boost in Tasmanian budget
Date of Posting: 25-05-2023
Tasmania's budget will boost health spending by $900 million, with a forecast surplus expected to be pushed back. State Liberal Treasurer Michael Ferguson will on Thursday hand down the 2023/24 budget, almost two weeks after the government was Read More...
Doctors lobby to lose veto on Medicare oversight body
Date of Posting: 25-05-2023
Australia's peak medical body will no longer have a say on who leads the agency investigating potential Medicare fraud. New laws introduced to federal parliament on Wednesday will remove the veto power of the Australian Medical Association ove Read More...
Death cap mushroom warning for the ACT
Last Updated: 25-05-2023
Canberrans are being reminded to avoid wild mushrooms after a young child who ingested a death cap mushroom was hospitalised. Acting ACT chief health officer Dr Vanessa Johnston said the child presented to a hospital emergency department on Friday Read More...
Stress disorder link to poor gut health among veterans
Date of Posting: 24-05-2023
Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder could be more prone to gut-related health problems, new research suggests. A recent study by the University of Queensland found higher rates of medical procedures for gut issues like irritable bowel syn Read More...
Push to embrace technology to improve health sector
Date of Posting: 24-05-2023
New and emerging digital technologies have the potential to improve outcomes for patients amid increasing demand on the health-care system, South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton says. Backing increased investment in digital health innovati Read More...
India to test cough syrups before export after deaths
Date of Posting: 24-05-2023
India will make tests mandatory for cough syrups before they are exported, a government notice shows, after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan. From June 1, cough syrup must have a cer Read More...
Businesses, landlords slugged for $31.5b COVID-19 debt
Date of Posting: 23-05-2023
Thousands of large businesses and landlords will foot most of Victoria's COVID-19 debt bill under a $31.5 billion state budget repayment plan. The 2023/24 Victorian budget, handed down by Treasurer Tim Pallas on Tuesday, detailed a 10-year COV Read More...
Watchdog chastises NSW police on mental health approach
Date of Posting: 23-05-2023
Nearly half of all NSW Police critical incidents involve a person experiencing a mental health crisis but officers receive "extremely limited" training on how to respond. That's the view of the state's police watchdog after a wid Read More...
Australia to see 50 per cent increase in back pain
Date of Posting: 23-05-2023
The number of people experiencing lower back pain in Australia is set to increase by 50 per cent by 2050, putting enormous pressure on the health-care system. Researchers estimate there will be more than 800 million cases of low back pain globally Read More...
Renters face health issues from poor housing standards
Date of Posting: 22-05-2023
Weak regulations covering the standard of rental properties in Australia are putting the health and well-being of residents at risk, university researchers have found. Amid reports of properties with poor heating and cooling along with damp and mo Read More...
Qld GPs reject 'safe and effective' pharmacy trial
Date of Posting: 22-05-2023
Queensland GPs continue to rail against a pharmacy program that offers "safe and effective care" of common urinary tract infections, calling on the state's new health minister to terminate the successful service. A trial program allo Read More...
Grandmother tasered in nursing home police altercation
Date of Posting: 20-05-2023
A 95-year-old great-grandmother is reportedly fighting for her life after being tasered by police when she was found with a knife in a NSW nursing home. Clare Nowland was standing next to her walking frame and holding a kitchen knife when aged car Read More...
Afghan refugees break mental health stigma with podcast
Date of Posting: 20-05-2023
An imam, a psychologist and a refugee caseworker step behind the mic and the result is a unique Australian podcast - all spoken in Dari. Over sweet cups of tea and free-flowing conversation, as part of a men's support group, Mirwais Janbaz saw Read More...
'Action needed on staffing' after day-long nurse shifts
Date of Posting: 20-05-2023
Nurses working 24-hour shifts at a major WA hospital demonstrates the risks facing staff and patients in the public health system amid ongoing staffing pressures, a union says. Unplanned sick leave and an exceptionally high number of intensive car Read More...
