News Articles
Fighting weight-creep could save millions
Date of Posting: 21-01-2023
Cutting-back on as little as two pieces of chocolate per week could save Australia's health system $373 million a year in foregone knee-replacements, research has found. According to a Monash University-led study, preventing weight-gain from y Read More...
'Shortfalls' in telehealth rollout
Date of Posting: 21-01-2023
An audit has uncovered "shortfalls" in the rapid rollout of telehealth services under the Morrison government. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the former federal government between March and May 2020 introduced 281 new telehealth i Read More...
#ProtectNurses highlights occupational violence
Last Updated: 20-01-2023
The #ProtectNurses Campaign, an initiative The Australian College of Nursing (ACN), highlights the unacceptable levels of occupational violence experienced by nurses and demands zero-tolerance. ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward says the campaig Read More...
Qld lowers COVID-19 pandemic alert level
Date of Posting: 19-01-2023
Queensland will lower its coronavirus alert level to green as the state emerges from its fourth wave of COVID-19. Acting Premier Steven Miles says the virus alert level will drop after nine weeks of amber-level restrictions under the state's t Read More...
Hard road to birth amid maternity closure
Date of Posting: 19-01-2023
At 33 weeks pregnant, Lisa Lehtinen cannot sleep at night as she worries about going into labour in her car or alone in a motel room far from home. Her local maternity unit at Biloela in central Queensland has been on bypass since August, meaning Read More...
Wild weather hurting Aussie mental health
Date of Posting: 19-01-2023
Australians are suffering a raft of mental health problems as a result of the country's worsening extreme weather, a new survey has found. The Climate Council poll released on Thursday found half of its 2032 respondents reported an adverse eff Read More...
General practice 'worst shape' in 40 years
Date of Posting: 19-01-2023
Australian doctors are facing a crisis after a "decade of neglect", with warnings the costs of running general practices are becoming too much to bear. GPs say a lack of government support has forced them to either charge patients more o Read More...
Doctors are concerned patients with lung cancer may be overlooked amid coronavirus
Last Updated: 18-01-2023
Doctors are worried patients with lung cancer may be overlooked amid the focus on diagnosing and treating the coronavirus, which has similar symptoms. About six years ago, it took Lisa Briggs 10 months and 16 visits to her general practitioner bef Read More...
Countries mandate COVID tests for China
Date of Posting: 16-01-2023
BEIJING, RAW - PLACES IMPOSING CURBS ON TRAVELLERS FROM CHINA UNITED STATES[subscribe] The United States imposed mandatory COVID-19 tests on travellers from China from January 5. All air passengers aged two and older will require a negative res Read More...
Government urged to 'step up' on vaping
Date of Posting: 16-01-2023
Public health experts are calling for updated advertising laws to stop the promotion of vaping to young people on social media. Experts are weighing in on possible solutions to the looming youth vaping crisis ahead of a public consultation deadlin Read More...
China reports huge rise in COVID-19 deaths
Date of Posting: 16-01-2023
China says nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 have died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy last month, a huge increase from previously reported figures that follows global criticism of the country's coronavirus data. In early Read More...
Greener cities equal 'healthier hearts
Last Updated: 15-01-2023
While conventional wisdom says an apple a day keeps the doctor away, more recent health advice suggests 10,000 steps will too. But what about just a casual stroll in the park? Well, it can, although it depends, curiously enough, on whether people Read More...
The daily grind causing dental dilemas
Date of Posting: 15-01-2023
It's a condition that can change the shape of your face and may require Botox to correct, and as many as nine out of ten Australians will experience it in their lifetime. But the chances are they won't even know they suffer from bruxism un Read More...
WHO urges shorter COVID-19 isolation time
Date of Posting: 15-01-2023
The World Health Organisation has adapted its guidelines for people infected with the coronavirus. It now recommends that people infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus isolate themselves for 10 days if they have symptoms and for five days if they don& Read More...
Virus cases in post-Christmas decline
Date of Posting: 14-01-2023
As Australians settle back into routines following the festive period, the number of positive COVID-19 cases has dramatically declined. For the second week in a row, NSW Health data showed a decrease in cases on the previous seven days.[subscribe] Read More...
AMA urges action on elective surgery
Date of Posting: 14-01-2023
A ballooning number of people waiting for elective surgery needs to be addressed urgently with extra funding and reforms, the Australian Medical Association says. If no action is taken by governments the waiting list for elective surgery is expect Read More...
Science finds way to heal scarred hearts
Date of Posting: 14-01-2023
A protein treatment could turn back the clock for heart attack patients, reducing their risk of further complications and repairing damaged tissue. That's the hope of an international team of researchers, who have for the first time developed Read More...
Melanoma vaccine 'not one size fits all'
Last Updated: 13-01-2023
An experimental cancer vaccine that personalises treatments for patients with melanoma may not be the one-size-fits-all cure, according to Australian experts. Biotech company Moderna unveiled the new mRNA-based vaccine for melanoma in December ami Read More...
Boiling peanuts may calm kid's allergies
Date of Posting: 12-01-2023
Boiling peanuts for up to 12 hours could help overcome allergic reactions in children. Clinical trials conducted by Flinders University and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute found up to 80 per cent of children with a peanu Read More...
Virus warning as mosquito numbers explode
Date of Posting: 12-01-2023
Rainfall, flooding and summer heat have formed the perfect environment for disease-carrying mosquitoes to boom, health authorities warn. The potentially fatal Murray Valley encephalitis virus was detected in a mosquito in far west of NSW on Wednes Read More...
WHO urges plane travellers consider masks
Date of Posting: 11-01-2023
Countries should consider recommending that passengers wear masks on long-haul flights given the rapid spread of the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 in the United States, World Health Organisation officials say. In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvar Read More...
COVID outbreaks passing peaks, China says
Date of Posting: 11-01-2023
Beijing has retaliated against South Korea's COVID-19 curbs on travellers from China, while state media further downplays the severity of the outbreak in the last major economy to reopen its borders after three years of isolation. China ditche Read More...
Doctors concerned over antibiotic shortage
Date of Posting: 11-01-2023
Australia's peak medical body is calling on the federal government to consider onshore antibiotic manufacturing amid supply shortages across the country. More than 300 medications are in short supply, particularly treatments for strep throat a Read More...
Victorians lose 150 limbs, fingers at work
Date of Posting: 10-01-2023
Victorian workers lost 150 limbs, fingers and thumbs in workplace accidents over the past year. There were 137 claims accepted by WorkSafe for amputation injuries, with about a third relating to fingers or thumbs being caught or crushed in machine Read More...
Travellers queue as China virus curbs end
Date of Posting: 10-01-2023
People have joined long queues outside immigration offices in Beijing, eager to renew their passports after China dropped COVID-19 border controls that had largely prevented its 1.4 billion residents from travelling for three years. Sunday's r Read More...
VR tech brings physio to remote Australians
Date of Posting: 09-01-2023
Older Australians in remote and regional areas can now access virtual allied health services in the comfort of their own home through Virtual Restorative Care (VRC). Developed by the HammondCare Restorative Care team, the VRC program is available Read More...
New vaccine deal needed for COVID-19 fight
Date of Posting: 09-01-2023
Australia is being urged to remain vigilant and work closely with vaccine manufacturers as new COVID-19 variants emerge. Jane Halton, who chairs the the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, cautioned the federal government against wind Read More...
China reopens borders as virus curbs end
Date of Posting: 09-01-2023
Travellers have begun streaming into mainland China by air, land and sea as Beijing opened borders that have been all but shut since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. After three years, mainland China opened sea and land crossings with Hong Kong Read More...
China COVID critics banned on social media
Date of Posting: 09-01-2023
China has suspended or closed the social media accounts of more than 1000 critics of the government's policies on the COVID-19 outbreak as the country moves to further open up. The Sina Weibo social media platform says it has addressed 12,854 Read More...
Bacterial infections on the rise in NSW
Date of Posting: 07-01-2023
Health officials have sounded an alarm over a rise in rare COVID-mimicking bacterial infections that can cause disability and death. Cases of invasive meningococcal disease and invasive group A streptococcus have been increasing over recent weeks, Read More...
Aged care sector a 'mess' as losses mount
Date of Posting: 07-01-2023
Treasurer Jim Chalmers concedes Australia's aged care regime remains a mess, with new analysis showing seven out of 10 providers are posting financial losses. It has led to opposition accusations the government is "abandoning" older Read More...
No new variant as WHO questions China data
Date of Posting: 05-01-2023
Data from China shows no new COVID-19 variant has been found there but the country under-represents how many people have died in a rapidly spreading outbreak, World Health Organization (WHO) officials say. Global unease has grown about the accurac Read More...
China's COVID outbreak raises global alarm
Date of Posting: 05-01-2023
Global health officials have tried to determine the facts of China's raging COVID-19 outbreak and how to prevent a further spread as the government's mouthpiece newspaper rallied citizens for a "final victory" over the virus. Chi Read More...
Doctors train for assisted dying regime
Date of Posting: 05-01-2023
More than 40 doctors have registered to be involved in South Australia's voluntary assisted dying regime ahead of its introduction at the end of January. The state government says training is under way and more doctors are being encouraged to Read More...
Most EU countries back China COVID tests
Date of Posting: 04-01-2023
Most European Union countries favour introducing pre-departure COVID-19 testing for travellers from China, the European Commission says, as Beijing plans to lift travel restrictions on its citizens despite a wave of infections. The common EU appro Read More...
Ministers chastised for health advice snub
Date of Posting: 04-01-2023
The government is being chastised for not following expert health advice when enacting a new COVID-19 testing measure for travellers from China. The health minister and treasurer maintain the move was done out of "an abundance of caution" Read More...
Chinese state media plays down COVID wave
Date of Posting: 04-01-2023
State media in China have played down the severity of its surge of COVID-19 infections ahead of an expected briefing by its scientists to the World Health Organisation, which is hoping for detailed data on the evolution of the virus. China's a Read More...
Aussies miss out on new medicine frontier
Date of Posting: 04-01-2023
Many Australians are missing out on a new frontier in medicine, prompting experts to call for more to be done to improve equity in healthcare. Precision medicine personalises treatment by taking into account a patient's genetic make-up, their Read More...
Andrews ramps up primary care pressure
Date of Posting: 03-01-2023
Overhauling Australia's ailing primary care network will be a top priority for Victoria at national cabinet this year. Visiting a newly opened urgent primary care clinic Premier Daniel Andrews said state-run hospitals were too often acting as Read More...
Brave emerge as China copes with COVID
Date of Posting: 03-01-2023
Some people in China's key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan have braved the cold and a spike in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activity, confident of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections. Among those who gather Read More...
