News Articles
New SA approach to preventing suicide
Date of Posting: 30-09-2022
South Australia will take a coordinated and targeted approach to suicide prevention through the establishment of Australia's first legislated Suicide Prevention Council. The group will be chaired by MP Nadia Clancy and includes clinicians, res Read More...
Weed killer detected in Australian urine
Date of Posting: 30-09-2022
One in 12 Australians have low levels of the world's most common herbicide chemical in their system, new research indicates. The Australian-first study found eight per cent of urine samples from more than 1800 Australians contained the weed ki Read More...
Parliament to investigate abortion access
Date of Posting: 29-09-2022
Abortion access in Australia will be investigated by a parliamentary committee after the federal Greens gained bipartisan support for the proposal. The cost and accessibility of contraceptives, abortions and healthcare information across the natio Read More...
Home violence toll on kids with disability
Date of Posting: 29-09-2022
Australian children with disabilities are experiencing disproportionate rates of domestic and family violence and being failed by support systems, researchers have warned. About 30 per cent of children who experience domestic violence have a disab Read More...
Health bidding war fires up for Vic poll
Date of Posting: 29-09-2022
A health bidding war has escalated ahead of the Victorian election, with both major parties committing hundreds of millions to boost staff numbers and public aged care sites. The Victorian coalition's long-awaited healthcare workforce plan, un Read More...
More GP funding needed for nation's health
Date of Posting: 28-09-2022
Doctor's fees will rise and general practices will close across the country unless government boosts investment in the sector, Australia's peak body for GPs says. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners on Wednesday released Read More...
Date of Posting: 28-09-2022
People have been urged to do in regular weightlifting after a study found that "pumping iron" could cut their risk of dying early. Academics found that a combination of weightlifting and aerobic exercise every week reaped the most benefi Read More...
Push to improve Indigenous health outcomes
Date of Posting: 28-09-2022
A new DNA database system designed to improve health outcomes for First Nations Australians has been hailed a game-changer by experts. A supercomputer will crunch the database to improve diagnostic rates for First Nations peoples living with rare Read More...
New centre screens for breast cancer risk
Date of Posting: 27-09-2022
A new Melbourne research centre will more accurately assess a woman's risk of breast cancer. The My Breast Cancer RISK centre, launching at the University of Melbourne on Tuesday, will use artificial intelligence computer techniques to analyse Read More...
Young man dies after appendix surgery
Date of Posting: 27-09-2022
A coroner will examine how a healthy, young Sydney man died after routine surgery and whether hospital staff properly kept his distraught family in the loop. Legal clerk Lucas Peyret, 21, died a week after keyhole surgery to treat acute appendicit Read More...
Monkeypox infections stabilising
Date of Posting: 27-09-2022
Health Minister Mark Butler says the number of monkeypox infections in Australia is stabilising. The comments follow Victorian authorities declaring the state's monkeypox outbreak as having "turned around", with no new cases reported Read More...
Funds will get Vic patients home sooner
Date of Posting: 26-09-2022
More Victorian patients with a disability will go home sooner rather than wait in hospital for their National Disability Insurance Scheme plan. The Victorian government has expanded its $39 million Pathways to Home program, which transitions patie Read More...
Migraine, ulcer treatments to be cheaper
Date of Posting: 26-09-2022
Medicines for migraines, stomach ulcers and other conditions will become cheaper next month as the Albanese government adds new treatments to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Health Minister Mark Butler on Monday announced Australians will have Read More...
Tired NSW trainee doctors making mistakes
Date of Posting: 26-09-2022
Nearly half of trainee doctors working in NSW hospitals say they have made a medical mistake because they were tired from working long hours, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to strain the health system. Nearly 1800 NSW doctors-in-training respo Read More...
Young Australians more anxious, distressed
Date of Posting: 25-09-2022
Young Australians are more anxious than ever as they navigate technological change and the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. That's the conclusion of National Mental Health Commission chief executive Christine Morgan as a national listening to Read More...
Date of Posting: 24-09-2022
Three more Ebola patients have died in Uganda, the health ministry says, bringing the total death toll to four, days after authorities confirmed an outbreak of a strain of the deadly disease for which no vaccine has yet been approved. Uganda's Read More...
UK govt plan vows to ease GP waiting lists
Date of Posting: 23-09-2022
The UK health minister has pledged to cut waiting times for doctors' appointments and launched a fund to support social care, in a plan that drew criticism for not doing enough to solve a staffing crisis in the National Health Service. The UK& Read More...
COVID-19 cases continue to drop nationally
Date of Posting: 23-09-2022
COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to fall across the country as experts question the utility of weekly virus data dumps. The federal health department released its weekly COVID-19 case notifications report on Friday afternoon, which shows the nat Read More...
Canada, Japan ease entry while WHO warns
Date of Posting: 23-09-2022
Canada is set to drop its vaccine requirement for people entering the country while Japan will also loosen border curbs as the World Health Organisation warns about a decline in the monitoring of coronavirus variants. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Read More...
Failures plague Victorian child protection
Date of Posting: 22-09-2022
Victoria's child protection system is failing to keep proper records on some vulnerable children and workers are over-stretched and under resourced. The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing does not meet minimum standards for data coll Read More...
Lockdowns hit happiness more than cases
Date of Posting: 22-09-2022
More stringent lockdowns throughout the pandemic impacted the mental health of Australians more than surging case numbers, research has revealed. While higher case numbers and deaths associated with COVID-19 impacted people's wellbeing, it was Read More...
Major step to booster for young children
Date of Posting: 22-09-2022
The medicines regulator has given provisional approval to a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster for children aged five to 11. However the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said on Wednesday the government's decision on the use of this vaccine Read More...
Increase in Victorian euthanasia deaths
Date of Posting: 21-09-2022
The number of Victorians using voluntary assisted dying has increased by about one third. There were 401 people who used the procedure to end their lives between July 2021 and June 2022, up from 310 the previous year.[subscribe] A voluntary ass Read More...
Kids suffer long-term trauma from violence
Date of Posting: 21-09-2022
The trauma of domestic violence stays with children into adulthood, highlighting the need to stop treating them as mere witnesses to abuse, a children's charity says. Children should be acknowledged as victims and survivors of domestic and fam Read More...
Vic to trial COVID nasal spray treatment
Date of Posting: 21-09-2022
Clinical trials of a locally made nasal spray treatment for COVID-19 are set to begin in Victoria. The heparin spray, made at Monash University's Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, is expected to reduce viral load and potentially the s Read More...
SA and NSW drop masks on public transport
Date of Posting: 20-09-2022
Commuters in NSW and South Australia will no longer legally have to wear masks on public transport, as Victoria ramps up compliance on its networks. The NSW government announced it would remove its mask mandate from Wednesday and the SA government Read More...
People with disabilities 'crime victims'
Date of Posting: 20-09-2022
People with a disability are twice as likely to be a victim of a violent crime in NSW. They are also over-represented in parts of the justice system, being more likely to face drug and domestic violence offences.[subscribe] Data from the NSW Bu Read More...
Govt pledges $1.4b more for COVID response
Date of Posting: 20-09-2022
The Albanese government will spend a further $1.4 billion to deal with the impact of COVID-19, with the majority of the funding going to aged care providers. The money will be used for continuing a range of response measures, which were due to exp Read More...
Unregistered Victorian nurse fined $16k
Date of Posting: 19-09-2022
An ex-nurse who worked at a Victorian hospital while unregistered has been fined 16 times more than his original sentence after an appeal by prosecutors. Alexis Travero Alvarez, 49, was fined $1000 and placed on a good behaviour bond in May after Read More...
Public transport mask dodgers cop fines
Date of Posting: 19-09-2022
More than 100 fines have been issued on Victorian public transport and in excess of 181,000 warnings given as part of a COVID-19 mask compliance crackdown so far this September. Under Victoria's pandemic orders, public transport passengers mus Read More...
Queensland health system buckling
Date of Posting: 19-09-2022
The death of a Queenslander where six triple-zero calls were made and an ambulance arriving nine hours later underlines the state's health crisis, the state opposition says. Twenty deaths involving ambulance delays or ramping at hospitals are Read More...
Andrews to rebuild, rename Vic hospital
Date of Posting: 18-09-2022
A controversial decision to rename a Melbourne hospital in honour of the Queen is the centrepiece of a $1 billion election promise. Premier Daniel Andrews says, if re-elected in November, his government will redevelop and expand the Maroondah Hosp Read More...
Aussie app helps parents strike a balance
Date of Posting: 18-09-2022
Every parent worries if they're getting the balance right for their kids. Are they getting enough sleep? How much exercise do they need? Are they spending too long in front of a screen?[subscribe] This month, Australian academics launched a Read More...
Healthy foods that are good for the planet
Date of Posting: 18-09-2022
Queensland researchers believe they've finally identified those elusive wonder foods that are "not only good but good for you". To do it, they pored over web pages from six world regions and found recommendations for more than 2500 f Read More...
Pandemic end 'in sight' as stats released
Date of Posting: 17-09-2022
Public health experts are increasingly optimistic the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight. The World Health Organisation has advised the pandemic could soon be over, with the weekly number of global deaths continuing to decline.[subscribe] Read More...
WHO scraps support for two COVID therapies
Date of Posting: 17-09-2022
Two COVID-19 antibody therapies are no longer recommended by the World Health Organisation on the basis that Omicron and the variant's latest offshoots have almost certainly rendered them obsolete. The two therapies - which are designed to wor Read More...
Chemists, GPs consider leaving Lismore
Date of Posting: 17-09-2022
Some of Australia's top medicos have held an emergency summit in flood-ravaged Lismore to call for more help for local health service providers. The groups, including the Australian Medical Association and the NSW Rural Doctors Network, want i Read More...
Using Humour to Build Connections and Mental Wellbeing
Last Updated: 16-09-2022
As soap is to the body, so laughter is to the soul. — A Jewish Proverb As humans, we all need to belong, whether with our circle of friends or in our workplaces. However, our fear of rejection and not blending in sometimes affect how we inte Read More...
Regions left waiting for blood cancer care
Date of Posting: 16-09-2022
Olivia Richards found a lump on her neck on Christmas Eve last year. The 23-year-old went to her local doctor in Hawkesbury, northwest of Sydney, knowing there was something wrong.[subscribe] Her initial blood tests came back clear so she was o Read More...
Scope to lessen Indigenous dementia
Date of Posting: 16-09-2022
More than half of Indigenous dementia cases in far north Queensland could be prevented after scientists identified a series of risk factors linked to the condition. The James Cook University study found 11 risk factors contribute to up to 52 per c Read More...
