News Articles
'Like Narnia': the healing power of music
Date of Posting: 31-07-2022
A young woman dying of cancer wanted music to soothe her in the final moments of life. So a harpist went to her bedside at a Brisbane hospital, where she and her family were preparing for the end.[subscribe] "She wanted to be played to the Read More...
Spain reports 2nd death from monkeypox
Date of Posting: 31-07-2022
Spain has reported a second death in as many days from monkeypox, its health ministry says. These are believed to be the first confirmed deaths from monkeypox since its outbreak in the European Union.[subscribe] The ministry on Saturday gave no Read More...
Hospitals 'heaving' under COVID load
Date of Posting: 31-07-2022
One in 12 public hospital beds across Australia are filled by a COVID-19 patient despite fewer people ending up in intensive care than during previous waves of the virus. Hospitals nationwide are "heaving" under the coronavirus caseload, Read More...
Vic's latest Omicron wave is peaking
Date of Posting: 30-07-2022
A spike in Victoria's reported COVID-19 deaths is not cause for alarm as the state hits the peak of its latest Omicron wave, the chief health officer says. An additional 107 deaths were reported in the state on Friday, bringing the state's Read More...
Record ambulance ramping at WA hospitals
Date of Posting: 30-07-2022
There is hope Western Australia is past the peak of its COVID-19 and flu outbreaks as ambulance ramping figures reach new heights. Ambulances have spent 6531 hours ramped outside hospitals in the first four weeks of July, overtaking the record set Read More...
Study shows sugar spike in food, drinks
Date of Posting: 30-07-2022
Australians are inadvertently consuming more sugar and sweetener than they were 15 years ago, as manufacturers hike up the amount they slip into food and drinks. The levels of added sugars in packaged foods across the Asia Pacific region increased Read More...
Qld to tackle limited abortion access
Date of Posting: 29-07-2022
Expanding abortion services is a priority for the Queensland government, with most residents in regional areas still having to travel to Brisbane for a surgical termination. The closure of clinics operated by Marie Stopes in central and north Quee Read More...
Lockdowns leave Australians feeling lonely
Date of Posting: 29-07-2022
More Australians are feeling lonelier now than before the COVID-19 pandemic, research has found. The latest research released on Friday from Telstra's Talking Loneliness report shows 27 per cent of people experienced loneliness for the first t Read More...
Male contraceptive pill step closer
Date of Posting: 29-07-2022
A male contraceptive pill could be a step closer to becoming a reality, with Melbourne researchers discovering a leaf extract has the potential to hinder sperm movement. In a peer-reviewed study published in journal PLOS ONE, the research team fro Read More...
'Window closing' to stop monkeypox spread
Date of Posting: 28-07-2022
Scientists advising the World Health Organisation on monkeypox say the window is closing to stop its spread, with cases doubling every two weeks, raising concerns that it will take several months for the outbreak to peak. WHO Europe has forecast j Read More...
Campaign's goal to eliminate hepatitis C
Date of Posting: 28-07-2022
Hepatitis C can be eliminated in Australia in the next 10 years but only if people get tested and seek treatment. That's the message of a new Victorian campaign launched on Thursday by the Burnet Institute and Harm Reduction Victoria.[subscrib Read More...
Air pollution raises dementia risk
Date of Posting: 28-07-2022
Air pollution is "likely" to increase the risk of developing dementia, a UK government research group has said. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants has published its findings after reviewing almost 70 studies that anal Read More...
SA calls for national action on vaping
Date of Posting: 27-07-2022
South Australia has called for a national approach to tackle the growing use of vapes and e-cigarettes among young people. Education Minister Blair Boyer will raise the issue with his federal counterpart Jason Clare in Canberra on Wednesday.[subsc Read More...
Drug treatment services impacted by COVID
Date of Posting: 27-07-2022
More than 130,000 Australians were treated for alcohol and other drugs during the pandemic, marking a 22 per cent increase over six years, new data shows. People aged 10 and over were treated for substances like alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis and Read More...
Keto therapy could treat schizophrenia
Date of Posting: 27-07-2022
Changing dietary intake to focus on low carbohydrate and high fat foods could be prescribed as therapy for serious mental health disorders. A new clinical trial by James Cook University will investigate how changing the body's primary fuel sou Read More...
Queensland COVID peak still a month away
Date of Posting: 26-07-2022
COVID-19 hospitalisations in Queensland are not likely to peak for another month, with the latest modelling projecting a maximum caseload of about 1660 in late August. The estimate represents an increase of close to 600 on existing hospital number Read More...
Virus response disadvantages young Aussies
Date of Posting: 26-07-2022
Young Australians have been disproportionately disadvantaged by the government's COVID-19 pandemic response and urgent support is needed, a new report says. Children and young people are the "forgotten heroes" of the pandemic and whi Read More...
New SA MP takes on suicide prevention role
Date of Posting: 26-07-2022
A first-term South Australian MP has been appointed the state's new advocate for suicide prevention. Nadia Clancy will work alongside Health Minister Chris Picton, key members of the community and people with lived experience of suicide.[subsc Read More...
Ban on UK blood donors overturned
Date of Posting: 25-07-2022
Etienne Gould-Noonan was born 14 weeks early, the size of a Coke bottle. His parents, Carmen Gould and Jonathon Noonan, couldn't donate blood to their desperately sick boy because of their time spent in the UK.[subscribe] Australian health Read More...
Young Australians urged to be organ donors
Date of Posting: 25-07-2022
Young Australians are being urged to become organ and tissue donors as part of a national campaign dubbed DonateLife Week. Studies show a single organ donor can save up to seven lives and help many more through eye and tissue donation.[subscribe] Read More...
WHO declares monkeypox a global emergency
Date of Posting: 25-07-2022
The World Health Organisation said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an "extraordinary" situation that qualifies as a global emergency. The WHO's declaration on Saturday could spur further investment in tr Read More...
Patient registry for genetic disorder
Last Updated: 24-07-2022
A world-first patient registry for people with haemochromatosis, a genetic disorder where the body absorbs dangerous levels of iron, will be launched in Australia. An estimated one in 200 Australians are at high genetic risk of developing haemochr Read More...
Data shows mental ill-health in Australia
Date of Posting: 24-07-2022
One-in-six Australians have experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviours in their lifetime and more than two-in-five have had a mental health disorder. Those are the findings of a comprehensive study on mental health and wellbeing conducted by the Read More...
'Growing pains' a medical misnomer
Date of Posting: 24-07-2022
For more than 200 years, parents have dismissed childhood's mysterious aches and cramps as nothing more than growing pains. But a new study by the University of Sydney has found the term "growing pains" is more of a medical misnomer Read More...
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Spain
Date of Posting: 22-07-2022
A middle-aged man has been admitted to hospital in Spain's Castile and Leon region after being diagnosed with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), authorities say. The disease, which has a fatality rate between 10 per cent and 40 per cent Read More...
Key findings from ABS mental health study
Date of Posting: 22-07-2022
KEY FINDINGS FROM NATIONAL STUDY OF MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING *The survey of 5500 people between the ages of 16 to 85 revealed the extent of mental ill-health in Australia. Results were converted into estimates for the rest of the population.[su Read More...
Aust birth rate at more than 10-year low
Date of Posting: 22-07-2022
Australia has reported its lowest birth rate in more than a decade, as the average age of first-time parents continues to increase. The country's birth rate fell significantly between 2007 and 2020, from 66 per 1000 people, to 56 per 1000 peop Read More...
Pill testing program urged for SA
Date of Posting: 21-07-2022
South Australia has been urged to follow the ACT and establish a pill and drug testing clinic. Australia's first testing site has opened in Canberra in a six-month pilot program to allow people to test drugs and pills free of charge.[subscribe Read More...
Shortages put disability patients at risk
Date of Posting: 21-07-2022
Disability service providers are grappling with significant staff shortages and it's putting patients at risk, as well as delaying workers' post-lockdown travel plans. The Australian Services Union, which represents disability workers, has Read More...
Fats linked to men's bladder cancer risk
Date of Posting: 21-07-2022
Consuming too much saturated and animal fats could increase the risk of bladder cancer in men, research suggests. A study funded by the World Cancer Research Fund found that while men increased their risk of cancer through unhealthy fats, women wh Read More...
Vic CHO pushed return to working from home
Date of Posting: 20-07-2022
Victoria's Acting Chief Health Officer Ben Cowie proposed a return to working from home earlier this month amid a fresh wave of COVID cases, documents show. During a meeting with new Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas, Mr Cowie strongly recommen Read More...
Is sunscreen affecting our vitamin D?
Date of Posting: 20-07-2022
Whether or not wearing sunscreen prevents healthy vitamin D production will be examined in a major new study in Australia. The first ever large-scale trial is looking for about 500 volunteers to investigate how applying SPF 50+ sunscreen affects t Read More...
Kids 'hidden victims' of family violence
Date of Posting: 20-07-2022
Children are the hidden victims of family violence, which places them at significant risk of mental health problems, an Australian study has found. The report by Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety has found child Read More...
Sydney nurses feel 'frustration, despair'
Date of Posting: 19-07-2022
More walk-outs by Sydney nurses are likely after staff at two major hospitals rallied over what they claim are chronic staffing shortages, while the NSW government concedes the health system is under pressure. The Blacktown and Westmead hospital e Read More...
Virtual ED doubled to ease Vic ambo crunch
Date of Posting: 19-07-2022
A Victorian hospital's virtual emergency department program will be doubled in a bid to relieve COVID-related pressure on sick and tired paramedics. Hundreds more patients a day will soon be able to access a video consultation from home with a Read More...
Study predicts Aust pollen high and lows
Date of Posting: 19-07-2022
Brisbane's asthma and hayfever sufferers can expect to sneeze and cough more than their southern city counterparts. A study that tracked shifts in pollen seasonality, biodiversity and allergy impact has found Brisbane has multiple summer-autum Read More...
Diet lowers stroke risk more than surgery
Date of Posting: 18-07-2022
A better diet, more exercise and quitting smoking can do more to reduce the risk of stroke in Australians than surgery. Carotid artery stenosis occurs when fatty "plaques" build up in the neck arteries that help deliver blood to the brai Read More...
Aussie eyes suffering pandemic screen time
Date of Posting: 18-07-2022
Most Australians have at least one problem with their eyes with almost one in three admitting too much screen time during the pandemic affected their vision. While lockdowns across the country slowed the spread of COVID, it more than doubled the a Read More...
Listeria fear from smoked fish products
Date of Posting: 18-07-2022
Pregnant, elderly or immunocompromised Australians are being warned to avoid a range of smoked fish products over listeria concerns. A national recall is being made on five Harris Smokehouse products over fears of contamination.[subscribe] Sout Read More...
Emergency meeting over record UK heat
Date of Posting: 17-07-2022
UK ministers will hold an emergency meeting after meteorologists warned of record high temperatures in England that could put lives at risk. Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse will chair the meeting to discuss the escalating heatwave, a Governm Read More...
