News Articles
Ambulance delay a factor in SA man's death
Date of Posting: 14-09-2022
An Adelaide man who died on the side of the road while waiting for an ambulance may have survived if help had arrived in time, an investigation has found. The inquiry into the man's death last month was launched amid ongoing problems with ambu Read More...
Burnt-out GPs need help, peak body says
Date of Posting: 13-09-2022
An "undervaluing" of general practice medicine has led to high burnout rates and a low take-up of new staff, the new head of the peak body for GPs says. Dr Nicole Higgins has been named president of the Royal Australian College of Genera Read More...
Faster steps linked to better health
Date of Posting: 13-09-2022
The journey to 10,000 steps every day could be as important as the destination, according to research linking walking pace with lower rates of dementia, heart disease and cancer. Australian and Danish researchers examining health and activity data Read More...
Nurse charged over fake doc certificates
Date of Posting: 13-09-2022
A Melbourne nurse accused of procuring fake doctor's certificates for her sister and partner has had her suspension put on hold. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency immediately suspended Joanne Mizzo's nursing registration Read More...
Doom-scrolling a negative behaviour that's stuck
Last Updated: 12-09-2022
A recent study found doom-scrolling, or compulsively seeking negative news, which became prevalent during the pandemic, is more than a passing trend. The study, published in the Technology, Mind and Behaviour journal, developed a way to measure do Read More...
Cognitive impairment and dementia - updated evidence-based resources to support care
Last Updated: 12-09-2022
Dementia Action Week (19-25 September) seeks to encourage all Australians to increase their understanding of dementia and learn how they can make a difference to the life of people around them who are impacted by dementia. Not a normal part of age Read More...
Bold plan to manage 'forever chemicals'
Date of Posting: 12-09-2022
Australians may not realise it but they are sharing their food, homes and even their bodies with potentially harmful substances dubbed forever chemicals. Technically they're not forever but are long-lived and don't easy break down in the e Read More...
Aged care deaths not being scrutinised
Date of Posting: 12-09-2022
The federal government should be scrutinised more over the rising number of COVID-19 deaths in aged care, an independent MP says. More than 3000 Australians have died with COVID-19 in aged care facilities this year, which is almost triple the numb Read More...
Call for security at Vic emergency depts
Date of Posting: 12-09-2022
Every Victorian emergency department should have security working around the clock to protect staff from unruly patients, Australia's top emergency medicine college says. The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine on Sunday issued a list Read More...
Firies climb 28 floors for mental health
Date of Posting: 11-09-2022
Hundreds of firefighters have laboured up 28 flights of stairs wearing 25 kilograms of gear and breathing apparatus, in the name of mental health. About 600 emergency crew scaled the steps at Melbourne's Crown Metropol Hotel on Saturday to rai Read More...
New York detects more polio in wastewater
Date of Posting: 11-09-2022
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a disaster emergency in a bid to accelerate efforts to vaccinate residents against polio after the virus was detected in wastewater samples taken in four counties. Hochul's executive order followed t Read More...
A week to wait until next COVID stats
Date of Posting: 11-09-2022
At the height of COVID-19 the daily case numbers became popular viewing and reading, but in a sign the pandemic is easing, Australians will have to wait a week for the next set of statistics. New scheduling means a fresh round of figures, includin Read More...
Mental health coaches fill gaps in Vic
Date of Posting: 10-09-2022
Demand is surging for an early-intervention mental health support program aiming to help Victorians languishing on waiting lists to see clinical psychologists. NewAccess is a free, early-intervention mental health program run by Beyond Blue, in wh Read More...
'Empathy' key in Indigenous dementia care
Date of Posting: 10-09-2022
An empathetic approach must be at the centre of care for Indigenous Australians living with dementia, former Olympian and federal senator Nova Peris has told a major conference into the disease. Nearly 500, 000 Australians are living with dementia Read More...
Paracetamol link to child deaths in Gambia
Date of Posting: 10-09-2022
Gambia's government is investigating whether the deaths of dozens of young children from kidney failure are linked to a paracetamol syrup. A spike in cases of acute kidney injury among children under the age of five was detected in late July. Read More...
Regular conversations key to saving lives
Date of Posting: 08-09-2022
A simple chat with her mum was enough to save Seryn Adams' life. Ms Adams, 26, was struggling with depression and contemplating suicide when her mum picked up on the signs and had a life-changing conversation.[subscribe] "My mum is not Read More...
Locking lips can lead to gonorrhoea
Date of Posting: 08-09-2022
Locking lips can have some unexpected consequences, with a new Melbourne study finding gonorrhoea is being transmitted through kissing. Researchers surveyed more than 2000 men at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and found that throat gonorrhoea Read More...
Makers buoyed by malaria vaccine data
Date of Posting: 08-09-2022
Encouraging new data on a malaria vaccine from Oxford University bodes well for global effort to combat the mosquito-borne disease that kills a child every minute, its makers say. After decades of work, the only approved malaria vaccine, Mosquirix Read More...
Pregnant women face discrimination in Vic
Date of Posting: 07-09-2022
Pregnant women are being sacked, demoted or bullied in the workplace despite laws prohibiting discrimination, a Victorian study shows. Monash University researchers analysed calls from Victorians to employment rights service JobWatch between 2019 Read More...
Qld govt backs mental health on Medicare
Date of Posting: 07-09-2022
The Queensland government is backing calls for all mental health, drug and alcohol patients to have access to Medicare rebates for treatment and for those services to be expanded in GP clinics. The government has already pledged an extra $1.64 bil Read More...
Funding for new menopause diagnosis tool
Date of Posting: 07-09-2022
Women experiencing menopause will soon have access to new digital services to help improve their quality of care. A new digital tool will be developed by researchers to help general practitioners pick up early menopausal symptoms when women seek h Read More...
First COVID-19 jab more effective in males
Date of Posting: 06-09-2022
COVID-19 vaccines are more effective in males while females are more likely to experience negative side effects from their first jab, a new report shows. Australian and international researchers carried out a systematic review of all data publishe Read More...
Survey reveals decline of women's health
Date of Posting: 06-09-2022
Women are continuing to suffer from the health effects of the pandemic regardless of whether they have contracted COVID-19 or not, a new survey has found. The national survey - conducted by researchers for women's health organisation Jean Hail Read More...
Early detection key for eating disorders
Date of Posting: 06-09-2022
Leading mental health organisations have launched a campaign to educate Australians about the early signs of eating disorders and how to approach a difficult conversation with someone who is struggling. Eating Disorders Queensland CEO Belinda Chel Read More...
The 700km journey to have a baby
Date of Posting: 05-09-2022
Sharon Single puts it bluntly: "Out here, people have babies on the side of the road". The farmer, who lives near Coonamble in northern NSW, with her husband Tony, was determined the same thing wouldn't happen to her when she gave bi Read More...
Call for urgent climate-health action plan
Date of Posting: 05-09-2022
Health leaders are calling for the rapid rollout of a climate-health action plan as floods and extreme heat kill Australians. Forty health and medical organisations warn pressure on the health system from climate change is growing as additional de Read More...
Young SA children to get COVID-19 vaccine
Date of Posting: 05-09-2022
About 5000 South Australian children aged under five who have pre-existing health issues are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The doses are being rolled out from Monday under new national guidelines.[subscribe] Eligible children are Read More...
Teens more likely to vape than smoke
Date of Posting: 04-09-2022
A significant number of teens who try vaping have never smoked, a study suggests. Researchers from the Tobacco Free Research Institute Ireland said the proportion of 16 and 17-year-olds who had tried e-cigarettes had increased from 23 per cent in Read More...
Vic's triple-zero review recommendations
Date of Posting: 04-09-2022
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE REVIEW INTO VICTORIA'S EMERGENCY SERVICES TELECOMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY (ESTA): * From January 2016 to November 2020, ESTA met and often exceeded its benchmark of answering 90 per cent of emergency ambulance calls within f Read More...
UK approves updated Pfizer COVID vaccine
Date of Posting: 04-09-2022
An updated COVID-19 booster vaccine has been approved for use in the UK. The second "bivalent" vaccine, made by Pfizer/BioNTech, targets two coronavirus variants and has been approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regu Read More...
NSW government frozen on ice inquiry
Date of Posting: 03-09-2022
Experts say Indigenous communities are paying the price for the NSW government's delayed response to the ice inquiry, two and a half years after it was delivered. The commissioner who led the inquiry, Professor Dan Howard, said he was distress Read More...
Aged care calls for workforce boost
Date of Posting: 03-09-2022
One of the hardest-hit sectors from the pandemic has called on the government to help fill a widening workforce shortage following a rise in the country's migration cap. Aged care peak bodies have called for more skilled migrants to work in th Read More...
Docs want details on cosmetic crackdown
Date of Posting: 03-09-2022
Australian doctors have called on health ministers across the country to quickly detail and act on proposed changes to the cosmetic surgery sector. Under proposed reforms cosmetic practitioners could be banned from using patient testimonials, face Read More...
Vic lifts work from home recommendation
Date of Posting: 02-09-2022
Victorians are being encouraged to return to the office, with the government lifting its work from home recommendation. With COVID-19 cases falling after last month's Omicron peak, Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the time was r Read More...
Concerns over NSW's rural health response
Date of Posting: 02-09-2022
NSW paramedics say the state government's response to a damning report into rural health falls short of what's needed for country ambulance services. Meanwhile, doctors want country practices given immediate tax breaks to help keep GPs in Read More...
Exercise, not meds, key to back pain fix
Date of Posting: 01-09-2022
Doctors are set to start prescribing exercise instead of medication and bed rest for lower back pain sufferers, as new clinical guidelines dismiss traditional treatments as inappropriate for most. The clinical care standard, released by the Austra Read More...
Cosmetic surgery's pathway to reform
Date of Posting: 01-09-2022
March 2021 The Senate refers an inquiry into the administration of registration and notifications by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee.[subscribe] October 2021 A joint i Read More...
Rise in non-harmful melanoma detection
Date of Posting: 01-09-2022
Scientists have identified a dramatic increase in the treatment of "pre-cancerous" melanomas that might not be harmful, according to new research. The research out of QIMR Berghofer suggests many pre-cancers detected during routine skin Read More...
Vic parliament passes mental health bill
Date of Posting: 31-08-2022
An overhaul of Victoria's mental health system has been enshrined in law, delivering a key recommendation of the state's historic royal commission into the sector. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill is designed to support a system that i Read More...
Booster targeting Omicron strain approved
Date of Posting: 31-08-2022
Australia's medical regulators have given a green light for a COVID vaccine that will target the Omicron variant. The Therapeutic Goods Administration granted provisional approval to Moderna's bivalent COVID vaccine, the first of its type Read More...
