News Articles
Vic prepares to open new quarantine hub
Date of Posting: 20-02-2022
Victoria will welcome the first cohort of unvaccinated international travellers to its newly-built $200 million quarantine hub within days. The Victorian Quarantine Hub, which will replace hotels and become the state's only quarantine site fro Read More...
SA virus cases stable with 1479 infections
Date of Posting: 19-02-2022
South Australia has reported another 1479 COVID-19 infections, continuing the state's run of consistent daily case numbers. New infections have remained between 1000 and 2000 each day for the past three weeks, after dipping below 2000 on Janua Read More...
COVID-19 restrictions ease in Victoria
Date of Posting: 19-02-2022
Coronavirus restrictions are being eased at many venues in Victoria, with density limits to go and check-ins no longer required. From 6pm on Friday, density limits will no longer be enforced at restaurants, pubs and clubs, and indoor dancefloors c Read More...
Joy as virus restrictions ease, for now
Date of Posting: 19-02-2022
Residents of NSW, Victoria and the ACT have enjoyed their first night back on the dancefloor as the summer COVID-19 outbreak appears to subside. Health officials in the jurisdictions say cases have plateaued, with some also scrapping most QR check Read More...
NSW paramedics worked 'to the bone'
Date of Posting: 18-02-2022
A 24-hour strike by NSW paramedics has failed to rouse a meaningful response from the government, their union says. Emergency responders are taking part in industrial action on Thursday, with paramedics refusing to leave their allocated stations t Read More...
Qld mental health funding under spotlight
Date of Posting: 18-02-2022
Queensland could learn from mental health care in Portugal and Scandinavia as professionals call for a significant funding boost in the sector. The state "spends the lowest of any state or territory on mental health" and could do with a Read More...
NSW nurses back to work after strike
Last Updated: 18-02-2022
Thousands of NSW nurses are returning to work following strike action for the first time in more than a decade as workers call for more staff and better pay. But they say further strikes will follow unless their demands are met.[subscribe] NSW Read More...
Time for action on Australia's hidden epidemic
Last Updated: 18-02-2022
Wounds Australia has used the Federal Government’s pre-Budget submission process to call for all political parties to commit to solutions that solve the ‘hidden epidemic’ of chronic wounds. The peak body for wound prevention and Read More...
Last Updated: 18-02-2022
Thousands of Queensland children are catching COVID-19, but authorities are more concerned about the potential risks for their families. The state recorded another 12 virus deaths and 6596 cases after 10,738 tests in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Wedn Read More...
Global burden of depression in spotlight
Date of Posting: 17-02-2022
Tackling some of the myths about depression could help combat the illness in the same way as cancer or heart disease. But reducing the stigma alone won't solve the issue of underfunding according to the 'Time for united action on depressio Read More...
Vic opposition spruiks mental health plan
Date of Posting: 16-02-2022
The Victorian opposition has laid out an alternative pitch to fix the state's "broken" mental health system if it wins government, but is yet to reveal how much it will cost. Opposition Leader Matthew Guy unveiled the initial stage o Read More...
NT posts a rise in COVID-19 infections
Date of Posting: 16-02-2022
The Northern Territory has reported 1086 new COVID-19 cases, with the government hailing its handling of the pandemic as parliament returned for the year. Tuesday's case numbers were a rise on the 757 reported on Monday.[subscribe] There ar Read More...
SA reports 1138 new COVID-19 cases
Date of Posting: 16-02-2022
South Australia has reported another 1138 COVID-19 infections with health officials confident cases are "going in the right direction". Four more deaths have also been confirmed with 219 people in hospital with the virus, including 18 in Read More...
Australia Post gets mental health officer
Date of Posting: 16-02-2022
Australia Post is appointing a chief mental health officer, the first government business enterprise to do so. Group CEO Paul Graham says the move reflects the increasing recognition of the importance of mental health and Australia Post is helping Read More...
Care facility fails disabled SA man
Date of Posting: 16-02-2022
A disabled man in a South Australian government care facility was left in soiled clothes with an infected pressure wound, an investigation has found. The Health and Community Services and Complaints Commissioner looked into the man's case afte Read More...
Young adults with old knees: preventing arthritis after ACL knee injuries
Last Updated: 15-02-2022
Australians have the highest rates of ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) knee injuries worldwide, and young Australians are most at risk, with a 74% increase in knee surgery in people under 25 since 2000. Half the people who’ve had a knee reco Read More...
Opioids ease osteoarthritis pain only slightly
Last Updated: 15-02-2022
Most doctors encourage physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight and short-term use of a simple painkiller like paracetamol to manage the pain. Opioids, like codeine, morphine or oxycodone, have a reputation as powerful painkillers and Read More...
The six ways nasal RATs can fail
Date of Posting: 15-02-2022
Over the last few months, the global community has learnt that fundamentally we have two choices in determining whether we have COVID-19 or not, and just how our life needs to change around that outcome. The purported gold standard of COVID-19 tes Read More...
Bioengineers use Artificial Intelligence to transform hip surgery
Date of Posting: 15-02-2022
Formus Labs, a company that grew out of research done at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI), is set to transform orthopaedic surgery, with the world’s first automated 3D pre-operative planner for joint replacements. Formus Labs has Read More...
Physical activity protects against type 2 diabetes by modifying metabolism
Date of Posting: 15-02-2022
Regular physical activity significantly changes the body’s metabolite profile, and many of these changes are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. The study population incl Read More...
Four COVID-19 deaths, 7311 cases for Qld
Date of Posting: 14-02-2022
Queensland has recorded another four deaths and 7,311 new COVID-19 cases but its chief health officer is confident the state's Omicron wave is almost over. The new cases emerged after 24,875 tests in 24 hours across Queensland including 2066 R Read More...
Peer workshops help teen out of 'dark pit'
Date of Posting: 14-02-2022
When Minnie Knight was was nine-years-old, her father was jailed and several of her remaining family members died. Not only that, school was a struggle and she was being bullied - by the time she was 12, Minnie found herself in what she describes Read More...
From injury to breathing: the far-reaching impact of physiotherapy
Last Updated: 14-02-2022
For Curtley Nelson, a physiotherapist and Associate Lecturer at the University of Queensland, his wish is for more people to understand what physiotherapy is and just how much it can benefit different facets of their lives. “It’s not j Read More...
New treatment shows long-lasting pain after knee surgery reduced
Date of Posting: 14-02-2022
A new treatment program has proven effective in reducing people's ongoing pain and improving outcomes after their knee replacement surgery, according to a recently published study. The aim of the five-year STAR (Support and Treatment After Joi Read More...
One in four Aussie workers have tinnitus
Date of Posting: 13-02-2022
It may not be surprising that working on a hazardously noisy construction site or farm or industrial workshop can increase the chances of developing tinnitus. But new research shows life as a driver - be it behind the wheel of a taxi, bus, train, Read More...
More visitors for aged care residents
Date of Posting: 13-02-2022
Aged care residents will have greater access to visitors and reduced lockdowns under new guidelines as pandemic restrictions loosen. The federal government says every resident should have access to one essential visitor at all times, including dur Read More...
Vaccine protest as doctors launch campaign
Date of Posting: 13-02-2022
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he understands the concerns of anti-vaccination mandate protesters, after thousands of people rallied in Canberra. Crowds of protesters marched on Parliament House on Saturday, shutting down streets around the ca Read More...
Novavax rollout to begin from next week
Date of Posting: 13-02-2022
Novavax will be made available at GP clinics, community pharmacies and state-run vaccine clinics. The rollout of the first protein-based vaccine in Australia was brought forward by one week.[subscribe] The first batches of the vaccine arrived i Read More...
Victoria to lift code brown health alert
Date of Posting: 13-02-2022
Elective surgery will scale up again in Victoria as the state lifts its code brown pandemic alert for the health system. The unprecedented alert was issued in January as hospitals and health services came under increasing pressure due to the Omicr Read More...
EMA probes jab menstrual disorders reports
Date of Posting: 13-02-2022
The European Medicines Agency's safety committee says it is reviewing reports of heavy menstrual bleeding and absence of menstruation from women who had received COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The assessment was in view of Read More...
COVID boosters to be required in aged care
Date of Posting: 11-02-2022
Booster COVID-19 doses will be mandatory for aged care workers across the country under new vaccine advice. States and territories agreed during Thursday's national cabinet meeting it would be up to them whether to mandate boosters for other g Read More...
Nth Qld pharmacy trial has doctors worried
Date of Posting: 11-02-2022
Giving pharmacists the power to diagnose and treat a wider range of conditions is not the answer to health shortages in regional Queensland, doctors say. A trial proposed for north Queensland would allow pharmacists to prescribe medicine for serio Read More...
Vic extends third dose mandate by a month
Date of Posting: 11-02-2022
Victoria will give key workers another four weeks to get their third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, after the state's chief health officer extended the deadline. The state recorded 16 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, along with 9391 new cases, includ Read More...
Families name their health insurance breaking point
Last Updated: 11-02-2022
• 55% of families would consider dropping their health cover if premiums reached $4000 • 32% of families would walk away if premiums reached $3000[subscribe] • 63% of Aussies claimed less than $500 on their health cover in 2016 Read More...
Nasal COVID-19 vaccine 'game changer'
Date of Posting: 10-02-2022
Australian scientists are conducting research to determine if COVID-19 vaccines could be given with a nasal spray - an innovation they say could have "huge implications" around the world. The technology, if effective, could ease pressure Read More...
More than 400 million Covid cases globally
Date of Posting: 10-02-2022
The number of coronavirus infections detected worldwide has risen to more than 400 million since the pandemic began, according to the latest data. The Johns Hopkins University monitor recorded the latest grim milestone just over a month after 300 Read More...
Ovarian cancer patients 'not alone'
Date of Posting: 10-02-2022
Australians living with one of the deadliest cancers will have more access to support services after the federal government put up a multi-million dollar funding package. The $2 million over two years will go to the Teal Support Program which help Read More...
Virus jump warning as Tas schools return
Last Updated: 09-02-2022
Tasmania on Wednesday becomes the final jurisdiction to welcome public school students back for term one. The Australian Education Union has raised concerns over staffing levels should teachers be forced into isolation because of the virus.[subscr Read More...
WA surgery freeze as COVID-19 surge looms
Date of Posting: 09-02-2022
Western Australia has recorded 65 new COVID-19 cases as hospitals pause some elective surgeries in anticipation of a steep rise in infections. Thirteen of the cases announced on Tuesday were locally acquired, with the majority linked to an influx Read More...
Testosterone could be beneficial for women
Date of Posting: 09-02-2022
Australian researchers are challenging the notion testosterone is a "male" hormone that is bad for women. Higher testosterone may actually protect older women from cardiovascular disease, a Monash University study released on Tuesday has Read More...
