News Articles
Sloppy sun safety putting young people on slippery path
Date of Posting: 29-01-2024
Sloppy approaches to sun safety are leading young Australians down a slippery path, with a skin cancer awareness campaign delivering a timely slap on the wrist. Three in four 18 to 30-year-olds believe they are unlikely to develop skin cancer over Read More...
UK to ban disposable vapes to prevent use by children
Date of Posting: 29-01-2024
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to ban the sale of disposable vapes to prevent their use by children and reiterate the government's intention to introduce a law preventing younger generations from buying tobacco. Under the new powers Read More...
Jump into virtual exercises can reduce pain and falls
Date of Posting: 28-01-2024
Stepping into the virtual world could offer real-life health benefits, with studies suggesting the experiences can help prevent falls and ease chronic pain. A study investigating the impacts of at-home step exercises with a gaming component found Read More...
Waning general practice interest given a $40k booster
Date of Posting: 28-01-2024
Medical graduates who choose to go into general practice are being offered a $40,000 incentive in a bid to reverse the decline in those choosing to become GPs. Up to 800 grants are up for grabs with 400 on offer this year and the remaining 400 in Read More...
NSW COVID-19 wave has reached plateau, data suggests
Date of Posting: 28-01-2024
A spike in COVID-19 infections seen in Australia's two most populous states over the Christmas and New Year period may have reached a plateau, data suggests. COVID variant JN.1 drove a wave of infections responsible for a steep increase in hos Read More...
Vaccination expert among honoured health professionals
Date of Posting: 26-01-2024
As a globally renowned expert on vaccine hesitancy, some of Julie Leask's greatest insights have come from close to home. Many of those close to her don't support vaccination and she believes their perspectives have helped inform the way s Read More...
No health data stolen in hack on major hospital network
Date of Posting: 26-01-2024
A month-long investigation into a cyber attack on a major hospital and aged-care network has found it was unlikely that sensitive personal information was stolen in the hack. St Vincent's Health Australia, which operates public hospitals in in Read More...
Monitor for symptoms as measles spreads to three states
Date of Posting: 25-01-2024
People across three states are being warned to be on high alert for measles symptoms after three people visited several locations over multiple days while infectious. Plane and bus passengers have potentially been exposed to measles after a return Read More...
Decades-long flesh eating ulcer mystery solved
Date of Posting: 24-01-2024
A long-running medical mystery has finally been solved, with Melbourne researchers confirming mosquitoes carry the bacteria that causes flesh-eating Buruli ulcers. The insects have long been suspected as carriers but scientist working on the study Read More...
More than 10,000 spared GP visit under new trials
Date of Posting: 24-01-2024
Women running short on the contraceptive pill have jumped at new trials loosening restrictions that forced them into busy GP clinics. The trials in Victoria, NSW and the ACT began in late 2023 and allow eligible women already prescribed the pill t Read More...
Hopes of a peanut allergy treatment within five years
Date of Posting: 23-01-2024
There's hope a new and effective treatment for peanut allergies could be registered in Australia within five years. Scientists are seeking children aged four to 17 to take part in the phase two trial in clinics across Australia and the United Read More...
Disadvantaged regions at risk of dental decay
Date of Posting: 23-01-2024
Disadvantaged regions of Queensland are more at risk of dental decay because of a lack of fluoride in their water supply, a study has found. It has prompted calls for the Queensland government to reclaim water fluoridation responsibility.[subscrib Read More...
Victoria makes bid to close the gender pain gap
Date of Posting: 23-01-2024
VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES INQUIRY TO ADDRESS GENDER PAIN GAP * Overseen by the Women's Health Advisory Council, the inquiry will examine systemic issues and hear directly from women across the state[subscribe] * Submissions to the inqui Read More...
The gender pain gap, inquiry launched into women's pain
Date of Posting: 22-01-2024
Victorian women's experience with pain and the health system will be the focus of an Australian-first inquiry. Premier Jacinta Allan and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas announced the inquiry on Monday, after a fresh survey found two in five V Read More...
Subsidy for new treatment of 'national cancer' melanoma
Date of Posting: 22-01-2024
Australians paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for advanced melanoma treatment could soon see their costs slashed. Every year 20,000 Australians receive a melanoma diagnosis, and every six hours a patient will die from skin cancer.[subscribe] Read More...
Why 2024 might be the year to go out on your own.
Date of Posting: 22-01-2024
After graduating as a registered nurse in 1988, Di Geddes, worked in a variety of nursing sectors, before a series of life events prompted her to go it alone in 2021. “I had come out of a nasty divorce, I had been in a marriage where I had b Read More...
Improving your workplace culture in 2024
Date of Posting: 22-01-2024
Workplace culture is about more than employee happiness and it’s crucial for a thriving business, says paediatric occupational therapist and co-owner of MoveAbout Therapy Services, Dave Jereb. “Having a great workplace culture is cruci Read More...
Elevate your home cooking: Tips for kitchen upgrades
Last Updated: 21-01-2024
This article contains sponsored content. Home cooking is an art that flourishes in a well-equipped kitchen. Like a painter with brushes and palettes, a home chef thrives with the right tools and environment. If you want to elevate your culinary ga Read More...
Melanoma patients to benefit from cheaper treatments
Date of Posting: 21-01-2024
Australians living with recurrent melanoma will have a new treatment option subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Patients with advanced melanoma will be reimbursed for a treatment called Opdualag - a combination of immunotherapi Read More...
Fentanyl lies in wait as 'the wolf at Australia's door'
Date of Posting: 21-01-2024
Australia is underprepared for the possibility of a fentanyl epidemic as the drug lies in wait as the "wolf at the country's door". That's the warning from health experts who say while illicit fentanyl is yet to garner underworld Read More...
HIV-hepatitis project aims to reduce health inequities
Date of Posting: 19-01-2024
Despite advancements in effective treatments for HIV and viral hepatitis, the rates of diagnosis are disproportionately higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities compared with the non-Indigenous population. But a new initiative i Read More...
Prenatal opioid exposure linked to eczema, asthma
Date of Posting: 19-01-2024
Babies who are exposed to prescription opioids while in the womb are more likely to be diagnosed with an infection, eczema or asthma, researchers have found. The study from the University of Western Australia analysed health records of 401,462 chi Read More...
Record number of flesh-eating ulcer cases
Date of Posting: 18-01-2024
A record number of Victorians were diagnosed with a flesh-eating ulcer in 2023. There were 363 Buruli ulcer cases detected but most were not severe.[subscribe] It's caused by a bacterial infection that can create significant skin damage inc Read More...
Cost of responding to hundreds of MDMA overdoses rising
Date of Posting: 18-01-2024
The cost of responding to MDMA overdoses has risen by more than $1500 since before the pandemic to an average of almost $8000 per patient in Victoria. The jump has been attributed to the rising cost of services, with the figure including the price Read More...
Fresh Sydney measles alert after second infant infected
Date of Posting: 18-01-2024
Children on a shopping centre playground may have been accidentally exposed to measles after the highly infectious disease was discovered in a second Sydney infant. The seven-month-old baby recently returned from the Middle East, where there have Read More...
Vic paramedics consider striking over pay, conditions
Date of Posting: 17-01-2024
Victorian paramedics will take industrial action if they can't come to an agreement with the government over pay and conditions in the next two weeks. The Victorian Ambulance Union (VAU) on Tuesday confirmed 86.8 per cent of its members had vo Read More...
Vape inaction 'not an option' despite huge GP need
Date of Posting: 17-01-2024
Packed GP waiting rooms might need to find space for hundreds of thousands more patients each year under an analysis of new vape rules. But as the number of e-cigarette users hits 1.3 million, one state minister says stemming the tide of an emergi Read More...
Measles alert after infectious baby returns from Asia
Date of Posting: 16-01-2024
A baby who recently returned from overseas has triggered a health alert after visiting a cafe while infected with measles. NSW Health raised the alarm after the nine-month-old infant was taken to locations in Sydney's inner west and southwest. Read More...
New incentive for students entering the nursing and medical fields
Date of Posting: 16-01-2024
If you’re thinking of starting nursing in NSW as a career - good news - the state government is now offering those enrolled in a healthcare degree $12,000 in study subsidies. In the middle of last year, it was announced that 6500 nurses and Read More...
Three new party drugs sniffed out at pill testing site
Date of Posting: 15-01-2024
Scientists have sniffed out three new recreational drugs at Australia's only fixed pill testing site. The party drugs have similar effects to MDMA, also known as ecstasy, and ketamine, which is used as a medical anaesthetic.[subscribe] They Read More...
Approaching Menopause - What You Need to Know [2024 Guide]
Last Updated: 14-01-2024
Menopause marks a significant transition in a woman's life, heralding changes that affect her physical, emotional, and mental well-being. ● As we progress into 2024, advancements in medicine and a better understanding of menopause have e Read More...
Safe sex messaging pushed after concerning rise in STIs
Date of Posting: 14-01-2024
Dating apps will feature a new sexual health campaign urging young Australians to get their "fun parts" tested amid a rise in sexually transmitted infections. Health Minister Mark Butler launched the Beforeplay campaign on Sunday, which Read More...
Cancer check-ups urged despite cost of living pressure
Date of Posting: 14-01-2024
Imagination is required to come up with novel methods of encouraging better health care among men, with only so many ways experts can say the same thing. But new research revealing that cost of living pressures have become a hurdle to Australians Read More...
COVID, flu vaccination rates drop as cases surge: WHO
Date of Posting: 14-01-2024
Low vaccination rates against the latest versions of COVID-19 and influenza are putting pressure on health care systems, leading public health officials say. In the United States, several European countries and other parts of the world, there have Read More...
The 'battle' between phyisos and chiros
Last Updated: 13-01-2024
Talk to anyone with a bad back or other aches and pains, and you’ll probably find they’ve been recommended both physiotherapy treatment and chiropractic treatment, depending on who they’ve spoken to. Most people assume the answer Read More...
Machine learning touted to fix SA ramping crisis
Date of Posting: 12-01-2024
Machine learning technology has been floated as a potential solution for South Australia's ramping crisis after a review found no evidence clinicians were being pressured to treat ambulance patients ahead of sicker patients in waiting rooms. T Read More...
GP disqualified for groping, kissing patient's mother
Date of Posting: 12-01-2024
A Victorian GP who groped and kissed the mother of his young patient while she tried to leave an appointment has been disqualified from practising as a doctor. Shyamal Kanti Datta touched the woman's breast and kissed her on the cheek during a Read More...
New COVID-19 variant drives festive season surge
Date of Posting: 10-01-2024
NSW and Victoria are recording a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations as emerging variant JN.1 drives a wave of infections. Health officials say while the strain is not necessarily more infectious than those before it, Christmas and New Ye Read More...
Doctors defend seven-day delay for patient results
Date of Posting: 10-01-2024
Australians could get their X-rays and blood test results sooner, but doctors warn scrapping delays may have unintended consequences. The Department of Health and Aged Care revealed in late 2023 it was aiming to provide Australians with faster acc Read More...
Size matters in new worker tests for dust lung diseases
Date of Posting: 09-01-2024
Serious concerns remain for the health of workers' lungs across a range of industries despite a ban on engineered stone coming into effect this year. Testing only accounts for the weight of particles, when size and shape may be equally importa Read More...
