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Local news
WEEK COMMENCING 09 MAY 2009
Hospital doctors fear losses of staff
14 May 2009
Midwives will not flee the state's chronically understaffed public hospitals, despite budget moves to allow them to set up private practices from the end of next year, the Australian College of Midwives said.
Budget 09: More money for Indigenous services but less funding for diabetes research and prevention
13 May 2009
Indigenous Australians with diabetes will be given more support as part of the 2009 Federal Budget but money for type 2 diabetes management and diabetes research will be reduced.
Australia’s obesity problem continues to grow
13 May 2009
The latest report into Australia’s health has found that overweight or obesity has increased to 62 per cent in adults but an alarming new statistic shows obesity in boys has doubled.
Roxon prescribes new roles for nurses
13 May 2009
Midwives, nurse practitioners, hospitals and cancer services are some of the big winners in this year’s Federal health budget, whereas pathology and imaging services and some high-cost specialist services such as IVF procedures have been targeted for cuts. Other changes include the following.
Roxon a Robin Hood? No way
13 May 2009
Asked to explain the philosophy behind the health budget, Nicola Roxon paints a picture of the Government acting as a modern-day Robin Hood. She says the health spending decisions involved "restricting or reducing some of the benefits that have been over-generous, or excessively generous, either to some particular individuals or specialists, and diverting them to areas that have been long-neglected".
ACT's outstanding nurses and midwives recognised
13 May 2009
ACT Health Minister, Katy Gallagher MLA, has congratulated the winners of the ACT Nurses and Midwives Excellence awards and acknowledged their vital contribution to the ACT health system.
Changes may put pressure on IVF doctors
13 May 2009
Fertility doctors are worried they will be under pressure to implant multiple embryos into women who cannot afford ongoing treatment due to new financial safety net caps, a leading IVF specialist says.
New coin for International Nurses Day
Monday 11 May 2009
The Royal Australian Mint will launch the first coin in their new series titled Australia Remembers at the Royal College of Nursing, Australia’s International Nurses Day celebrations in Canberra tonight. The series pays tribute to past and present Australians who played important roles during times of war, conflict and peacekeeping. The first coin in this series honours past and present Australian Services nurses.
The Alzheimer's Project
8 May 2009
Today The Times’s Alessandra Stanley reviews “The Alzheimer’s Project,” a new four-part documentary series to begin on Sunday on HBO. The series, made with the assistance of the National Institute on Aging, suggests that breakthroughs in prevention and treatment are not far away. Still, Ms. Stanley writes, “It is almost impossible to watch even a portion of ‘The Alzheimer’s Project’ on HBO without worrying.”
Budget 09: $120,000 lure for doctors to go bush
13 May 2009
The Federal Government has announced new reforms to help address major workforce shortages in rural and remote health services, including cash incentives of up to $120,000 to lure doctors to remote areas.
Ticks from nursing and consumer groups and some others
13 May 2009
Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) and the College of Nursing (CoN) applaud the Rudd Government on its pragmatic decision to provide nurse practitioners access to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
Midwives, rural medical staff gain
13 May 2009
More power for midwives and a $134 million program to attract health professionals to regional and rural areas are the big surprises in the health budget.
Health industry snubbed in Budget: AMA
13 May 2009
The president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) says the Government has not delivered on its promises in the health sector. She welcomed the deal to allow midwives and doctors to work as a team, but cautioned that allowing nurses access to the Pharmaceuticals Benefit Scheme (PBS) could increase costs.
Nurse Practitioners applaud access to Pharmaceutical and Medical Benefits Scheme rebates for their patients
12 May 2009
The Australian College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) congratulates the Rudd Government on their visionary decision to approve nurse practitioners to prescribe within the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and for patients to receive rebates from the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) for diagnostic tests and referrals.
Roxon prescribes a bit off the top to pay for needy
12 May 2009
The Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, is taking the scalpel to high-end health care to free up cash for government priorities including the expansion of services for areas of need, the bush and outer suburbs.
Budget: More doctors, nurses - and bills
13 May 2009
Nurses and midwives will for the first time be able to provide taxpayer subsidised services and medicines, in a move that is sure to raise the ire of GP lobby group, the Australian Medical Association.
Roxon: Extended Medicare Safety Net Report
12 May 2009
A report on the operation, effectiveness and implications of the Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) was tabled in both Houses of Parliament. The report is a review by independent academic institution, the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation at the University of Technology, Sydney, which examined the EMSN as required under the Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare) Act 2004.
Budget: Health spending, win for NPs
12 May 2009
The Government will provide $60 million over four years to give nurse practitioners appropriate access to the MBS and PBS from November 2010.
Reform nears final frontier
9 May 2009
The clock is ticking for health reform supremo Christine Bennett. "There are 57 days to go, that's what I remind them in emails," the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission chairwoman says of her communications with colleagues: a reference to the fast-approaching deadline for the NHHRC's final report.
Back pain increasingly felt by the young
11 May 2009
Back pain affects a lot of Australians but the bad news is that it's starting to hit younger people. Researchers want back pain classified as a national health priority area because adolescents are increasingly reporting problems. They say it's costing the community billions of dollars in health care and decreased workplace productivity.
Unborn sex test outrages Australian doctors
11 May 2009
Australian doctors are furious Sydney pharmacies are selling kits for pregnant women to test the gender of their unborn child.
DoHA: Self-Test Bowel Cancer Kits – Important Notice for Users
11 May 2009
The Department of Health and Ageing will start contacting participants in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program from this week to invite people to re-take the test, after quality issues were identified during an investigation of the test kits.
New names, save old Government taxes
11 May 2009
As a young reporter on The Telegraph I recall the early-edition newspapers landing on desks in the newsroom the morning after the federal Budget, the tabloid front page emblazoned in bold black type with the heading "BEER, SMOKES UP!"
Ageing men seek 'youth' fix
10 May 2009
Middle-aged men are increasingly injecting human growth hormones to fight off old age, spending up to $15,000 a year. Ken Ho, chairman of the department of endocrinology at St Vincent's Hospital, said misuse increases the risk of cancer and diabetes as well as enlargement of the heart and elongation of the jaw.
Don't penalise cancer patients
9 May 2009
The death last week of businessman and philanthropist Richard Pratt illustrates the harsh reality that cancer does not discriminate between individuals. Hopefully, neither will the Rudd Government as it confronts the reality of the unintended consequences of a 2008 budget initiative to completely change the manner in which cancer care drugs are funded in Australia.
Call to review spending on psychologists
9 May 2009
A push to reform the federal Government's Better Access scheme for mental health is focusing on the role of registered psychologists, with critics claiming they are attracting the lion's share of Medicare funds despite being allegedly less well-trained than clinical psychologists also included in the scheme.
Whooping cough cases surge in NSW
9 May 2009
An escalation of whooping cough diagnoses across NSW has led to calls for a national review of how the potentially fatal disease could be prevented.
Richard Glover: 'That a man is coping with this much agony, and is being offered no assistance, seems too awful'
9 May 2009
Next time I fall sick, I want Sky News broadcasting live from a van parked in my driveway. I want radio news bulletins breathlessly reporting each sniffle as I bravely soldier on. I want Nicola Roxon personally delivering a supply of face masks to my door.
International news
Every nurse should wear same uniform to help patients, votes RCN
12 May 2009
The huge variety of dress codes between hospitals and even within individual wards have left patients struggling to tell the difference between nurses and other staff such as doctors, medical students and physiotherapists, according to the Royal College of Nursing's (RCN) annual Congress in Harrogate. A single "national" uniform across the country would also create a more professional image, the conference heard.
We must end neglect of elderly, Sir Michael Parkinson tells RCN
13 May 2009
Sir Michael Parkinson has called on society to end its "neglect" of the elderly, which he described as a "shove them in a corner and wait for them to die" attitude. In an emotional and highly personal speech to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the former chat show host also spoke movingly of how his mother was treated during her final days.
Nurses meet a need with clinic
13 May 2009
One place that nurse practitioners have made big inroads in the area is the University of St. Francis Health and Wellness Center in downtown Joliet. The primary care clinic was the brainchild of Maria Connolly, USF's dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health, and is run by nurse practitioner Mary Maragos, the clinic's director. The center is exactly the type of clinic where nurse practitioners shine.
UK: Royal College of Nursing launches whistleblower hotline after poll reveals victimisation fears
10 May 2009
A whistleblowers' hotline is being set up today by the Royal College of Nursing after evidence emerged that its members are being victimised for voicing worries about unsafe practices on NHS wards.
UK: NHS equipment 'kept in bathrooms'
9 May 2009
A third of nurses in Wales with duties to decontaminate hospital equipment have had no formal training, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
US: GE to spend $6 billion on health tech initiative
8 May 2009
General Electric will spend US$6 billion over the next six years in an effort to improve health-care quality and drive down costs to consumers, the company announced Thursday.
US: Nurses’ supporting role in law and order
9 May 2009
When it comes to solving crimes, images of detectives, police officers and scientists often come to mind. But nurses, too, play a critical role in the criminal justice system, and they can make good money doing so. Nurses with forensic training may gather data at accident sites and in other situations where crimes may have occurred or medical evidence needs to be collected. They may also testify in court cases and help lawyers understand medical records — often for medical malpractice cases.
UK: NHS could have hired 10,000 nurses with money spent on management consultants
9 May 2009
The NHS could have hired almost 10,000 nurses with the money it spent on management consultants last year, new figures have shown. Research by the Royal College of Nursing has found that hospitals and primary care trusts spent £350 million on advice from external companies, projects such as private finance initiatives, and attempts by hospitals to win foundation status and find ways to maximise income.
Scotland: Concerns over infection training
8 May 2009
More than a quarter of nurses have not been trained within the last year on infection control, a union has claimed.
A Royal College of Nursing (RCN) poll found 29% of nurses in Scotland had not received mandatory annual infection-control training in the last 12 months.
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