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Local news
WEEK COMMENCING 20 JUNE 2009
THIS SERVICE WILL BE UNAVAILABLE UNTIL SATURDAY
18 JULY 2009. WE APOLOGISE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.
'More investigation needed' into intern death
24 June 2009
Liberal MP Daryl Maguire says further investigation may be warranted into the suicide of a Newcastle medical graduate at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital in south-west New South Wales. The 26-year-old intern died while working at the hospital in January.
Federal Minister for Health to launch Australia’s first national maternity surveillance system
24 June 2009 21:00
Australia is one of the safest places to give birth, yet women continue to suffer serious illness as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. A new national initiative led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) aims to improve the understanding of rare and severe conditions in pregnancy. The Australasian Maternity Outcomes Surveillance System (AMOSS) will be launched by the Federal Minister for Health Nicola Roxon today (Wednesday 24 June).
Family First's Steve Fielding defies swine flu warning to attend Parliament
23 June 2009
Family First's Steve Fielding has defied medical advice and potentially exposed thousands of people to the swine flu virus by turning up to Parliament House. Senator Fielding is taking the antiviral drug Tamiflu as a precaution because his sister-in-law has the virus and is quarantined at his home in Melbourne.
Foreign GPs 'not answer'
24 June 2009
Forcing overseas-trained doctors to work in regional areas has failed to address medical shortages, doctors say. The Rural Doctors Association of Australia says rural and remote areas still are desperately short of doctors and the health of rural people continues to suffer, despite the 10-year federal government moratorium on overseas-trained doctors.
SA Health Dept jobs to go
23 June 2009
The South Australian Government's public service cutbacks have begun, with 64 jobs to go from the Health Department. Peter Christopher from the Public Service Association (PSA) says 430 jobs are scheduled to be axed from health, which will put pressure on other health services.
Regulating healthcare providers
23 June 2009
Beth Wilson is Victoria's health services commissioner. She keeps a watchful eye on the work and on the advertising of a wide range of healthcare providers. Beth Wilson: My office receives complaints on the very serious side, it might be wrong side procedures, where they chop off the left leg instead of the right leg. Rare, but unfortunately it does happen, and a whole range of communication failures, rudeness, insensitivity, wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment, but if you look at them very closely, the whole lot of them are about failures of communication.
Australia warns Aborigines at high swine flu risk
23 June 2009
Australia on Tuesday warned Aborigines may be at high risk from swine flu and rushed medical supplies to remote indigenous communities, as the country announced its second death linked to the virus.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said high disease rates among Aborigines, who suffer the country's worst poverty and ill health, could make them particularly vulnerable.
Roxon confident planing covers Indigenous swine flu risks
23 June 2009
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says Indigenous people with chronic diseases may be hit harder by swine flu, but says she is confident that planning covers that possibility.
2009 NICS Fellows
NHMRC’s National Institute of Clinical Studies is pleased to announce the awarding of six 2009 NICS Fellowships to help improve the use of evidence in key health areas.
» Dr Celia Chen, NICS – MSRA Fellow
» Mr Michael Frank, NICS – Melbourne Health Fellow
» Dr Mary Ryan, NICS – CA NCGC Fellow
» Dr Nigel Toussaint, NICS Fellow
» Dr Alissa Walsh, NICS – GESA Fellow
» Ms Paula Wye, NICS – HCF Foundation Fellow
Remote communities face flu threat
23 June 2009
An outbreak of swine flu in remote indigenous communities could lead to more deaths, a child health expert warns.
Swine flu fears hit regional Australia
23 June 2009
Health experts are concerned about the potential spread of swine flu in remote communities. A 26-year-old man from the remote Western Australian community of Kiwirrkurra became the first Australian to die of swine flu last Friday.
Queensland slow to stub out smoking displays
23 June 2009
The State Government is under pressure to force retailers to hide cigarettes from customers as the Rudd Government ramps up its war on smoking.
Roxon: Intervention targets underage drinkers
22 June 2009
As part of the $53.5 million National Binge Drinking Strategy announced last year, the Australian Government has signed funding agreements with State and Territory Governments to operate pilot programs to teach young people about the risks associated with underage drinking.
35th Annual Conference of the Australian College of Mental Health Nursing
Whichever way you read it, Mind to Care is about the recipient, the giver, the process, a mindful call, the world we live in and our stewardship of it. It’s about people and personhood - Our understanding of the personal, biological, psychological, social and spiritual assets of the mind. The mind defines us and defies us. The mind remains the most challenging frontier of our times. It is our living home yet it is the seat of disruption, fear and chaos.
Tiny tots in therapy
21 June 2009
The number of toddlers seeing psychiatrists has nearly doubled in recent years according to new Medicare figures.
Have your say on GP issues
19 June 2009
ACT Health Minister, Katy Gallagher MLA, today released a discussion paper developed by the ACT GP Taskforce and is inviting the community to provide feedback on the future direction of general practice in the region. The Minister is encouraging members of the public to provide their views and comments on the issues raised in the discussion paper Issues and Challenges for General Practice and Primary Health Care.
Teenagers fall for fainting game
20 June 2009
Two teenagers were taken to hospital this week after playing what's dubbed "The Fainting Game", prompting doctors to warn participants they risk permanent brain damage and possibly death. The boys, aged 14 and 15, from different high schools, were taken to Bundaberg Hospital emergency department on consecutive days after passing out and falling over during school hours.
Feds should fund hospitals
20 June 2009
Former opposition leader Brendan Nelson wants Canberra to take over public hospitals, warning that current arrangements cannot meet public expectations of the health system.
Elliott: Minister welcomes independent AIHW report
19 June 2009
Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot today welcomed the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report - Residential Aged Care in Australia 2007–08: a statistical overview.
PHAA defends response to swine flu
19 June 2009
Australians can be confident that the national response to swine flu (H1N1) has been appropriate and well judged, according to the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA).
International news
US: Long-term care is a vital aspect of health care reform
23 June 2009
A broad consensus of Americans concluded long ago that health care spending in our country — especially spending involving Medicare and Medicaid — cannot be sustained. Over the years, many medical professionals and policymakers have suggested ideas and solutions on how to resolve this problem. But because of a host of reasons including a lack of resolve; lack of understanding of the magnitude of the problem; or, perhaps, insufficient political will, the United States has not adequately addressed the health care delivery and spending issues that have become our country’s most prominent domestic challenge.
US: Beverly schools beef up nurse staff in response to growning needs
23 June 2009
A wall in the nurse's office at North Beverly Elementary School is covered with dozens of packets of medical information, emergency shots and doses. Each packet is for a different child, and they contain doctors' phone numbers, allergy information, EpiPens, pills and dosage instructions. It's how head nurse June Kazes keeps track of the growing number of children with specific medical needs. "The nurses are no longer just cleaning up skinned knees," School Committee President Annemarie Cesa said. "We have children with horrific, life-threatening allergies. We have children with more than one medication that has to be given at specific times."
Philippines: Asia's first A(H1N1)-related death is 49-year-old Filipina
22 June 2009
A 49-year-old Filipino woman infected with Influenza A(H1N1) has died, the first fatality related to the new flu strain in the Philippines and Asia, a health official said Monday. Her death, officially from heart failure, has prompted health officials to give the most attention to sickly people who were hit by the flu.
UK: Recession 'keeps smokers puffing'
22 June 2009
One in four people smoke in the UK. Many smokers are too stressed by the hard economic times to attempt to give up their habit, research suggests. Jennifer Percival, tobacco policy advisor at the Royal College of Nursing, said the findings were a concern, as it suggested many people were continuing to expose themselves to the harmful effects of smoking even though they wanted to give up.
US: Lawmakers address nurse and primary care physician shortages
22 June 2009
A pending House bill would aim to address the nursing shortage by allowing "20,000 additional nurses to enter the U.S. each year for the next three years as a temporary measure to fill the gap".
US: Maryland colleges given $11M to combat nursing shortage
22 June 2009
Leaders from Maryland’s health care industry Monday unveiled $11 million in grants to help state colleges close a widening shortage of nurses. The grants, being divvied among 17 Maryland nursing schools, will be used to lure faculty and students, and improve technology at the universities.
US: 'Turning point' in health reform
21 June 21 2009
The US pharmaceutical industry has agreed to spend $US80 billion ($A100.08 billion) over a decade to defray the cost of health care reform and improve coverage for the elderly, causing President Barack Obama to say the nation is at 'a turning point' in his effort to bring health insurance to all Americans.
US: Nursing your baby can prevent breast cancer
19 June 2009
Did you know if you breast-feed your baby for a year, it decreases your chances of getting breast cancer by almost 5 percent? If you continue to breast-feed beyond two years, you are 50 percent less likely to get breast cancer than a mother who didn't breast-feed.
US: Wealth-Care Reform
18 June 2009
Fixing our health-care system will make us more economically secure. It won't make us much healthier. Health-care reform is, in practice, health-care-system-spending reform. Politicians promise that their plans will "bend the curve" and pursue "universal coverage." They do not promise the plans will make everyone healthier, reduce infant mortality, or set targets for life expectancy. The health of the nation, as opposed to its ability to pay hospital bills, is hardly under consideration.
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