Local news

WEEK COMMENCING 29 AUGUST 2009

Elliott: $8.6 million funding boost for Coffs Harbour Hospital

3 September 2009

Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot today announced $8.6 million in funding for Coffs Harbour Base Hospital to purchase new surgical equipment and upgrade a key part of the emergency department to help relieve the pressure on public hospitals and reduce waiting times.

Germs 'costing hospitals $1b a year'

3 September 2009

The spread of germs in hospitals is a health hazard for patients, but it is also proving to be a wealth hazard for Australia's healthcare system. Infected patients have to spend a lot longer in bed, and Queensland researchers estimate that it adds nearly $1 billion a year to the cost of Australia's healthcare system.

Kids in adult psych wards a 'human rights breach'

3 September 2009

The Tasmanian Children's Commissioner says the State Government is breaching the UN convention on the rights of children by not providing a dedicated youth psychiatric unit.

Costs of treating kidney disease going up: study

3 September 2009

A new study has found spending on chronic kidney disease in Australia jumped by a third over four years, and costs are still rising.

Medications increase chance of falls: study

3 September 2009

Commonly prescribed cholesterol medications are being blamed for reducing muscle strength and increasing the chance of falls. The Menzies Research Institute in Tasmania has uncovered concerning side effects of statins, a class of drugs used for lowering cholesterol.

Gladstone cancer patients 'forced elsewhere'

3 September 2009

A central Queensland cancer support group says new public cancer patients in Gladstone are no longer able to get treatment in the city. Queensland Health says public patients needing oncology care can have assessments in Rockhampton or Brisbane and treatment in Gladstone.

Renmark residents to reflect on mental health

3 September 2009

The Renmark Paringa community has the opportunity to express its thoughts on mental illness through the council's involvement in the postcards project.

Health chief responds to criticism

3 September 2009

The Greater Southern Area Health Service's chief executive, Heather Gray, says she is being open about plans for the region's hospitals. There has been concern about budget pressures and nursing staffing changes, and rallies have been staged at Cootamundra and Leeton over threatened cuts to clinical and training services.

Govt burying bad news on mental health: opp

3 September 2009

The New South Wales opposition health spokeswoman, Jillian Skinner, says the State Government has tried to hide a report on mental health amidst the drama of recent headlines.

Local health lobbying 'back to square one'

3 September 2009

A New South Wales mid-north coast MP says having yet another new health minister is bad news for the region.

Rudd, Ellis: Launch of AFL Players Association ‘Just Think’ campaign

3 September 2009

The Australian Government today announced $132,000 for the Australian Football League (AFL) to support their work in tackling alcohol fuelled street violence, particularly amongst young Australians. The Prime Minister made the announcement at the launch of ‘Just Think’, an initiative that will bring together 8 AFL Captains in a powerful advertising campaign aimed at discouraging senseless acts of violence.

Elliott: Living Well Expo connects Coffs Harbour residents to community services

3 September 2009

Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, today officially opened the Living Well Community Information Expo in Coffs Harbour. The expo had more than 80 exhibitors helping people living in Coffs Harbour and the surrounding regions connect with the community services they may need.

What future for general practice - the cry from a rural GP

3 September 2009

The current focus on primary health care reform has left GPs feeling confused, nervous and anxious, if this piece from rural GP David Monash is anything to go by. He writes: “The elephant in the room that is not being spoken of or referred to in the current plethora of reports and indicated reforms in the area of Primary Health Care is: What do our General Practitioners actually do? And what is to become of them?

Beyond the baking...

3 September 2009

They don’t bake biscuits for the patients’ morning tea any more, but the former ladies’ auxiliary, now officially known as the Kangaroo Island Healthcare Auxiliary Incorporated, is just as essential to the quality of care at the Kingscote hospital as it ever was.

Parents warned on energy drink craze

3 September 2009

Red Bull may claim to "give you wings", but it and other energy drinks can also give school-aged children diarrhoea, hyperactivity, dizziness, nausea and an increased heart rate.

Auburn's health hub: new surroundings and a new way of doing things

3 September 2009

THE bulldozing is over. Visitors and patients are moving through the new Auburn Hospital with seeming ease and the newest batch of babies is being delivered.

What really matters in health?

2 September 2009

“Primary healthcare reform is the single most  important strategy for improving our health and making the health system sustainable.  Community-level prevention and primary healthcare is essential to restoring universalism and efficiency in Australian healthcare.” That quote actually comes from the Preventative Health Taskforce report. I thought it worth mentioning because the draft of the first national primary health care strategy (which is available here, together with a supporting report) is likely to slip off the public radar pretty quickly, more’s the pity.

Lies, damned lies and health care

2 September 2009

Faced with the debate over US President Barack Obama’s project to overhaul American health care, I’m finding it difficult to maintain the impartiality required of an ABC current affairs presenter. I’ve had rather a lot of care from what the Americans call “socialised medicine”, here and in the UK – in fact without it, I’d be dead several times over – and some of the things that have been said against it strike me as plain ridiculous.

Hospital infections cost $1 billion in lost bed days

2 September 2009

Infections caught in hospital are costing the Australian healthcare system more than 850,000 lost bed days, according to a new study by Queensland University of Technology. Associate Professor Nick Graves, from QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, said there were 175,153 cases where patients had acquired an infection during their hospital stay. "If rates were reduced by just one per cent, then 150,158 bed days would be released for alternative uses, allowing an estimated 38,500 additional admissions annually," he said.

Junk food ads aimed at children set to stay: AUS

2 September 2009

The communications watchdog has been accused of ignoring the health of our children after it decided against tougher rules for junk food ads on TV. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has decided against ratcheting up the rules governing junk food advertising, saying there's only limited evidence linking the ads with childhood obesity rates.

Taskforce, ACMA at odds over food ads

2 September 2009

There is plenty of evidence supporting the link between junk food advertising and childhood obesity rates, the head of the National Preventative Health Taskforce says.

Industries pan 'sin tax' rise

1 September 2009

The Preventative Health Strategy has won the support of most health practitioners, but drawn protests from the industries that will be hardest hit.

Greens: Tasmania could be world leader in dementia care and skills training

1 September 2009

The Tasmanian Greens today urged the Bartlett Government, aged and dementia care service providers and the skills training sector to work collaboratively to ensure Tasmania’s health and human services system is not broken under the weight of the burgeoning crisis in Dementia care.

Preventative health must benefit from increased taxation: Greens

1 September 2009

The report of the Preventative Health Taskforce, released by Health Minister Nicola Roxon today, is a clear blueprint and a call for decisive action, according to the Australian Greens.

Roxon: Several new listings on the PBS

1 September 2009

Several new listings and a change to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 September will bring health benefits to many Australians.

Roxon: Prostate cancer awareness month

1 September 2009

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month and it is a perfect time to remind men with symptoms or a family history of prostate cancer to discuss any concerns they may have with their doctor.

Watchdog denies junkfood advert-obesity link

1 September 2009

The communications watchdog has decided against strengthening rules governing junk food advertising on television. Under a review of television standards, a ban on advertising during pre-school children's programs will remain in place, while restrictions on advertising during children's (C) programs have been strengthened.

Broad support from health practitioners but not industry

1 September 2009

MARK COLVIN: The Preventative Health Strategy has won the support of most health practitioners, but drawn protests from the industries that will be hardest hit. That's because hip pocket pain is one of the keys to the strategy. Higher taxes or prices on cigarettes, certain foods and alcohol are central in the taskforce's strategy to reduce smoking, obesity and risky drinking. Most health experts say it would work, but some sporting organisations and tobacco companies, even the Australian Medical Association, want a different approach.

Cigs up, drinks up: health task force

1 September 2009

The Government has been urged to step in to improve Australians' health by hiking taxes on cigarettes and imposing more restrictions on the sale and promotion of alcohol. Junk food advertising aimed at children would also be curbed under the wide-ranging plan to tackle the country's levels of obesity and chronic disease.

Report proposes revamp of 'failing' Medicare

1 September 2009

Medicare is failing to meet modern health care needs and should be revamped through expanded community-based services, a Government report has found. The report, prepared by the federal Health Department with help from outside experts, identifies eight weak points in Medicare, including its illness focus, increasing complexity and its poor fit with modern, team-care approaches.

GPs to be paid to spend more time on chronically ill

1 September 2009

Doctors who genuinely assist the chronically ill will be rewarded under measures proposed in a report to stamp out wrongful claims being made by GPs. A health report released yesterday by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has touted bigger bucks for well-performing GPs who spend more time with patients suffering from chronic disease.

Report at odds with Medicare extension

1 September 2009

Medicare has been stretched to the point where it risks putting more into doctors' pockets than into care of the chronically ill. A major government-backed report has singled out poorly targeted payments for patient "care plans" as symptomatic of a primary health system fraying at the edges and in need of funding reform.

Care system of the future

1 September 2009

Politicians should separate the e-health agenda from the broader plans for healthcare reform to prevent further roadblocks to progress, health leaders say. NSW Health deputy director-general Tim Smyth said the deadline set by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission for doctors to become connected or lose access to Medicare patient rebates was "inspired and achievable".

Health report to recommend higher 'sin taxes'

1 September 2009

A major health care report to be released by the Federal Government today is expected to call for higher taxes on cigarettes and alcohol. The Preventative Health taskforce report has been with the Government for several months and is also likely to recommend plans to curb the rate of obesity in Australia, including changes to the way food is marketed and produced.

Medicare 'failure' under fire

1 September 2009

Expanded community health services to plug gaps for those not covered by Medicare are foreshadowed in Australia's first primary health care strategy. For the first time in its 25-year history, Medicare has come under fire from the Federal Government. An expert report has found it is failing to meet modern care needs.

Pathology and Government sums don’t quite add up: industry insider

31 August 2009

A pathology industry insider who wishes to remain anonymous has sent in the following post: “Every year I have a chuckle at the annual reports of whoever is left standing in corporate pathology…..and this year is just the same…..it never seems to add up.   All the info below is derived from the annual reports on the ASX web site and the stats released on Friday here".

Depression found in 15% of preschoolers

31 August 2009

Almost 15 per cent of preschoolers have abnormally high levels of depression and anxiety, and a difficult temperament at five months of age is the most important early warning sign, a study has found. Highly strung or tense four and five-year-olds are also more likely to have mothers with a history of depression than children who are not anxious or depressed.

Govt releases draft frontline health strategy

31 August 2009

The Federal Government has released a draft strategy for the delivery of frontline health care in Australia. The National Primary Health Care Strategy looks at the care delivered by GPs, community nurses and other professionals like physiotherapists, psychologists and pharmacists.

Swine flu spreading at 'unbelievable' rate: WHO chief

30 August 2009

Swine flu spreads four times faster than other viruses and 40 per cent of the fatalities are young adults in good health, the world's top health official says. "This virus travels at an unbelievable, almost unheard of speed," World Health Organisation Director General Margaret Chan told France's Le Monde daily in an interview on Saturday.

Nurse cash bonus plan 'falling behind'

27 August 2009

The Opposition says the Federal Government's plan to attract nurses back into the workforce is failing. The Federal Government says its plan to attract nurses back into the workforce has reached less than 7 per cent of its long-term target.

One-punch warning follows tragic schoolyard death

30 August 2009

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has described as "shocking" a school-yard fight that led to the death of a 15-year-old boy while her police commissioner again warned the state's young that "one punch can kill". Jai Morcom died at Gold Coast Hospital yesterday morning after suffering head injuries allegedly during a fight at Mullumbimby High School on the NSW north coast on Friday.

Pathology labs avoid bulk-billing

29 August 2009

Pathology companies charged patients an out-of-pocket gap fee for an additional 400,000 tests in the June quarter, in the first sign their campaign to reduce bulk-billing rates may be working. New Medicare statistics released yesterday show the rate of bulk-billing for pathology testing plunged by 1.6 percentage points from 87 per cent to 85.4 per cent in the June quarter, compared with the previous three-month period. As some 26 million pathology services are provided under Medicare each quarter, that represents about 416,000 extra tests for which patients were asked to pay a gap fee.

Obstetrics and IVF fees soar

29 August 2009

Obstetricians and IVF specialists have increased their fees by more than 20 per cent in the past year, Medicare figures reveal, in a move the Government has slammed as an irresponsible grab for public cash. The increase was nearly four times the average increase charged by other doctors, according to data released yesterday.

AMA survey canvasses cataract cuts

29 August 2009

The nation's peak doctors' group has launched a survey of more than 500 eye specialists to gather information about the duration and frequency of cataract surgery as tensions mount over the government plan to slash Medicare rebates for the procedure.

End abortion legal confusion – Greens

29 August 2009

The Australian Greens have urged federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon to intervene in Queensland's abortion debate. Queensland Cabinet amended the state's Criminal Code on Monday to protect doctors prescribing abortion drugs.

Elliott: $4.9 Million dementia respite care unit to help carers get a well deserved break

28 August 2009

Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot today officially opened the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s new $4.9 million respite centre in Frankston. Almost 2.6 million Australians provide care for family members or friends with a disability, mental illness, chronic condition or who are frail aged. Of these about 500,000 are primary carers – the people who provide the most care.

Roxon: Cancer Clinical Trials Extended to Regional Patients this Daffodil Day

28 August 2009

Cancer patients in Bendigo, Wodonga, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Hobart will now be able to benefit from new cancer treatments as part of clinical cancer trials. This Daffodil Day we announce funding of $450,000 to increase regional access to the cancer clinical trials undertaken by Australia’s existing Multi-site Collaborative National Cancer Clinical Trials Groups.

Doctors urge delay on vaccine

29 August 2009

Doctors have called for Australia's swine flu vaccination plans to be put on ice until questions over the safety and practicality of the roll-out are answered. In a letter yesterday to Chief Medical Officer Jim Bishop, seen by The Age, Australian Medical Association president Andrew Pesce said the Government should ''seriously consider'' delaying the program. As reported, there has been concern that insurers would not cover doctors to administer the vaccine due to inadequate testing and a higher risk of infection from multi-dose vials.

Nurses bonus 'useless without change'

28 August 2009

Doctors say if the Government wants to succeed in bringing nurses and other health professionals back to work, it has to find out why they left in the first place.

International news

US: Proposed Medicare cuts have nursing homes worried

2 September 2009

Plans to cut Medicare spending to pay for a health care overhaul in America will cost Florida nursing homes nearly $3.5 billion over the next decade, a national nursing home group said Tuesday in Jacksonville.

UK: NHS advised to lose one in 10 workers

2 September 2009

The NHS will have to shed around 137,000 jobs – almost a tenth of its workforce – if it is to meet planned efficiency savings of £20bn, the Department of Health has been warned. The severity of cutbacks needed by 2014 was contained in advice presented by management consultants McKinsey to the government this spring.

US: Democratic Party strategist speaks on Obama health care reform

1 September 2009

MARK COLVIN: In the USA, the health debate is far more all-encompassing as the President Barack Obama attempts a major reform of the whole health care system. With the Congress back this week, the debate's back on in earnest, and the President wants results before the end of the year.

US: Saving lives is a growth industry

1 September 2009

Healthcare professions such as Registered Nurse (RN) are predicted to expand faster than all others in the coming decades.

US: National guideline released for the treatment of hoarseness

1 September 2009

The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) will issue the first--and only--national clinical practice guideline to help healthcare practitioners identify and manage patients with hoarseness, also known as dysphonia. The guideline emphasizes evidence-based management of hoarseness by clinicians, and educates patients on the prevalence of this common vocal health issue.

CANADA: Planned home birth with registered midwife as safe as hospital birth, Canadian study finds

The risk of infant death following planned home birth attended by a registered midwife does not differ from that of a planned hospital birth, found a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

PAKISTAN: PIMS body to solve nursing staff problems

1 September 2009

The administration of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Monday constituted a seven-member committee to resolve the problems of the nursing staff.

PHILIPPINES: Just by being there: Nursing beyond limits in a time of crisis

31 August 2009

(Keynote speech at the Midyear Convention of the Association of Nursing Service Administrators of the Phils., Inc., August 20, 2009, Fiesta Pavilion, Manila Hotel, with the theme “Nursing Administrators: Leading Beyond Limits”) Standing here—rather, trying to stand here because I just checked out of The Medical City for a bad back; forgive me if I seem a little intimidated before such a powerhouse group of health-care professionals. I refer to nurses, who are constantly in the front line of health care.

CANADA: Home birth with midwife as safe as hospital birth

31 August 2009

Giving birth at home with a midwife present is as safe as a hospital delivery accompanied by a doctor, suggests a new Canadian study, which found home births were associated with fewer adverse outcomes for both mother and baby.

US: Health reform can count on nurses

31 August 2009

One issue often overlooked in health care reform discussions is how the shortage of primary care physicians could undermine the quest for universal coverage. In Pennsylvania, our reform plan advocates using highly skilled and licensed non-physician providers to help fill the physician shortage. More than 3,700 family nurse practitioners graduated from masters-level and postmasters-level programs in the USA in 2007. Nurse practitioners and other non-physician providers such as physician assistants, nurse midwives and dental hygienists can help stretch our resources. Studies have shown that nurse practitioners are capable of managing 80%-90% of the care provided by primary care physicians without resorting to physician referral or consultation. And in all 50 states, nurse practitioners can prescribe medications. They also can diagnose and treat patients, order lab tests and refer patients to specialists. Research has proved that these facilities provide safe, accessible and affordable care.

UK: How nursing lost its connection to the reality of human suffering

31 August 2009

It was hard not to like the look of Henrietta Scott in the papers last week as she retired at 70 after 52 years as a nurse at Glasgow's Victoria infirmary. Ms Scott was an excellent nurse, judging by the accolades heaped upon her by colleagues. Described as a remarkable woman who everyone came to for advice because of her wealth of experience and knowledge, she also, importantly, was the life and soul of the operating theatre with "a smiley personality and cheer that lit up the hospital". She recalled the long-gone days of strict and scary matrons, adding: "It is much less formal now, which has its benefits and its downfalls, but the staff are still faithful to the patients and work extremely hard."

UK: Standard of care in some wards 'would shame a third world country'

29 August 2009

The standard of care in some hospital wards and nursing homes “would shame a third world country”, nurses have warned. Their comments follow a damning report which estimated that one million patients had suffered appalling care, including neglect and cruelty, at the hands of NHS staff, many of them nurses. Hundreds more people have come forward with their tales of appalling treatment since the report, by the Patients Association, was published on Thursday.

CANADA: B.C. prepares for the next wave of H1N1 swine flu

28 August 2009

By the time the next wave of the H1N1 virus hits British Columbia, schools will be back in full swing, temperatures will be dropping, final Olympic preparations will be underway, and the health authorities will be continuing to look for ways to trim their budgets. Add to the mix the Christmas holidays at the end of December — when doctors and nurses will be taking time off — and the thousands of international visitors who will be here for the Olympics in February, and you have something of a perfect storm for the proliferation of the virus.

Healthcare revamp won't cure America

28 August 2009

With the acrimonious debate over healthcare reform poised to return to the US Congress as its members return from their summer break, two new studies bear a sobering message: don't expect an expansion of health insurance coverage alone to improve Americans' health.

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