Local news

WEEK COMMENCING 19 SEPTEMBER 2009

Roxon accuses eye doctors of blackmail

24 September 2009: The federal government has accused some specialists of blackmailing patients over Medicare rebate cuts for cataract surgery. The Rudd government has slashed the Medicare rebate from about $630 to $300, saying the cost of surgery has fallen.

Get in quick for swine flu shots: Roxon

24 September 2009: The Federal Government is recommending all Australians be vaccinated against swine flu when a mass immunisation program begins next week.

Nicola Roxon takes whip to 'cowboy' marketing

24 September 2009: Canberra will target its $14.8 billion Medicare system for major savings and crack down on "cowboy" marketing practices for flashy new medical technologies. Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has issued a strongly worded challenge to doctors, drug and medical device makers to stop resisting reform and to help trim costs by backing more cost-effective technologies.

Medical companies on notice

24 September 2009: Medical device companies accused of lavishing doctors with inducements to win business have been warned by Health Minister Nicola Roxon to desist or face tougher government regulation.

AMA warns of looming swine flu spike

23 September 2009: The Australian Medical Association (AMA) expects the number of swine flu cases to spike in coming weeks.

Australia invests $70M to boost cancer survival for thousands

22 September 2009: The Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, today visited the Garvan St Vincent’s Cancer Centre to hold a consultation with health professionals on recommendations of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission. Garvan St Vincent’s Cancer Centre has benefited from $70 million from the Rudd Government to expand its world-class research capacity.

Australian National Preventive Health Agency Bill 2009

16 September 2009: The Australian National Preventive Health Agency Bill 2009 (the Bill) would establish the Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA) to support the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference and Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in creating a framework for a national approach to preventive health.

Health service axings must end: AMA

22 September 2009: The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is calling for an end to staff cuts within New South Wales' area health services. The AMA's state president, Dr Brian Morton, says too many of the job losses are occurring in areas where services are already stretched.

Hospitalisation from alcohol abuse on the rise in WA

22 September 2009: The number of Australians hospitalised for preventable injuries and illnesses caused by drinking has risen by a third in a decade, putting more pressure on the public health system. Compared to the rest of the nation which showed significant spikes, WA registered only a slight increase in alcohol-caused hospitalisation due to tighter liquor controls.

Doctors slam eye surgery rebate slash

23 September 2009: Doctors say the government's plan to slash the Medicare rebate for cataract surgery will push thousands of elderly patients onto the public system, putting it under additional strain.

Cataract patients face long delays

23 September 2009: Cataract patients face more treatment delays after private ophthalmologists said they would abandon their work in the public system if the states passed on controversial federal budget cuts. An Australian Medical Association survey of 334 ophthalmologists, released yesterday, also found just 3 per cent would lower their fees in response to the Medicare rebate reductions, despite predicting up to half their patients would shift to the public health system if their bills rose.

Bushfire aid awards

22 September 2009: Ballarat Health Services and Centacare Ballarat have been recognised at the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards for their support during the February bushfires.

Snowdon: Giving rural obstetricians and anaesthetists a well earned rest

22 September 2009: Rural anaesthetists will now join with outback obstetricians, both specialist and GP, in accessing Rudd Government subsidised locum support.

Walk to Work Day

2 October: People taking part in National Walk to Work Day could win a walking holiday in New Zealand by registering themselves as a Walking Class Hero.

Nursing roles in walk-in clinics 'still being worked out'

21 September 2009: ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher says she is confident of addressing doctors' concerns over a new walk-in medical clinic. Doctors have raised concerns that nurses working in the new clinic at the Canberra Hospital may be able to order X-rays and interpret results.

Minor ailment expansion urged

21 September 2009: Greater pharmacists' involvement in preventive care and the treatment of minor ailments was again in the spotlight, this time at the Pharmacy 2009 management conference last week.

No health redundancy scheme in NSW: govt

21 September 2009: There is no state-wide voluntary redundancy program in place targeting health workers, the NSW government says in response to concerns the state will lose up to 1,000 vital staff.

Rallying for the cause

22 September 2009: Bega Valley Advocates of home births were among more than 2000 people from all over Australia who attended the “Mother of all Rallies” at Parliament House recently. The protest was to make sure that home birth with a private practicing midwife is an option for Australian women in the future.

Nursing scholarships

22 September 2009: One of Australia’s largest scholarship programs available for nurses is open for applications. The Australian Government funded Nurse Scholarship Program (NSP) and Mental Health Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme (MHPSS) is administered by Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) and targets key nursing demographics including rural and remote students and nurses, nurse practitioners, mental health nurses and people wishing to re-enter the nursing workforce.

Elliott: World Alzheimer's Day – ‘Diagnosing Dementia: See it Sooner’

21 September 2009: Australia will join 50 other countries including Argentina, South Korea, Venezuela, India, Israel, Greece, Belgium, Canada and the United Kingdom in marking World Alzheimer’s Day today (September 21).

Many Australians at risk of cardiovascular disease are not receiving best practice care

21 September 2009: Many people are not receiving the best possible care when it comes to managing cardiovascular conditions according to two new Australian research studies. The studies highlight the need for wide scale reform to ensure that people at the highest risk of having a heart attack or stroke are identified early and are provided with optimal care. The studies give a comprehensive snapshot of the state of cardiovascular care in the primary health care system for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

One-stop children's health care facility

21 September 2009: The Illawarra Child Development Centre will be redeveloped into a larger health care facility focused specifically on the health of physically and intellectually disabled children.

Australian who won 'right to die' case has died

21 September 2009: An Australian quadriplegic who recently won a landmark court case allowing him to refuse food and water from his nursing home died Monday, his brother said.

Forget Sideshow Alley, its smokers' alley

19 September 2009: There's fun for all at the Perth Royal Show – except for smokers. The Show has proudly publicised that fact it is smoke free this year.

Swine flu shots available for all

19 September 2009: All Australians who need or want a swine flu vaccination will get the jab in the biggest vaccination campaign undertaken in Australia. Thanks to an initial underestimate of the strength of the vaccine, the Federal Government has extended vaccinations to all adults and teens after trials showed only one shot, not two as originally expected, is required to give immunity.

Roxon, Snowdon: Closing the Gap – Indigenous Health Project Officers in Divisions of General Practice

18 September 2009: The Rudd Government has provided $34.7 million over three years to fund 94 full-time equivalent new Indigenous Health Project Officer positions as a part of the historic $1.6 billion COAG National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes.

Snowdon: Riverina Hosts National Health Debate

18 September 2009: The Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health, and Regional Services Delivery, Warren Snowdon today visited the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital as part of consultation with health professionals and stakeholders on recommendations of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission.

Swan: The population challenge and Australia's future: The Australian Institute for Population Ageing Research

18 September 2009: Over the next 40 years it is projected that the number of young people and the number of people of traditional working age will both increase by about 45 per cent. But here's the thing: over the same 40 year period, the number of older people aged 65‑84 years will more than double and the number of very old people aged 85 and over will increase by more than 4½ times.

Planning ahead on healthcare

18 September 2009: Our ongoing ability to decide for ourselves what health care we want, and what health treatment we will accept, is easily taken for granted. It is hard to even imagine the circumstances in which we would be unable to communicate our needs and desires to others.

Doctors want lap band surgery for obese teens

16 September 2009: Some paediatricians are calling for public hospitals to perform lap-band surgery on morbidly overweight teenagers. Doctors say that the service should be offered to teens who have not been able to lose weight through diet and exercise.

How NSW spends $4 on patients' food

19 September 2009: Meals served in hospitals across NSW contain $4 worth of food and drink. About 22 million meals are served each year for a total food and drink cost of $88.56 million and the State Government wants to slash another $16.5 million from the budget. More money is spent on preparing, packaging, transporting and serving the meal than on the actual food.

International news

Move over Nurse Jackie!

23 September 2009: Just when you thought nurses were under-represented on TV, we now have no fewer than three primetime series about the lives of nurses. Since the "nursing shortage" in primetime has all but been eliminated, the question now is: Which series most accurately depicts the "real" lives of nurses?

Dean urges larger role for nurse practitioners in primary care

21 September 2009: Nurse Practitioners can play a larger role in expanding access to primary healthcare in U.S. health reform if limits to their practice are resolved.

From Iraq hellfire to hospital halls, TV nurses wage a battle for respect

22 September 2009: In 1962, during the early heyday of the hospital drama, CBS introduced a series that nobly shifted the focus from the lionized role of male physicians to the hard work performed by the women who kept the IVs filled and the compassion on tap. The show was simply called “The Nurses,” until the network dispensed with its effort at feminist populism, reeled in testosterone to lead the cast (the actors Michael Tolan and Joseph Campanella) and in 1964 changed the title to “The Doctors and the Nurses” to punctuate the indignity.

Revolutionary drug could be new hope for adrenal cancer patients

22 September 2009: TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare today announced the start of a clinical trial for a drug designed to combat adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare but deadly cancer that attacks the adrenal glands.

Risks and benefits: changing the nursing skill mix

22 September 2009: Healthcare assistants have taken on more and more core nursing tasks in recent years. Sally Gainsbury investigates the impact of this blurring of professional boundaries in the current economic climate. As the biggest single part of the NHS pay bill it was inevitable that talk of reducing NHS costs would quickly make its way around to discussions of skill mix among the nursing workforce. Although the confidential McKinsey report on NHS cost saving, seen by Nursing Times earlier this month, did not actually use the term “skill mix” it did suggest the Department of Health urgently “limit or remove” mandatory staffing ratios which stipulate the number of registered nurses to patients a ward should have.

Drexel University nursing students trade books for iPods

21 September 2009: More than 300 Drexel University nursing students traded their books in favor of Apple's iPod Touch on Monday morning to demonstrate the university’s plan to make vital medical information more readily available to students and professionals.

Australia’s swine flu vaccination plan to test global interest

18 September 2009: Australia will begin immunizing people against swine flu in 12 days, heralding a global health campaign that will test public interest in the inoculation.

Lowering sodium consumption could save US $18 billion annually in health costs, study finds

Reducing Americans' average intake of sodium to the amount recommended by health officials could save the nation as much as $18 billion annually in avoided health care costs and improve the quality of life for millions of people, according to a new RAND Corporation study.