Local news

WEEK COMMENCING 17 OCTOBER 2009

Kawana hospital won't go to feds

21 October 2009: The Rudd government has poured cold water on a call from Sunshine Coast doctors for it to take over funding for the proposed hospital at Kawana. Health and ageing minister Nicola Roxon said the Sunshine Coast University Hospital would remain a state government project.

Man's place may not be in the delivery room

21 October 2009: London obstetrician Michel Odent says a labouring woman "needs to be protected against any stimulation of the thinking part of her brain, the neocortex, for labour to proceed with any ease". Motivated by a desire to share the experience, the man asks questions which delay his partner "the quiet mind she needs to release oxytocin, a hormone vital to the birthing process," he writes.

Hospital beds are empty

20 October 2009: Up to 18 hospital beds a week are going to waste on the Sunshine Coast despite overcrowding in public hospital emergency departments, ambulance “ramping” and elective surgery waiting list blow-outs. Noosa News' sister paper, the Sunshine Coast Daily, has learnt that on any given week, five to 10 beds at Noosa Hospital are lying empty because of inadequate funding from the state government. On top of that the new eight-bed Clinical Decision Unit at Caloundra Hospital is sitting idle as red tape holds up the recruitment of doctors to staff the facility.

Plan for elderly to boost organ pool

20 October 2009: Elderly people deemed too old or too unhealthy to give their organs could be allowed to register as donors under a bold new proposal aimed at boosting Australia's organ donation rate.

Elliott: Osteoporosis – it affects men too

20 October 2009: New resources aimed at increasing awareness and diagnoses of osteoporosis in Australian men were launched today to mark World Osteoporosis Day.

Sarah on primary health care research

20 October 2009: Primary health care (PHC) research is vital to underpin the three reform goals of the NHHRC. There is an enormous need for translational PHC and health services research, working with underserved communities to design, trial, and evaluate innovative models of primary health care delivery and modify known best practice to adapt to local contexts.

Fears of job cuts, reduced services

20 October 2009: Some hospitals may have to lose staff, close beds or reduce services to meet new savings targets set by the Victorian Government.

Sporting champs calling for Aussies to 'man' up for strong bones

20 October 2009: Australian sporting heroes and medical experts will join forces to release new resources developed by Osteoporosis Australia to combat the rise of osteoporosis among Australian men.

New screening process 'doubles' conception rate

20 October 2009: British scientists claim they have made an IVF breakthrough that could vastly improve the chances of conception for thousands of women wanting children.

Doctors lag on hand hygiene, study finds

19 October 19, 2009: Australian doctors have been told to lift their game on hygiene, with research showing they are a hospital's worst hand washers. A NSW-based study published by the Australian Medical Journal has found doctors lag well behind nurses, and other hospital workers, on hand hygiene.

Call for elective surgery waiting list overhaul – Medical Journal of Australia

19 October 2009: Australia needs to develop ways to improve the quality of data used to measure access to elective surgery and waiting list performance. This is essential for real long term improvements in delivery of elective services, according to an editorial published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Rural GPs glad to bend Kevin Rudd's ear

17 October 2009: Rural doctors have taken heart that they will not be overlooked in the looming reforms to the nation's health system, after Kevin Rudd extended a scheduled meeting at a country practice to hear concerns about the sector's problems.

Cancer Institute NSW: Welcome to eviQ

eviQ Cancer Treatments Online provides accurate, current, relevant, and evidence based information about clinical cancer treatments. eviQ represents a significant advance on its forerunner (CI-SCaT) in both scope and presentation.

Drained doctors a risk to patients

19 October 2009: Stressed junior doctors say their excessive workloads could compromise patient safety. The Australian Medical Association's Council of Doctors in Training survey of 914 junior doctors who work under supervision in Australia and New Zealand found more than half say their workload is excessive and could cause an "adverse" event. A further 41 per cent said their workload compromised patient safety.

Queensland locked in abortion stalemate

19 October 2009: In early September, most abortions performed in Queensland health facilities came to a halt. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists had passed on a legal opinion to their members that said doctors were still at risk of prosecution while abortion remained in the criminal code.

Doctors neglect hand wash

19 October 2009: Doctors are by far the worst health workers when it comes to washing their hands, with fewer than half managing to do so despite knowing its importance in reducing infection rates, a survey of public hospitals has found.

Being obese no big deal, say pregnant women

19 October 2009: Obesity could now be "so common it is perceived as normal", an Australian researcher says after a survey of pregnant women showed many were oblivious to being overweight. The Brisbane study involved 412 women and it found 30 per cent were either overweight or obese before they fell pregnant.

Recognition on way for sufferers of chronic pain

19 October 2009: Australia could become the first country to recognise chronic pain as a disease in its own right, giving sufferers greater credibility and access to more integrated services. Chronic pain, which affects one in five people and costs the economy about $34.4 billion a year, is the third-most expensive health problem in Australia but most sufferers were still seen as malingerers or drug seekers by general practitioners and busy emergency department staff, the pain specialist Michael Cousins said yesterday.

Recognition on way for sufferers of chronic pain

19 October 2009: Australia could become the first country to recognise chronic pain as a disease in its own right, giving sufferers greater credibility and access to more integrated services. Chronic pain, which affects one in five people and costs the economy about $34.4 billion a year, is the third-most expensive health problem in Australia but most sufferers were still seen as malingerers or drug seekers by general practitioners and busy emergency department staff, the pain specialist Michael Cousins said yesterday.

Hand Hygiene Australia: Resources for Healthcare Workers

All materials in this resource section are able to be freely downloaded and used by all healthcare workers. HHA encourages the use of these resources to help develop and sustain your own Hand Hygiene programs.

Patients slugged $30 for visiting GP

19 October 2009: Patients will be slugged with a $30 bill to visit a non-bulk billing GP from November 1. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) will recommend doctors charge patients $64 for a standard consultation, a $2 rise from the current cost of $62, News Limited reports.

GP visit will cost even more

19 October 2009: Patients will be hit with a $30 bill to see a non-bulk billing doctor from next month because the Medicare rebate failed to keep up with inflation. The rebate will cover just half the cost of seeing a doctor when it rises to $34.30 on November 1.

Specialist queue swells waiting lists

18 October 2009: Elective surgery waiting times in the Hunter are grossly underestimated, with some patients queueing months before they get to see a specialist.

Junior doctors 'stressed but enjoy job'

18 October 2009: Two major surveys of Australia's young doctors show they're routinely stressed and at high risk of burnout. Despite the "excessive" workload leading to fears they'll make mistakes, doctors are also likely to report they enjoy what they do.

All are failing but that doesn't make it ok

17 October 2009: The 2009 Australian Medical Association report card has this week confirmed that health services across the nation are in a bad way and the Fraser Coast does not escape. Regional hospitals are struggling to cope with patient flow, the report says. Timely access to outpatient services also remains inadequate. Many people are now left on a “waiting list” to get on the waiting list.

AMA Queensland president wants legal drinking age lifted to 21

17 October 2009: In a recent poll 60 per cent of year 12 girls admitted to binge drinking three or more times in the previous fortnight. At least 100 lives a year could be saved if Australia raised the legal drinking age to 21, the Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Mason Stevenson said.

Google steps up privacy with crypto fairy dust

16 October 2009: Health minister Nicola Roxon may envisage a future where Google hosts Australians’ heath records, but the global search giant isn’t ready to launch Google Health in Australia just yet.

According to Iarla Flynn, the firm’s head of public policy for Australia; “We have no plans to launch it in Australia at this stage.” Nevertheless he was at pains to explain that if the company ever did launch Google Health locally, after its US trials, privacy of health records would be a high priority for the company.

US debates proposed soft drink tax

16 October 2009: In the United States a debate has erupted over whether the Government should tackle the country's alarming obesity rates with a national tax on sugary drinks. One study shows that adults who drink one or more sugary drinks a day are 27 per cent more likely to be overweight or obese.

Focus on life the key to beating breast cancer

18 October 18, 2009: Well-educated women and those who live on their own are the hardest hit by breast cancer because they are better informed and less likely to cope with losing control over their lives.

Dining out on NSW Health a tax dodge

17 October 2009: PUBLIC health employees can dine out in style and claim the cost against tax under a widespread tax minimisation arrangement facilitated by NSW Health. The department encourages staff, including doctors and nurses, to exploit the tax exemptions available to non-profit health employees, then retains 50 per cent of the proceeds. Under a special perk, employees of public and not-for-profit hospitals can claim against tax the cost of any restaurant or hotel meals and even wedding catering costs – benefits beyond the original scope of the concession introduced in 2000.

Hospital pass not an option for Rudd

16 October 2009: Rudd's response to the Australian Medical Association's scathing report on the performance of public hospitals was good. But while the Prime Minister's Wednesday call for a national  debate on how to fix the system was welcome, a statement of what he thinks should be done would be even better.

Diagnosis positive for public hospitals, report shows

16 October 2009: Public hospitals are faring relatively well in terms of costs and patient pressures, a report has found, in contrast to the ''bleak'' assessment given by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, this week.

ACT surgery wait 'alarming'

15 October 2009: Elective surgery waiting times in the ACT are ''alarmingly higher'' than the national average and Canberra's hospitals have insufficient beds to meet current demand, according to an Australian Medical Association report.

Latest damning report card won't prompt health takeover

15 October 2009: The Federal Government is still to decide whether to mount a takeover of the public hospital system, despite the release of another damning healthcare report.

Chairman warns on clinging to Calvary

15 October 2009: Failure to sell Calvary Hospital to the ACT Government would likely lead to the collapse of Calvary public and private hospitals at Bruce within a year or two, the Little Company of Mary Health Care chairman Tom Brennan said.

Growing West, growing cancer rates

15 October 2009: One in five of women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer by Western Health doctors last year were under the age of 45, according to hospital data.

International news

GERMANY: 'Angel of Death' doctor accused of killing 13

21 October 2009: A German doctor dubbed the Angel of Death has denied killing 13 cancer patients, telling the first day of her trial that she wanted them to live out their remaining days in dignity. Bach, who has been struck off the medical register and who now works as a consultant, admitted, however, that she had made a "serious error" in not keeping better records of the cases.

US: Congressional Black, Hispanic and Asian and Pacific Islander caucuses and national minority medical and nursing groups support health care reform for their communities

19 October 2009: Congressional Tricaucus and national minority medical and nursing leaders are meeting in Washington to urge Congress to pass health care reform legislation with affordable insurance and a public option that target their communities.

US: Cancer survivors may not be getting the help they need to stop smoking

20 October 2009: More than a quarter of cancer survivors who still smoke have not been advised to quit smoking by their health care providers in the last year, according to a study published by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in the current issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The findings suggest that health care providers – from doctors to dentists to nurses – are missing an opportunity to make a dramatic difference in the quality of life of their patients.

US: Facing death with discernment

20 October 2009: A convent is a world apart, unduplicable. But the Sisters of St Joseph, a congregation in Rochester, New York animate many factors that studies say contribute to successful ageing and a gentle death.

UK: Derby hospital success is to be taken to Australia

20 October 2009: The close involvement of staff in the design of Royal Derby Hospital has so impressed two international visitors that they plan to tell the Government of Australia about it.

UK: Top GP calls for expansion of nursing roles in primary care

19 October 2009: One of the UK's leading GPs has called for the expansion of practice nurse roles to enable GPs to offer longer consultations and commission 24-hour care for patients.

UK: Alcohol death toll to reach 9,080 a year, study predicts

19 October 2009: Alcohol will claim more than 90,000 lives over the next decade without urgent action to tackle the country's increasingly ruinous relationship with drinking, experts warn today.

UK: Nurses 'too busy to care for patients'

18 October 2009: Patient care in Scotland is being compromised because of a lack of nurses and the pressure will increase if the government cuts funds for training, a union has warned. A nursing survey has found that more than half of respondents feel too busy to provide the standard of care they want.

UK: Patient care concerns among nurses

19 October 2009: Four in ten nurses say staffing shortages mean patients' care is compromised at least once a week, the Royal College of Nursing said. More than half of the RCN's members, 55%, find they cannot provide the level of care they want to because they are so busy and the same number say there aren't enough staff to meet patient needs.

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