International news
UK: Sugababes back cervical cancer campaign
2 December 2009: Pop group the Sugababes have become the faces of a new charity campaign that aims to educate women and girls about cervical cancer.
US: Registered nurse practitioners push for prescription power
2 December 2009: Every year for the past 16 years, the Florida Nurses Association has lobbied unsuccessfully to allow its most highly trained colleagues the right to prescribe painkillers and other controlled substances. When the new legislative session starts in March, the nurses once again will wage their war against the Florida Medical Association -- the group that represents doctors and is opposed to changing the law.
US: New analysis finds wide disparities in quality of U.S. nursing home care
2 December 2009: Long-term care quality ratings vary widely among different institutions across the country, according to a Scripps Howard News Service analysis of CMS' Nursing Home Compare system, SHNS/Ventura County Star reports.
US: Low-level laser therapy may be helpful for chronic neck pain
1 December 2009
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) may be helpful for chronic neck pain, according to the results of a review and meta-analysis reported in the November 13 Online First issue of The Lancet.
UK: NHS commits to better staff health
1 December 2009
Nurses who suffer from back problems will have better access to occupational health services under plans set out by the government. Staff sickness cost the NHS £555m a year through absences and the use of bank and agency staff, the report stated.
US: WHO releases new recommendations for HIV-positive pregnant women and nursing mothers
1 December 2009
Originally established in 1988 by the World Health Organization, World AIDS Day is observed worldwide, every year on December 1st. World AIDS Day was created to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. According to the 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update released by UNAIDS and WHO, there are an estimated 33 million people living with HIV worldwide, a little over one million are Americans living with HIV. Most children living with HIV became infected through mother-to-child transmission, either during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.
JAMAICA: Letter of the day – Upset with nursing council
30 November 2009: It is with great disgust and bewilderment that I read the article in The Saturday Gleaner of November 28 titled 'Hero nurse suspended'. According to the article, Rackell Wilson has, among other things, had her enrolled assistant nursing licence suspended by the Nursing Council of Jamaica (NCJ) for six months. This was because she administered, "without permission", a Voltaren injection to one of the crash victims of a major traffic accident in Portland in December, 2008.
FR: 2 in France die from mutated H1N1 flu, health officials say
30 November 2009: Two people in France have died from a mutation of the H1N1 virus that was first detected in Norway, health authorities said.
UK: The World Health Organization changes HIV 'drug advice'
30 November 2009: The World Health Organization is changing its advice on HIV drugs, asking that they be given sooner and to breastfeeding mothers with the virus.
US: Osteoarthritis increases aggregate health care expenditures by $186 billion annually
30 November 2009: Out-of-pocket OA expenses nearly 100 percent higher for women than men. Osteoarthritis (OA), a highly prevalent disease, raised aggregate annual medical care expenditures in the U.S. by $185.5 billion according to researchers from Stony Brook University. Insurers footed $149.4 billion of the total medical spend and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures were $36.1 billion (2007 dollars). Results of the cost analysis study are published in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.
US: What the Senate Health-Care Bill says about breast feeding
30 November 2009: Here’s a detail in the Senate health-care bill we hadn’t noticed until now: Employers would be required to give nursing mothers “a reasonable break time” to express breast milk during work.
UK: GPs should advise on health impact of climate change
30 November 2009: Health organisations believe that doctors should be helping patients understand the full impact of climate change on their state of health.
UK: Swine flu: updated guidance for mental health services
30 November, 2009: This is updated guidance for Mental Health services and partners on planning and responding to the Swine Flu H1N1 pandemic.
NZ: Presumed highway suicides removed from road toll
30 November 2009: The Ministry of Transport has removed from the official road toll 15 deaths in the 15 to 24 years age range because they were judged to have been suicides.
US: Divided Senate opens health care debate on Monday
29 November 2009: With the Senate set to begin debate Monday on President Barack Obama's signature domestic issue, the all-hands-on-deck Democratic coalition that allowed the health care reform legislation to advance is coming apart.
WHO to monitor for flu at Vancouver
30 November 2009: The World Health Organisation is sending a representative to the 2010 Winter Olympics to monitor for potential disease outbreaks, and organisers and health experts have taken steps to protect against the H1N1 virus.
UK: GPs 'should offer climate change advice to patients'
29 November 2009: The Climate and Health Council, a collaboration of worldwide health organisations including the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal Society of Medicine, believes there is a direct link between climate change and better health. Their controversial plan would see GPs and nurses give out advice to their patients on how to lower their carbon footprint.
UK: College 'to prevent Baby P repeat'
29 November 2009: A proposed new Royal College of Social Work will get Government backing to help prevent a repeat of the Baby P tragedy, it has emerged. Children's Secretary Ed Balls said he would support the new institution - which would be on a par with the Royal College of Nursing - as part of a package of reforms for the under-fire profession.
US: Study examines rural AIDS patients
27 November 2009: New cases of HIV/AIDS are continuing to shift from urban centers toward rural communities in the South, where in Alabama it brings a wave of stigma and difficult questions that those diagnosed must answer.
UK: The climate dividend
25 November 2009: “Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.” So concluded a Lancet —UCL Commission earlier this year. 1 A systematic appraisal of available evidence showed that the risks from changing patterns of disease, food insecurity, unsafe water and sanitation, damage to human settlements, extreme events, and population growth and migration were far more severe for human health than most observers had understood.
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Local news
WEEK COMMENCING 28 NOVEMBER 2009
AMA fears for 3000 people left without GP
3 December 2009: About a dozen people have contacted The Examiner since last week's closure of the Five Ways Medical Centre. All with the same story – they can't find a doctor.
Rees advocates national health system
3 December 2009: A single national agency would fund all public hospitals, medicines, doctor visits and public health programs under a plan by the Premier, Nathan Rees, that would keep the state involved in health provision while reducing its responsibility for the political minefield of public hospitals.
Skills gulf near impassable for poor children
3 December 2009: Children from poor families have fallen so far behind their peers by the age of six in language development and other measures they are in danger of never catching up, a study has shown. ... As well, there were marked differences in the health of children from different backgrounds, with the most disadvantaged likely to have poorer general health, sleep problems, and ''illnesses with wheezes''.
Babies to get swine flu vaccine
3 December 2009: Children as young as six months old will now have access to the swine flu vaccine.
Heavy metals raise risk of penis defects
3 December 2009: Pregnant women who work in occupations that may bring them into contact with heavy metals are at more than double the usual risk of having a baby boy with hypospadias – a birth defect linked to hormone changes in which the opening of the penis is on the shaft instead of the tip.
We're worrying about shift in weather
3 December 2009: Surprisingly high numbers of people in NSW have been concerned that climate change would personally affect them or their families, according to a health survey.
Roxon: Movember campaign raises over $16M
2 December 2009: I am delighted that the Movember campaign has been so successful. Indications are that the campaign will raise over $16 million for the very worthy cause of supporting men's health.
Expert warns teens and alcohol don't mix
2 December 2009
Tasmanian parents are being warned against allowing their children to drink alcohol. The warning follows a national health insurers' survey of 1200 adults earlier this year. More than half the Tasmanians interviewed thought it was acceptable for 15 to 17-year-olds to drink at home supervised by their parents.
'Unacceptable' delays over child safety
2 December 2009
Qld government says about 1,400 notifications were not acted on in the required 24-hour timeframe. The Queensland Opposition says there are unacceptable delays in the time it takes for the child safety department to see children deemed "at risk". Government figures from last financial year show about 1,400 notifications were not acted on in the required 24-hour timeframe.
Rival bids emerge for cancer centre
2 December 2009
New group the Dubbo and Orana Cancer Action Team has decided to bid for a cancer care centre of excellence.
Childhood cancers rise for girls
2 December 2009
A report has found the rate of cancer in girls in Australia has increased over the last two decades but remained stable in boys.
Campaign to merge MRIs under fire
1 December 2009
A campaign by the Group of Eight universities to merge medical research institutes has been criticised as misleading and lacking in evidence.
Bob Graham, president of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes, called on the Go8 to back up its claims that smaller institutions were at risk of failure.
Drugs not best option for ADHD: report
1 December 2009: Australian children with hyperactivity disorders shouldn't be medicated unless their symptoms are "pervasive" and affect all aspects of life, doctors and parents have been told. And drugs should never be a first-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in pre-school aged children.
ADHD drugs only for severe cases: advice
1 December 2009: Fewer children will be prescribed drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder after draft guidelines recommended medication for only the most severe cases.
Canberrans paying more for GPs
1 December 2009: Canberrans are paying more to see their doctors, with the rate of bulk-billing falling a further 2 per cent to 47 per cent, the lowest in Australia. ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher said the September quarter figures were almost half NSW rates at 84 per cent.
Blood tests too costly for ailing St Vincent's
1 December 2009: Doctors at St Vincent's Hospital were told to cut the number of blood tests they order because ''every test costs money'' only hours after it was revealed the board had lost more than $24 million by investing in high-risk junk bonds.
Australian Guidelines on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
30 November 2009: The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) today made available updated draft Australian Guidelines on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and other useful information to assist parents and medical professionals to recognise and appropriately treat ADHD.
Tell the Government how to attract clinical trials
30 November 2009: Submissions are now open for the Federal Government's Clinical Trials Action Group, which seeks to improve the Australian clinical trials operating environment with a vision to attracting more trials to this country.
Medication not first option to beat ADHD
30 November 2009: Children diagnosed with ADHD could be weaned off medication as new Government guidelines warn doctors not to use drugs for first option treatment.
Health memo to COAG part three: here’s a way forward in the critical area of primary health care
30 November 2009: Continuing Croakey’s series highlighting critical health reform issues in the lead-up to COAG’s last meeting of the year, to be held in Brisbane next Monday, we now turn the spotlight to primary health care.
Health memo to COAG part one: it’s time to tackle waste and inefficiency
30 November 2009: With health reform high on the agenda of the forthcoming COAG meeting, it is worth reminding ourselves about why we need it. It is also worth being reminded that simply spending more money is no guarantee of better health or even better health care. We currently waste much money on treatments of dubious or uncertain value, often at some significant cost to patients.
Roxon: Draft ADHD guidelines
30 November 2009: The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) today made available updated draft Australian Guidelines on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and other useful information to assist parents and medical professionals to recognise and appropriately treat ADH.
Indigenous health scheme getting results
30 November 2009: A preventative health program in Kimberley communities is being credited with bucking national trends in Indigenous obesity and diabetes.
Patients die prematurely because they lack access to radiotherapy
30 November 2009: There is already a successful treatment for cancer, but in this state [NSW] all who need it cannot get it, writes Michael Barton, professor of radiation oncology at the University of NSW.
Incentives needed to attract GPs to North
30 November 2009: Subsidised rent and even cars could be used to attract new general practitioners to Launceston, a Tasmanian medical recruitment expert has said. Dr Ross Lamplugh, of Hobart- based Ochre (medical) Recruitment, said some local councils had offered reduced rent and, in some cases, cars to attract new doctors.
Doctors demand return of bank fees
30 November 2009: Senior doctors will present a letter to St Vincent's Hospital today demanding it immediately return money taken from their bank accounts, days after it was revealed the board lost $24 million by investing donor funds and research grants in junk bonds.
Medical concern over correct drug doses
30 November 2009: Obese people are at risk of receiving too much or too little of essential medicines including antibiotics, anaesthetics and anticoagulants because of the way drug doses are calculated, an expert will tell a Sydney conference today.
English policy will create more sniffers: charity
30 November 2009: The Northern Territory Government's decision to force schools to teach in English for the first four hours of each day will create the next generation of petrol sniffers, says the head of an Aboriginal organisation in Arnhem Land.
From case to cause of child abuse
30 November 2009: To avoid subjecting more children to the trauma of removal from neglectful families, the root causes need to be tackled.
Sydney's killer drugs on the dancefloor
30 November 2009 12:00AM: The head of one Australia's largest emergency departments said his ward was more like a private social and meteorological barometer. He can tell if it is going to be a busy night just by the weather. He can also detect whether a dance festival is in town.
New mothers receive little or no post-natal care, our online survey shows
30 November 2009: Mothers feel that they are being pushed through hospitals like a "sausage factory'' and are left to fend for themselves after the birth.
Children's program does fat lot of good
30 November 2009: A national children's activity program that has already snared more than $200 million of public money is proving an expensive flop, according to experts who say children who take part are doing barely more exercise overall than non-participants.
Children buck health trend
30 November 2009: Children at the remote Looma Aboriginal community in Western Australia are staking a claim on a healthy future after defying the national trend of rising diabetes and obesity.
Queensland hospital beds fail to keep pace with population
30 November 2009: Queensland health authorities have responded to booming population growth with just one extra hospital bed for every 13,553 new residents.
Cash wasted on hospital paperwork: AMA chief
29 November 2009: The Rudd Government has spent too much on hospital pen pushers at the expense of patient care as waiting lists rise and overcrowded emergency departments struggle to cope, the president of the Australian Medical Association said yesterday.
Pharmacy clinics are a health risk, claim GPs
29 November 2009: A joint venture between a pharmacy chain and nurse practitioners to open clinics that will provide treatment for such ailments as colds and flu has been attacked by the Australian Medical Association as a threat to public health. But the Pharmacy Alliance Group and Revive Clinics say their service will alleviate the pressure on the health system and have accused doctors of trying to protect their turf.
Champix side-effect warning
29 November 2009: A Tasmanian man who went missing for more than a week has warned of the psychological dangers of the anti-smoking drug Champix. Matthew Prescott, 52, said the drug totally changed his personality and resulted in him going missing from his Devonport home last month, nine days after starting the prescription medication.
Kevin Rudd supports R U OK Day [are you ok day]
29 November 2009
Australians are being encouraged tomorrow to live up to their reputation for looking after each other by asking those who might be struggling to cope: “Are you OK?”. The inaugural R U OK? Day on Sunday November 29th aims to inspire Australians to reach out to anyone doing it tough in order to prevent little problems becoming big ones.
Health system is still sick
29 November 2009
Health policy has always been important for Queensland families. Our decentralised state has always demanded, and deserved, high quality health care, and we have shared a degree of state pride as a pioneer of public medicine. Our health system has shaped the way we live and, as rapid population increases continue to test limited resources, health policy now shapes the way we are governed.
