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US: New international study targets rare cancer bringing hope for advanced thymic cancer patients

8 December 2009: The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Scottsdale Healthcare are testing a new drug specifically for thymic cancer based on early promising results at Scottsdale Healthcare.

US: TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare is first to test new drug by Italian firm

8 December 2009: TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare (TCRS) is the world's first clinical trials site for a new drug designed to halt cancer cell division. NMS-1286937 is produced by Nerviano Medical Sciences of Milan, Italy's largest pharmaceutical research and development facility. NMS-1286937 is designed to stop cancer from spreading by preventing mitosis, the process of cell division.

FRG: Autologous stem cell transplantation for soft tissue sarcoma: insufficient research into therapy

8 December 2009: Benefit is not proven – use can only be justified within controlled clinical trials at present. Due to a lack of suitable studies, it is unclear whether patients with soft tissue sarcoma can benefit from autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With this type of therapy, some of the patient's own (autologous) stem cells are removed at a convenient time and generally re-implanted after a course of high-dose chemotherapy.

US: Nurses unions join together for more clout

8 December 2009: Nurses from three unions, including the powerful California Nurses Association, have founded a new national union to influence national health care policies and try to extend California's patient ratio law into other states.

UK: Living on the brink: Britons unhappy, lonely and unable to cope, study finds

8 December 2009: Millions of British people are unhappy, isolated and unable to cope with profound changes in the workplace, relationships and family life, according to a study.

US: Are some nurse temp agencies skimping on background checks?

7 December 2009: According to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times and ProPublica, some healthcare staffing agencies that supply temporary nurses to hospitals around the country are skimping on background checks, not verifying credentials, and ignoring warnings about unfit nurses, thus leaving patients – some seriously ill – in the hands of “incompetent or impaired” caregivers.

Obama pushes for health care reform

7 December 2009: President Barack Obama has encouraged fellow Democrats in the US Senate to overcome their divisions and pass sweeping health care reform legislation, in a rare closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill.

US: MSU helping nurses transition into new practices, alleviating shortage

7 December 2009: A program from Michigan State University's College of Nursing is helping retain nurses by transitioning them into home-based, hospice, long-term and ambulatory care practice. The goal of the Nursing for Life program is to expand career options by providing experienced professionals contemplating retirement with an educational program to prepare them for nursing roles in community settings.

UK: Call for continued NHS investment

7 December 2009: The Royal College of Nursing is calling for the government to maintain investment levels in the NHS to keep standards of patient care from dropping.

US: Nursing moms better off, studies say

7 December 2009: The newly released guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force on the use of mammograms for the early detection of breast cancer have caused much controversy, while also presenting an opportunity to highlight something women can do to lower their risk of getting breast cancer in the first place: They can breastfeed their babies.

NZ: Doctors gear up for pay parity with Aust

7 December 2009: Union for senior doctors pushing for pay parity with Aust counterparts; it says lowest estimate of pay gap is 35%. The country's senior doctors are gearing up for an aggressive new bid to get pay parity with their Australian counterparts.

US: Temp firms a magnet for unfit nurses

6 December 2009: With scant regulation and some agencies' poor screening, workers can hopscotch from job to job. Firms that supply temporary nurses to the nation's hospitals are taking perilous shortcuts in their screening and supervision, sometimes putting seriously ill patients in the hands of incompetent or impaired caregivers. Emboldened by a chronic nursing shortage and scant regulation, the firms vie for their share of a free-wheeling, $4-billion industry. Some have become havens for nurses who hopscotch from place to place to avoid the consequences of their misconduct.

US: U.S. rates 16,000 nursing homes

Analysis shows nonprofit facilities offer better care

5 December 2009: A statistical analysis of the federal government's first-ever ratings of nearly 16,000 nursing homes reveals an uneven level of quality across the nation and shows how complicated it is to find a good nursing home.

PACIFIC: That's a weight off our minds

4 December 2009 12:00AM: Two South Pacific nations, American Samoa and Kiribati, have been crowned the fattest countries in the world. The latest obesity report released by the World Health Organisation found that 93.5 per cent - more than nine in ten - of American Samoans are overweight or obese.

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: 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: 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.

Local news

WEEK COMMENCING 05 DECEMBER 2009

Health must stay sick for now

9 December 2009: It comes as little surprise that the premiers and the Prime Minister made little progress on changes to the hospitals sector at their meeting on Monday. The Rudd Government's deadline for the states to fix their hospital systems or hand them over to federal control has passed with no movement.

Health report delay risks sucking oxygen' from reform

9 December 2009: One of the commissioners who helped to write the federal government's health reform blueprint has criticised Kevin Rudd's continuing delay in responding to the report as "a real concern". Mukesh Haikerwal, one of the 10 members of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, said the government's failure to give any hint of how it planned to redraw the health system risked sucking the oxygen out of the push for reform.

Gallagher: Minister congratulates ACT Health Chief Executive on new role

8 December 2009: ACT Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher MLA, has congratulated ACT Health Chief Executive Mark Cormack on his appointment as the first CEO of Health Workforce Australia.

Nurse to take top job at ACTU

8 December 2009: Australia's union movement is to have a new public face, with registered nurse Ged Kearney to become the next ACTU president when Sharan Burrow steps down.

Rudd, Roxon: Future directions for health reform

7 December 2009: Today the Prime Minister met with Premiers and Chief Ministers to discuss future directions for national health reform. The Australian health system faces huge pressures, including: An ageing population; A growing chronic disease burden; Health workforce shortages; Escalating costs of medicines and medical technology. As a result of these combined pressures, the health system has reached a tipping point.

Govt urges patience on health reforms

8 December 2009: Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has urged professionals working in the public hospital system to be patient over planned government reforms. The nation's governments have delayed an overhaul of the health system until next year because they say it's too important to get the details of the reforms wrong.

Hospital knew of man's urge to kill baby

8 December 2009: A man who told staff at a mental institution about his urge to kill a baby was later released into the care of the girl's family, only to kill her three days later. Jayant Kumar Singh, 56, was transferred to Rozelle psychiatric hospital in mid-2006 after receiving treatment at Canterbury Hospital for diabetes and depression.

Disability Investment Group Report released

8 December 2009: The Australian Government has released The Way Forward: A new disability policy framework for Australia, as part of its commitment to set out a ten year agenda for a National Disability Strategy.

Further delays for health overhaul

7 December 2009: The Federal Government's health deadline has been pushed back another few months. The Government now says it will not make a decision on the future of Australia's health system until the first half of next year.

2010 D-day for nation's health system

7 December 2009: Federal and state government leaders will make a decision on the future of Australia's health care system next year. After a meeting of The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in Brisbane today, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he and the leaders spoke for a number of hours on health, going through the national report on health reform "issue by issue".

States to run hospitals

7 December 2009: The Australian Medical Association says the federal government doesn't have to take over the nation's public health system just fund it better.

Warning on self-diagnosis via the net

7 December 2009: Researchers have warned Australians risk becoming a "nation of cyberchondriacs", as doctors urge consumers against using the internet to diagnose and treat themselves rather than consulting a health professional. According to a new study, more than one in four Australians who search online for health information believe they can use it to diagnose and treat themselves without the need for a doctor.

Health red tape under scrutiny

7 December 2009: The Prime Minister will target doctors' claims of bloated health bureaucracies when he meets premiers today to begin talks on health reform. ''Over-bureaucratisation of the health sector'' is cited at the top of the Government's list of key concerns among clinicians as spelt out to Kevin Rudd and federal ministers during their round of reform consultations over the past six months.

Drug and alcohol abuse behind more kids being put in care

7 December 2009: A growing number of children are being removed from their families and put into state care because of drug and alcohol abuse among parents. Latest figures to the end of June show there were 2111 children under care and protection court orders, an 8.6 per cent rise on the previous year's 1943.

Health reform top of COAG agenda

7 December 2009: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and state premiers will meet in Brisbane this morning to work through options for national health reform, including a possible federal takeover of public hospitals.

Dentists favour focus on poor over a universal scheme

7 December 2009: Dentists are lobbying the federal government to dump plans from its top health reform body for a $3.7bn universal dental scheme, arguing instead for a smaller program focused only on the poor.

States to run hospitals, fed govt to pay

7 December 2009: The federal government doesn't have to take over the nation's public health system, just fund it better, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) says. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is in Brisbane on Monday for a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), where his push to reform the nation's health system will be top of the agenda.

Gold Coast doctors left to flounder

6 December 2009: Junior doctors are being left to sink or swim in Gold Coast public hospitals, says the national chair of a peak doctor training council.

The ANF calls for safer work environments for nurses

6 December 2009: The Australian Nursing Federation is calling on State and Federal Governments to ensure employers consult with nurses about improved safety and protection against drunken and drug affected patients. New legislation to be decided this week must reflect the needs of nurses who are regularly and increasingly coming under attack, the ANF said today.

Anger at sex infection texts

6 December 2009: The ethics of a high-tech campaign targeting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases has come under fire from medical groups and ethical organisations.

Anna Bligh out to unite states in health fix

6 December 2009: Queensland will outline a major reform of the nation's health system at tomorrow's Council of Australian Governments meeting in Brisbane.

Premier Anna Bligh will brief state leaders today, including new NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, in a bid to get them onboard for her radical overhaul.

Fast food invading our hospitals

6 December 2009: The proximity of fast food outlets to hospitals is doing nothing to help Australia’s sick. Doctors working in hospitals see thousands of patients suffering illnesses caused by bad eating habits every day. So it’s ironic that one of the prime culprits feeding the $60 billion problem is often sitting just up the road or down the corridor from our healthcare facilities.

UN says Aboriginal health conditions worse than Third World

5 December 2009: Another United Nations official has deplored the quality of life of indigenous Australians, saying Aboriginal health compares badly with indigenous communities in other developed countries and was even worse than in some Third World countries.

Wanted: doctors .. $3000 reward

5 December 2009: In an attempt to tackle country WA's critical doctor shortage, the WA branch of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) is offering a $3000 reward to anyone who nominates a suitably trained overseas GP willing to start work here.

Swine flu vaccine safe for kids

5 December 2009: Bundaberg babies as young as six months can be vaccinated against swine flu after the inoculation passed final checks by a health regulator.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved the swine flu vaccination for children and babies on Thursday.

Job security draws school leavers to nursing, teaching

5 December 2009: The number of university applicants wanting to study nursing or education has risen rapidly with the promise of greater job security.

New report shows nurses are the answer

4 December 2009: The Australian Nursing Federation has welcomed a new report that highlights the need for nurses to play a bigger role in primary health care. The report published today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals 68 per cent of General Practitioners (GP) employed a nurse but they were only used in 6 per cent of encounters.

Australian Primary Health Care Organisations: Health care access, equity and wellness A Network blueprint

4 November 2009: About 240 leaders from all members of the Australian General Practice Network came together to discuss health reform in Sydney on 4 November in association with the AGPN National Forum. Network Chairs and CEOs agreed that significant change to the Australian health care system is long overdue. Australia’s health care system should be refocused on stronger, more integrated primary health care built on general practice.

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.

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.

Tales from front line of Australian suffering

7 December 2009

Janne relates how she ended up $4000 in debt after being diagnosed with breast cancer and choosing to use her private health insurance to cover hospital and surgeon's bills. ''I was never informed that I could have had the same treatment absolutely free in Melbourne,'' she says.