International News

US: Health care reform package includes unprecedented investment in nurse-led health clinics

31 March 2010: When health care reform was signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday, it signaled the beginning of a new era for nurse-led health care. H.R. 3590 will capitalize on the ability of nurse practitioners to provide high-quality primary and preventive care by defining "nurse-managed health clinic" in the Public Health Service Act and creating a new $50 million grant program to support innovative safety net providers (see also National Nursing Centers Consortium).

UK: 'Single-shot' breast cancer treatment saves women ordeal of radiotherapy

29 March 2010: A pioneering treatment for breast cancer that cuts a six-week course of tumour-destroying therapy to a single half-hour "shot" is showing success in early trials in patients, according to British doctors.

US: No matter what, we pay for others’ bad habits

29 March 2010: “I’m tired of paying for everyone else’s stupidity,” is a comment I read on the Internet last week after the health care bill was passed. It summed up the views of many Americans worried about shelling out higher premiums and taxes to cover the uninsured. Why should we pick up the tab when so much disease in our country stems from unhealthy behavior like smoking and overeating?

US: Inequities exists in disease burden, health care and access for minority children

29 March 2010: Minority children in the U.S. face a pervasive gap in the quality and extent of health care received compared to Caucasians, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics written by a UT Southwestern Medical Center physician.

US: Nursing workforce getting more diverse, older

29 March 2010: An extensive federal survey of nursing trends from 2004 to 2008 shows a growing diversity of backgrounds in an increasing registered nurse workforce. The report—entitled The Registered Nurse Population: Initial Findings from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses—also reveals a trend of more highly educated, male, and foreign-trained nurses.

US: Tiny Tina celebrates as Ray Fetcho wins state nursing exemption

29 March 2010: In a surprisingly uncommon swift decision, the State of Florida’s Board of Nursing has ruled that Ray Fetcho—a/k/a Tiny Tina—will be granted an exemption and allowed to return to work as a licensed practical nurse (LPN). The story, first reported in SFGN, began unfolding in January when Fetcho, who had entertained South Florida audiences for decades as the irreverent and popular drag emcee Tiny Tina, was fired from a nursing job, after a routine background screening of the assisted living facility that employed him, found a decades-old arrest on his record.

GERMANY: Research confirms that some forms of massage help against low-back pain

26 March 2010: Most people have experienced back pain – and many hope that massage will relieve it. But not all forms of massage have been scientifically proven to help against low back pain. That is what the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) pointed out in information published on informedhealthonline.org today.

Local News

WEEK COMMENCING 27 MARCH 2010

It takes a full calendar of treatment to stay on top

1 April 2010: Rob Guthrie is one of the lucky ones. Diagnosed with diabetes almost 18 years ago, Mr Guthrie, 70, is able to manage the condition without much help. Managing his diabetes keeps his calendar full, though: he visits his GP every six to eight weeks and a podiatrist about five times a year, sees an endocrinologist yearly and an ophthalmologist and a heart specialist every two years. He also checks his blood sugar daily and carefully manages his weight and food intake.

Time running out for GP super clinic

1 April 2010: The Member for Hinkler, Paul Neville, says questions still remain about whether the Bundaberg region will ever see a proposed GP super clinic. The Federal Government announced plans to build the clinic as part of its 2007 election campaign.

Rural doctors worried about diabetes plan

1 April 2010: Rural doctors say they are worried that a Federal Government plan to treat diabetes patients could widen the gap between city and country health services.

Diabetes plan not flawed: Roxon

1 April 2010: The federal government has denied its $436 million sweetener to improve diabetic care will encourage doctors to pocket the funds. Health Minister Nicola Roxon says implementation details are yet to be fully worked through but she doesn't believe the system is flawed.

Co-workers compelled to dob in troubled doctors

1 April 2010: Doctors and nurses will have to dob in any medical worker if they are on drugs or endangering the public in any way, even if they are married to them, under tough new reporting rules.

Rudd's sweetener for GPs to treat diabetics

1 April 2010 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has thrown another big wad of cash on the table – this time for diabetics – in a bid to secure his federal hospital funding takeover. Mr Rudd announced new spending of $436 million to pay GPs to take continuous responsibility for diabetics.

Fund-holding policy harks back to dark days of Thatcher's Britain

1 April  2010: For some doctors' organisations it seems the latest plank in Kevin Rudd's health reforms boils down to one frightening word: fund-holding. In 1980s Britain, under then prime minister Margaret Thatcher, GPs were allowed to apply for and control their budgets, from which they had to pay for patient care.

New doctors feel 'ill prepared', study of anatomy teaching finds

1 April  2010: Medical students are being asked to spend time on "creative writing" assignments that further reduce teaching time for basic sciences such as anatomy, leaving some feeling ill prepared for dealing with patients.

Jayant Patel patient shouldn't have had surgery, court told

1 April 2010: An elderly patient of Jayant Patel could have been treated with iron supplements, but instead was rushed into an unnecessary bowel operation that had a high chance of killing him, a court has been told.

GPs see Rudd diabetes plan as `perverse' bait

1 April 2010: Nurses are pleased but doctors' organisations have split over Kevin Rudd's recipe for improving diabetes care amid warnings that it may tempt some GPs to minimise treatment to reap a profit.

Doctors to get bonuses to treat diabetes early

1 April 2010: Doctors will be paid performance bonuses to keep diabetes patients out of hospital and be given an annual lump sum to manage their conditions, as Kevin Rudd moves to redraw how the health system manages diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Cherbourg gets grant for new dental school

31 March 2010: Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has announced that Cherbourg will receive a grant of $600,000 which will be used to open a new dental school.

GP patient enrolment starts in 2012

31 March 2010: The Federal government has taken its first step away from the GP fee-for-service funding model by offering voluntary patient enrolment to people with diabetes, and cash to GPs who sign them up.

Dental centre to cut waiting list

31 March 2010: Mackay can look forward to shorter waiting lists for public dentists thanks to funding for a state-of-the-art dental training facility announced yesterday.

Patel not known for taking advice

31 March 2010: Bundaber-based surgeon Jayant Pate, who removed part of a man's bowel that showed no sign of cancer, was not known for consulting with colleagues, a court heard yesterday.

Rudd unveils $436m preventative health plan targeting GP practices

31 March 2010: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced $436 million for preventative health measures. The money will first be targeted to improving the health of nearly 1 million Australians living with diabetes.

GPs order too many tests: AMA

31 March 2010: Patients are being sent away for unnecessary medical tests ordered by GP's who are trying to cover themselves in the event of legal action, the Australian Medical Association says.

Student doctors skipping anatomy lessons

31 March 2010: Medical students at some universities are receiving minimal training in anatomy, undergoing as little as 56 hours in a five-year course – 10 times less than their counterparts at other institutions.

For the sake of our safety: registration of naturopaths and herbalists

27 March 2010: As a four-year, university-trained naturopath, I applaud the call by the National Herbalists Association of Australia for the registration of naturopaths and herbalists. If the government is serious about health reform, it needs to support the services of our highly skilled profession. Registration will go some way to achieving this.

Litigation fears putting pressure on doctors

30 March 2010: The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is concerned that negligence litigation is putting pressure on doctors to conduct more tests than are necessary. A 59-year-old woman from New South Wales has won a $290,000 payout from her GP because he failed to order tests which would have revealed her debilitating spinal condition that has left her a partial quadriplegic.

$5m for dental training facility

30 March 2010: Mackay will soon be home to a state-of-the-art dental training facility and a 20 bed complex that will provide affordable student accommodation.

It’s business as usual for our hospital: Roxon

30 March 2010: Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has urged planning for a new Bendigo hospital to go ahead unabated despite the Rudd Government’s $50 billion reforms announced this month.

PM gets ahead of himself with talk of support

29 March 2010: Kevin Rudd is facing accusations he exaggerated support for his hospital reform, after more than half the expert groups he claimed had backed the plan said they could not yet endorse it.

Tony Abbott sets a good example

29 March 2010: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's very participation in the gruelling 226km ironman triathlon at Port Macquarie has set a fine example to a largely indolent nation that age is no barrier to keeping fit.

Working Health Department mothers 'paid to breastfeed'

29 March 2010: Working mothers in the health system will be paid for 30-minute breastfeeding breaks under a radical new policy. It is part of an overhaul of breastfeeding rules by the Health Department to give employees greater parental rights.

Cannabis health woes for older users

29 March 2010: A tenfold increase in hospital treatment for cannabis poisoning or dependence among people in their 30s and 40s suggests the habit has run out of control for a hard core of long-term users.

We're nursing a costly time bomb

28 March 2010: Aged-care workers, nursing home providers and lobby groups are calling on the federal government to inject more funds into the sector as part of its healthcare reform, or risk a serious decline in standards. They say aged care is beset by chronic staff shortages and a looming undersupply crisis.

AMA plan would free up hospital beds used by elderly

28 March 2010: Elderly Victorians recovering from illness or injury would be cared for in student-style shared houses under plans to ease pressure on public hospitals by freeing up beds blocked by ageing patients. The Australian Medical Association's state budget submission proposes a $19 million trial of four eight-bed residential facilities, which they claim would free up more than 9000 hospital bed days a year.

McGorry appeals for mental health reform

28 March 2010: Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry will appeal for mental health to be part of the federal government's health reforms in national television commercials to be aired this weekend. Professor McGorry, a mental health worker for 27 years, makes the plea in a campaign for political activists GetUp.

Australia targets backpackers to tackle spiraling STDs

28  March 2010: Promiscuous backpackers who flock to Australia, get drunk and have unprotected sex are to be targeted by health authorities in a bid to coontrol rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

New figures showed young international travelers were more likely to binge drink, have multiple sexual partners and not bother with condoms than the Australian residents.

Action man Abbott neglects policy: Roxon

28 March 2010: The federal government has continued to question the amount of time Tony Abbott devotes to exercise, suggesting the hours he spends swimming, riding and running should go towards developing policy.

Roxon criticises Vic hospital demands

28 March 2010: Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has hit back at Victoria's continued criticism of the government's $50 billion hospitals plan, labelling Premier John Brumby's list of demands "a bit of an ambit claim". Mr Brumby wrote to the prime minister last week criticising the plan because it offers no new funding until 2014.

Nursing home abuse 'horrifying': Roxon

28 March 2010: A report that reveals nursing home assaults increased by 50 per cent in 12 months and sexual assaults jumped 36 per cent is "horrifying", federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says. The Department of Health and Ageing was notified of 1411 alleged assaults in nursing homes in 2008/09, according to a report tabled in parliament last year.

Roxon horrified by aged care assaults

28 March 2010: Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says she is horrified by reports of an increase in assaults and sexual assaults in aged care nursing homes.

Nursing homes at breaking point: report

28 March 2010: Australian nursing homes have reached breaking point due to chronic underfunding and staff shortages, with reports of physical assaults increasing by more than 50 per cent and sexual assaults by 36 per cent.

Record complaints 'a sign of system under pressure'

28 March 2010: Australian nursing homes have reached breaking point, with reports of physical assaults increasing by more than 50 per cent, sexual assaults by 36 per cent and complaints rising at least 10 per cent.

Nursing cuts endanger patients

27 March 2010: Country hospitals are being ordered to slash frontline staff, raising fears patient safety will be put at risk, the state's peak medical body has claimed. The Australian Medical Association told the Sunday Mail  that the Health Department had written to regional nursing directors and instructed them to streamline nursing rosters under a major review of staffing levels.

Doctors from closed Lambton clinic may set up their own practice

27 March 2010: Doctors from the closed Lambton Family Medical Centre are understood to be considering setting up their own clinic.

McGorry TV ad to lobby leaders

27 March 2010: If he didn't have politicians' ears already, Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry plans to get them this weekend with an advertisement due to run between political programs on national TV.

More than just a wing and a prayer to high-flying plan

27 March 2010: Kevin Rudd decided that he'd get only one shot at fixing the hospitals system. He chose to delay, to workshop the Bennett plan, and to just cop the accusation of a broken promise.

Oral sex link to head cancer

26 March 2010: The number of serious head and neck cancers linked to a virus spread by oral sex is rising rapidly and suggests boys as well as girls should be offered protection through vaccination, doctors said on Friday. This growth seems to be linked to cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), the scientists said in a report in the British Medical Journal.

Nursing union launch class action

26 March 2010: Nursing unions have launched a landmark class action to protect the wages of thousands of aged care workers under new Fair Work rules. The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) lodged the take home pay order on behalf of aged care workers in NSW and Queensland, amid fears the workers could end up earning less when the new rules kick in on July 1.

AMA states shortage of beds at Cairns

26 March 2010: Queensland's peak medical body says that at the Cairns Base Hospital, about 80 beds were immediately needed for decreasing occupancy rates.

NSW Government urged to act in wake of Lambton medical centre closure

26 March 2010: The NSW Government will be urged to prevent a repeat of the overnight closure of Lambton Family Medical Centre following revelations that owner Primary Health Care Limited has done it before. GP Access chief Dr Mark Foster said he would urge the Government to consider laws similar to those in the ACT, where a company wanting to close, move or merge a surgery for business reasons must give four weeks' notice.

Rudd and Brumby at loggerheads

26 March 2010: Premier John Brumby has delivered a devastating critique of Kevin Rudd's hospital take-over plan, saying it will not achieve the Prime Minister's key goal of ending the blame game between Canberra and the states.

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