International News

US: Homeless adults have significant unmet health care needs

14 May 2010: The vast majority of homeless adults surveyed in a national study had trouble accessing at least one type of needed health care service in the preceding year, according to a study that will appear in the American Journal of Public Health and is now available online. The report from investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program may be the first broad-based national study of factors related to unmet health needs among homeless people.

Local News

WEEK COMMENCING 15 MAY 2010

Elliott media release: Sue Macri appointed as Associate Commissioner to Productivity Commission Aged Care Inquiry

20 May 2010: Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, and Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot MP today announced the appointment of Sue Macri AM as Associate Commissioner to the Productivity Commission inquiry into aged care in Australia. Ms Macri will assist the Commission in its inquiry to develop options for further structural reform of the aged care system, so it can meet the challenges facing it in coming decades.

Federal Opposition throw out big plans to save $47bn

20 May 2010: Computer rollouts in schools, new GP super clinics and proposed individual electronic health records would all be dumped under Opposition plans for nearly $47 billion in savings.

Alzheimers sufferers to quadruple by 2050

20 May 2010: Victoria needs to start planning now for an expected quadrupling in the number of people suffering from dementia over the next 40 years, Alzheimer's Australia says. An Access Economics study commissioned by the organisation estimates the number of Victorian dementia sufferers will balloon from about 66,000 in 2010 to 246,000 in 2050.

Now it's four strikes for AFL drug users

20 May 2010: The AFL has admitted players could be given extra chances under its drug code even if they test positive for a third time. The league yesterday revealed players could receive a third strike, but not have it registered, if they were receiving treatment for drug issues.

Roxon media release: Role of social workers and occupational therapists in providing coordinated mental health care packages

19 May 2010: Following the budget last week, the Government has had constructive discussions with the Australian Association of Social Workers and Occupational Therapy Australia on how to best introduce coordinated mental health care packages for people with severe mental illness in primary care and better use of fee-for-service Medicare items.

ANF: E-health will talk for the unconscious and elderly

19 May 2010: The Australian Nursing Federation are disappointed that the shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, at his Press Club address, failed to discuss Coalition health policy while also dismissing the benefits of e-Health.

Comment: It’s the ABS: Come out with your urine sample in the air

19 May 2010: This morning David Penberthy wrote about how worryingly effective health minister Nicola Roxon has been in office. He argued the preventative health agenda has taken hold of public policy, with millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money being directed towards stopping people doing some things that are generally seen as pleasurable, like eating bacon, sitting on the couch or having four middies of beer.

Comment: Budget undermines Prime Minister’s promise of “historic reshaping of mental health services” – McGorry

19 May 2010: The Federal budget has deepened concern within the mental health sector that the Government has not yet acted on the Prime Minister’s commitment to a “historic reshaping of mental health services” made at the COAG health summit last month.

Media release: ACT Health building the capacity of allied health

19 May 2010: ACT Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher, said today that ACT Health would deliver more than $130,000 in funding this year to support the professional development of the ACT's allied health professionals.

Roxon delays mental health changes

19 May 2010: Social workers have forced the Rudd government into its first budget backdown, with Health Minister Nicola Roxon agreeing to postpone changes to mental health funding.

Public hospital death rate 12 per cent higher: report

19 May 2010: A report to the Federal Government has found patients are more likely to die in a public hospital than in a private hospital. The difference is about 12 per cent. But the group which represents public hospitals says it does not reflect reality.

GP, dentist finance records released by mistake

20 May 2010: The confidential financial records of many South Australian health professionals have been inadvertently revealed by the nation's largest medical financier.

Fraud worry over medical email bungle

20 May 2010: The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says a release of private financial records of some South Australian doctors and dentists will inevitably lead to fraud. The AMA says medical finance company Medfin sent out the information by mistake in an email to its state members.

$10m ad blitz to hit voters

May 2010: The first in a new wave of taxpayer-funded government advertisements has been labelled a political pitch to voters. Part of a $10 million campaign, they spruik the Government's health and hospital reforms, which are yet be legislated or agreed by all states. (Link to advertisement in text.)

Earth moves for Rudd at site of Cooee clinic (Tas)

20 May 2010: Kevin Rudd was in Tasmania yesterday to turn the first sod on one of his government's 59 promised GP super clinics – just as opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey was promising to scrap them.

Comment: Don't try to run our lives

20 May 2010: The past few weeks have shown convincingly why neither Kevin Rudd nor Tony Abbott is Australia's idea of the perfect prime minister, but if one of them picks up this message it might be enough to win an election for them: stop trying to control our lives.

Still life in Nicola’s Ministry of No Fun

19  May 2010: It's customary to denounce government ministers for being ineffective but for something different today I’m going to attack the Health Minister Nicola Roxon for being far too effective. More so than any other frontbencher in this Government, Roxon appears to have got her way on pretty much everything and, as a result, life has become increasingly more irritating for those of us who choose to treat our bodies like a science experiment.

Heart attack danger for 'Generation Risk'

19 May 2010: More than 1.1 million Australians aged over 55 face a greater than 30 per cent risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke in the next five years, with a further 1.5 million facing more than a 15 per cent risk.

Joe Hockey takes swing at e-Health scheme

19 May 2010: Joe Hockey will today map out the Coalition's return to economic conservatism, promising to cut the Rudd government's controversial new e-Health scheme to save $467 million and announcing a review of the Trade Practices Act to help small business.

Young clubbers facing deafness

19 May Nightclubs and live music events are so loud they could prove literally deafening for a significant proportion of young Australians, with many being exposed to noise levels that would be banned even in industrial settings.

IVF cost surge prompts study

19 May 2010: Taxpayer funding for infertility treatment has more than tripled since 2000, prompting a study to gauge community support for IVF from the public purse.

Specialists to be deployed to low-performing schools

19 May 2010 Suburbs and communities with high rates of children falling behind in key developmental areas will be targeted by specialists trained to fast-track their progress.

Fines for refusing to take part in ABS health survey

19 May 2010: Up to 50,000 people face a fine of $110 a day if they refuse to divulge information on their health and lifestyle to Australian Bureau of Statistics researchers.

'Sleeping pill caused woman to run wild'

19 May 2010: The safety of a common sleeping pill blamed for hundreds of incidents of sleepwalking, driving and eating is again being seriously questioned after a magistrate ruled it caused a woman to drink bottles of liqueur and embark on a wild ride through the suburbs.

Hospitals less inefficient than thought

18 May 2010: A new Productivity Commission report shows Australia's hospitals are performing better than previously thought. The commission on Tuesday said the nation's hospitals were operating at around 10 per cent below best practice.

Roxon may give ground on mental health Medicare changes

18 May 2010: The Federal Government is reviewing changes to mental health funding, after strong criticism from social workers.

New cancer treatment centre for Whyalla

18 May 2010: Cancer services in regional South Australia are getting a $84 million boost. Nearly $70 million will go towards a new regional cancer treatment centre at Whyalla.

Elliott media release: More than $8 million for services to help older people and people with disabilities in Queensland

18 May 2010: Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot and Queensland Disability Services Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk today announced $8.9 million for Home and Community Care (HACC) Services in Queensland.

AMAQ demands investigation into hospital deaths

18 May 2010: An investigation must be launched into a series of deaths linked to a Sunshine Coast hospital, the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association (AMAQ)said today. AMAQ President Dr Mason Stevenson says storage cupboards and treatment rooms are routinely used to house patients at the over-stretched Nambour Hospital.

Roxon open to talks on social worker rebates

18 May 2010: The Federal Government says it is willing to negotiate a transition period to wind up the Medicare rebate scheme for social workers and occupational therapists.

Patient care at risk from delays to Ryde centre

17 May 2010: The head of the state's biggest injury rehabilitation centre has accused the Health Department of trying to destroy it by slashing funding and playing political games at the cost of patient welfare. Funding for the Royal Rehabilitation Centre in Ryde, which treats people with severe burns and brain and spinal injuries, had been cut by more than a quarter in one year, its chief executive, Stephen Lowndes said yesterday.

Cultural barriers stop indigenous people from accessing services

17 May 2010: Indigenous Australians in regional areas are missing out on eye health services because of cultural barriers and a lack of co-ordination – not because the services do not exist.

Grassroots drive for mental health boost

17 May 2010: Activist group GetUp! is targeting the need for better mental health funding as one of its key campaigns in the months leading to the federal election, citing a "disappointing" lack of action from the Rudd government on the issue.

Three quarters of nursing homes failing on care

17 May 2010: Three in four nursing homes admit they cannot give residents the quality of care and services required by law, based on current public funding levels. An industry survey of 900 nursing homes – representing a third of the sector – has found that most regard the current funding system to be "financially unviable".

Hickie: No gold medals for government that neglects the mentally ill

17 May 2010: Australia does not win gold medals for health care. In fact, the World Health Report ranks us at number 32, way below Britain and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. We do poorly because of high out-of-pocket costs, a lack of equity and poor access, particularly in primary care, mental health and oral health.

Mental care likened to that of Africa

17 May 2010: The Aboriginal Legal Service has compared mental health services in central desert communities to those in poor African countries during the sentencing of a 17-year-old schizophrenic boy who stabbed a relative nine times.

Centenarians have different DNA 'suite'

17 May 2010: Scientists have discovered the "Methuselah" genes whose lucky carriers have a much improved chance of living to 100 even if they indulge in an unhealthy lifestyle. The genes appear to protect people against the effects of smoking and bad diet and can also delay the onset of age-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease by up to three decades.

Indigenous pneumonia rates top world

17 May 2010: Rates of pneumonia among central Australian children are the highest in the world, reaching 78.4 cases per 1000 children annually – higher than in Gambia, South Africa, Fiji, Uruguay or Pakistan. Hospitalisation rates for serious chest infections in Northern Territory indigenous babies are about four times higher than among Native American infants, at 427 per 1000 babies annually compared with 116.

Indigenous health model may go national

16 May 2010: A Brisbane-based Aboriginal health institute could be a national model for indigenous health service delivery, health experts say. The Australian Medical Association's (AMA) Taskforce on Indigenous Health received a briefing on the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health in Brisbane on Saturday.

Brain cancer link to mobile phones

16 May 2010: Along--awaited international study of the health risks of mobile phones has linked extended use to an increased risk of developing brain tumours. The 10-year Interphone study, the world's biggest study of the health effects of mobile phones, found while there was no increased risk of cancer overall, those in the top 10 per cent of phone use are up to 40 per cent more likely to develop glioma, a common type of brain cancer.

Suffering an unnatural deficit: essential greens

15 May 2010: Many parents fret over whether their children are eating enough green vegetables, but the amount of green exercise they get may be just as important. The effect of nature on children's development was discussed at the recent Healthy Parks Healthy People congress in Melbourne, attended by more than 1000 delegates from 38 countries.

Australian discovery stemmed

15 May 2010: Based on research in Australia, Europe, Britain, Japan and the US, California is leading a new revolution in regenerative medicine. Already, it's made enormous advances towards effective treatments for diseases as diverse as diabetes, stroke, HIV-AIDS, blindness, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, heart disease, sickle cell blood disease, leukaemias, recurrent inoperable brain tumours, colon cancer, ovarian cancer and a genetic skin disease called epidermolysis bullosa.

Roxon, Lundy media release: Investing in the future of health in and around the Australian Capital Territory

14 May 2010: The Rudd Government today provided a timely boost to the future of health in the ACT and surrounding areas. Up to $2.2 million will be committed to support additional clinical training places for students at local universities which will encourage more health students to study and work in and around the ACT.

Roxon media release: National call for new clinical training proposals

14 May 2010: Proposals are being sought to drive a new wave of clinical training opportunities throughout Australia. Rudd Government funding of $139 million will be available to support clinical training studies for eligible health professions during the 2011 academic year.

Parents 'pimp' kids for swine flu test

16 May 2010: Parents are enrolling children as young as nine months in drug trials in exchange for hundreds of dollars. An industry whistleblower alerted The Sunday Telegraph after some parents were netting $900 by enrolling three children at a time into an H1N1 flu vaccine trial.

Emergency return rate rising

16 May 2010: More people are returning to emergency departments a short time after an initial visit, according to new figures that indicate the standard of treatment may be falling. The data, provided to The Sun-Herald as part of our MyHospital project, relates to 12 hospitals in the south-eastern Sydney and Illawarra areas.

Construction industry program helps tackle suicide rates

16 May 2010: A new program is saving lives in the Queensland construction industry, with a quarter of participants seeking help for everything from financial problems to depression. The OzHelp Queensland Life Skills Tool Box interim report found that 77 of the 303 construction apprentices who took part in the course sought help for problems ranging from mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse to stress and financial and relationship issues.

Health Minister Daniel Andrews wrote to Gippsland mum promising action on ambulances

16 May 2010: Health Minister Daniel Andrews has admitted he knew of problems in Victoria's ambulance services almost a year before the death of a Gippsland boy who was left waiting more than an hour for a MICA unit.

All talk little action on mental health

15 May 2010: Yes, it feels bad to be ignored. And that's how people with a mental illness and their families feel today, after the post-federal budget party. It feels especially bad when you are mentally ill - one of the most disadvantaged and poorly served groups in the country - and the Prime Minister makes a personal commitment that there will be a ''historical reshaping of mental health services''.

Needy miss out as mental, dental health bills soar

15 May 2010: Tens of thousands of disadvantaged people are in urgent need of mental health and dental care, while the Rudd government struggles to control a $1 billion fees bonanza for doctors, dentists and psychologists.

Health fund cuts will affect gastric banding patients

15 May 2010: Obesity experts fear that the number of people having surgery to lose weight will plummet this year with three big health funds now restricting payouts for gastric banding and bypass operations.

NIB and AHM have ordered their customers to pay higher premiums to have obesity surgery after June 1, and to wait 12 months before becoming eligible for benefits.

RFDS spreads its wings on the ground

14 May 2010: Best known for its magnificent aerial retrieval services to far-flung and often remote regions, the Royal Flying Doctor Service is also expanding and streamlining its equally important health care clinic activity. n total, 5100 clinics were conducted where more than 44,800 patient consultations took place.

Privacy concerns over unresolved health ID plan

14 May 2010: Lost in the Government's budget announcement that it is spending $466 million to start up the eHealth system is the fate of its Healthcare Identifier – a controversial 16-digit number for everyone in the country.

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