The Health News – 17 November 2016

Overview:
•  The chief health officer’s biennial report said 70,000 more people were being admitted to hospital every year, and 50,000 more were turning up to emergency.
Dr Jeanette Young said it was a rapid increase and unsustainable. Dr Young said while half of the increase could be explained by population growth and some could be chalked up to an ageing population, a lot of the patients should be seeing their GP instead.

• The Health Department has already detected mosquitos carrying Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses around the Perth and South West regions. Authorities [are] urging people to make sure they cover up and protect themselves from mosquito bites.

• Alcohol-related crime is costing Canberra taxpayers nearly $12 million a year, new research suggests. The Deakin University study measured a range of factors including police and court costs, healthcare bills for victims of crime, lost output and property damage. It found the total impact of alcohol-related crime per year was $11.7 million.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the  17th of November 2016. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-16/obesity-queensland-queenslanders-living-longer-less-fat-tasmania/8031784

Queenslanders are living longer and taking better care of their health but being admitted to hospitals at unsustainable levels, according to the latest official health report.

The chief health officer’s biennial report said 70,000 more people were being admitted to hospital every year, and 50,000 more were turning up to emergency.

Dr Jeanette Young said it was a rapid increase and unsustainable.

“The health budget has increased by 88 per cent over the last 10 years, mainly due to all these increased admissions,” Dr Young said.

Dr Young said while half of the increase could be explained by population growth and some could be chalked up to an ageing population, a lot of the patients should be seeing their GP instead.

AMA Queensland’s Dr Richard Kidd agreed.

“Where people have a regular GP in the long run it saves them a lot of money, they live much healthier, and they’re a lot happier,” Dr Kidd said.

Dr Kidd said cost was a factor for some patients.

“It’s a very difficult problem, the Medicare rebate that was introduced in 1984 has never kept up with inflation,” he said.

Obesity rates in Queensland have plateaued, with 30 per cent of Queensland adults now classified as obese and 65 per cent overweight.

A total of 7 per cent of children were obese, according to the report, and 19 per cent were overweight.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-16/mosquito-borne-disease-threat-for-wa-south-west/8030388

Health authorities are concerned there will be a big increase in the number of people contracting mosquito-borne viruses in Western Australia this summer.

The Health Department has already detected mosquitos carrying Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses around the Perth and South West regions.

The department’s senior scientific officer Andrew Jardine said current conditions were conducive to mosquito breeding.

Mr Jardine said the 2011–2012 summer in particular was rife with Ross River cases and he is warning this summer could be similar.

Authorities [are] urging people to make sure they cover up and protect themselves from mosquito bites.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-16/alcohol-related-crime-costing-canberrans-12m-per-year/8028888

Alcohol-related crime is costing Canberra taxpayers nearly $12 million a year, new research suggests.

The Deakin University study measured a range of factors including police and court costs, healthcare bills for victims of crime, lost output and property damage.

It found the total impact of alcohol-related crime per year was $11.7 million.

The research — including interviews with 1,600 patrons — found high levels of aggression, sexual harassment and injury around Canberra night spots, with almost half of the respondents reporting “negative encounters” around licenced venues in Civic and Braddon.

Researchers said the findings from the Drug and Alcohol Intoxication and Subsequent Harm in Night-time Entertainment Districts (DASHED) report underlined the need for liquor law reform.

About 30 per cent of those surveyed said they had experienced verbal aggression, 28 per cent reported receiving unwanted sexual attention and 17 per cent said they had experienced physical aggression.

Despite the ACT’s size, the research found the rate of alcohol-related injury seen in Canberra (13 per cent) was among the highest of all sites where the data had been collected, including Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, … and Wollongong.

Alcohol-related hospitalisations in the ACT were also on the rise.