Author: healthprofessionalradio

Overview:
• The Nursing and Midwifery Federation said there were cancellations at both the Royal Hobart Hospital and the Launceston General Hospital on Tuesday. Union secretary Neroli Ellis said the move appeared to have been in order to free up beds.

• All other mainland states have a multi-disciplinary service in a public hospital setting, catering to young people suffering chronic pain, but there is no dedicated paediatric service in South Australia. Dr Chris Hayes, from Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital, said it was a serious issue.

• Since the first ice bucket challenge in August 2014, more than 60,000 supporters have donated more than $3 million to MND Australia and state MND associations. But despite the success of the campaign and the money raised, a cure has not yet been found. More than 2,000 people in Australia have MND, a disease that takes lives an average 27 months after diagnosis.

Overview:
• The Council On The Ageing (COTA) said some of its members raised concerns after SA Ambulance announced it would no longer cover its members for any ambulance transport they required when interstate. After a public backlash, SA Ambulance reviewed its insurance plans and said it would again offer interstate coverage, but the annual premium would be $15 more for an individual or $30 more for family cover.

• Professor Julio Licinio of the Department of Psychiatry at Flinders University and colleagues argue antidepressants could have a delayed effect on the weight of people who eat high fat diets. In a review paper published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, Professor Licinio and colleagues point to animal studies carried out by his team in recent years that suggest there is a link between obesity, high fat diets and prior exposure to the ingredients of Prozac.

• In Indonesia doctors and nurses are struggling to keep up with the demand as children get re-inoculated after a fake vaccine scandal shocked the nation.

Overview:
• Westmead in Sydney’s west could become a world-leading medical innovation hub in 20 years, under a new plan put forward by Deloitte Access Economics. There is a proposal to create the Westmead Innovation District for health services, education and medical research by 2036.

• Open Heart International has been forced to cancel a planned trip to Papua New Guinea this week due to a doctors’ strike and safety concerns, as political unrest continues in the country.

• Ivanna Hewitt began practising yoga in Kiev the 1960s while it was still illegal behind the iron curtain. Now along with painting and teaching, practising yoga is part of her daily life in outback New South Wales.

Overview:
• Dr. Rolf Gomes,company, Heart of Australia,launched "the heart bus", in October 2014, and in its first six months of operation, nine patients were referred for open heart surgery. Dr Gomes recently submitted a proposal to partner with the Queensland Government to expand to other regional towns and to include more specialty services such as respiratory physicians, gastroenterologists and urologists — but this has been rejected.

• Gold Coast exercise physiologist James Fletcher has pioneered a program to strengthen the breathing muscles of star athletes heading to Rio next month. The training involves software that makes it harder for an athlete to breathe, in turn strengthening their muscles.

• Associate Professor David Harrich, head of the HIV molecular virology laboratory at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, made the antiviral protein, known as the “Nullbasic”, by mutating an existing HIV protein. Once HIV-infected cells were treated with the protein, they stopped making virus particles.

Overview:
• Rio de Janeiro Olympics organising committee President Carlos Nuzman said on Sunday (AEST) that the world’s top-four male golfers have withdrawn from the Games because there is no prize money – not because of the Zika. Jordan Spieth joined world number one Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and Rory McIlroy in saying Zika was the main reason for skipping the first Olympic golf tournament in 112 years.

• The ABC has been told the Royal Hobart Hospital launched an internal review into the apparent attempted suicide of a man who is now in a stable condition. It is understood the man presented to the emergency department early on July 10, he was triaged and later found in the bathroom.

• Gerhard Infante has what is known as Lubag Syndrome — or X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism — which dates back 2,000 years to an island in the Philippines. Three months ago Mr Infante and his wife were flown to Brisbane where doctors at the Mater Private Hospital agreed to perform the surgery needed to help alleviate the pain and dystonia and give a much better quality of life. Mr Infante said he was no longer in pain, and could get around with the aid of a walker and hoped to do it on his own soon.