Author: healthprofessionalradio

Overview:
• The university students will be able to assess children during school hours with the support of qualified clinical academics and will provide occupational therapy, audiology, speech pathology, dietary assistance and social work services. The health hubs are a project of the University of Sydney using Federal funding, with buildings already installed at some schools.

• The Australian Medical Association (AMA) may change its position on voluntary euthanasia to one of neutrality, after a regular review of its long-held stance against the practice. The exact findings have not been made clear, but representatives of the organisation have said it is considering a change to its policy position, which would be released by the end of the year.

• Bendigo’s newly-opened Mind Recovery College is a place of learning where teachers have personal experience with a mental health issue. Part of Mind Australia, an organisation that provides mental health and disability support services, the college is delivering a range of courses about mental health.

Overview:
• Parents have been encouraged by researchers to try the ‘controlled crying’ or ‘graduated extinction’ method to help their infants get to sleep sooner, and wake up fewer times during the night. Adelaide’s Flinders University tested controlled crying, as well as ‘bedtime fading’, where bedtimes are gradually pushed back, and found sleeping patterns improved without any significant side-effects. 

• Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital is the first in Australia to have a dedicated paediatric music therapy service team inside a paediatric emergency unit to ensure young patients remain settled during procedures.

• Spending on specialist medicine services for palliative care has increased by nearly 80 per cent over the past five years, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The report also revealed a nation-wide increase in the number of people admitted to both private and public hospitals to receive palliative care.

Overview:
• It is unlikely any of 13 children who were exposed to unsterilised needles during surgery suffered harm, the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) says. Hospital chief executive Naomi Dwyer said human error seemed to blamefor a failure to sterilise the needles before they used to inject antibiotics during cerebro-spinal surgery.

• An Australian family is pushing for a controversial new stroke treatment perispinal etanercept, to be made available in Australia, saying the results have been life-changing for their son. The delivery method remains untested in Australia. Griffith University has a clinical trial approved, but it is unfunded.

• An alliance of leading mental health advocates has challenged all political parties to announce what they would do to address the rising toll of suicide and self-harm if elected on July 2. National Mental Health Commissioner Ian Hickie said all candidates needed to commit to a national suicide prevention program and support the recommendation for a suicide prevention trial in 12 regions.

Overview:
• More than 1,100 men in New South Wales have signed up to trial a new HIV drug, which doctors have said may help dramatically decrease the number of infections. The Kirby Institute’s trial, which aims to recruit 3,700 men, involves participants taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP), a drug which prevents HIV infection.

• Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has tried to clarify Health Minister Sussan Ley’s claims her push to lift the Government’s freeze on Medicare rebates is being blocked by departmental red tape. The Government announced in this month’s budget the indexation freeze would be extended until at least 2020, which doctors are warning will lead to less bulk billing.

• The Kidney Health Australia’s annual State of the Nation report said New South Wales has the highest rate of adults living with signs of chronic kidney disease in Australia. Kidney Health Australia CEO Anne Wilson said Australia had 1.7 million Australian adults living with signs of kidney failure.

Overview:
• New robotics technology has been developed by Deakin University, in partnership with Telstra, to make the remote ultrasound possible. The developers said the system could be applied to evaluate a patient’s kidneys, liver, abdominal aorta and other blood vessels of the abdomen.

• E-cigarettes, or vaping, is set to be banned in all areas where cigarette smoking is prohibited in Victoria, under new laws to come into effect next year. Under the changes, e-cigarettes will be treated like other tobacco products and children under 18 will no longer be able to buy them.

• New South Wales paramedics have lost their battle with the State Government to maintain death and disability payouts. The Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) has ruled that the expected cost of maintaining the existing scheme was significant. The Health Services Union said some paramedics stood to lose about $500,000 worth of entitlements, leaving a maximum payout of about $123,000 available tothem.

Overview:
• Far West Home and Community Care Services (HACC) says a grant of $100,000 will allow it to set up a "lounge" to reduce boredom among the city’s ageing population. HACC provides bus transport and home maintenance services to elderly residents and people with disabilities.

• Ten million people could die by 2050 unless sweeping changes are agreed upon to tackle mankind’s increasing resistance to antibiotics, which can turn common ailments into killers, according to the new report Commissioned by the British Government. The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance outlined steps to fight the emergence of ‘superbugs’ as infections become immune to existing drugs, allowing minor injuries and common infections to become deadly.

• The Federal Opposition will make the first big-ticket promise of the election campaign and vow to spend $12 billion over a decade to unwind the controversial freeze on Medicare rebates the Government pays doctors for services.