The Health News – 16 January 2017

Overview:
• It is illegal to grow hemp plants in South Australia and nationally medicinal cannabis can only be grown with a licence. South Australia’s Manufacturing Minister Kyam Maher said the roundtable to examine the potential to establish industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis industries in South Australia was “about creating an industry.”

• Unimmunised children will be asked to stay away from South Australian preschools and care centres when there is a disease outbreak as part of a new procedure. Parents and carers will be asked to provide government pre-schools and care services with details of their children’s immunisations as part of a plan to protect unvaccinated children from the risk of catching or spreading infectious diseases.

• The WA Liberals have committed $140 million to fund the expansion of the public children's ward at the Joondalup Health Campus, Health Minister John Day said government funding would be used to expand public health services, including 90 more public beds, and up to 30 more mental health beds.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the  16th of January 2017. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-15/cannabis-industry’s-economic-benefits-for-sa-to-be-explored/8183454

A roundtable to examine the potential to establish industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis industries in South Australia will be held at the end of the month.

It comes only months after the Federal Government changed the law to allow the controlled cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes, and just weeks after an Adelaide woman who was supplying cannabis oil products to terminally ill people had her property raided.

Unlike in some other states, it is illegal to grow hemp plants in South Australia and nationally medicinal cannabis can only be grown with a licence.

South Australia’s Manufacturing Minister Kyam Maher said the meeting was “about creating an industry”.

He said industry groups and companies looking to make things like building products, clothing, textiles and skin care products had been invited.

Hillier resident Jenny Hallam, who had her house raided, and people using medicinal cannabis have not been invited to the roundtable.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-14/unvaccinated-sa-children-to-be-sent-home-from-preschool/8182346

Unimmunised children will be asked to stay away from South Australian preschools and care centres when there is a disease outbreak as part of a new procedure.

Parents and carers will be asked to provide government pre-schools and care services with details of their children’s immunisations as part of a plan to protect unvaccinated children from the risk of catching or spreading infectious diseases.

If a vaccine preventable disease (VPD) like chickenpox, measles or mumps has been detected at the centre, those without up-to-date immunisation records will not be permitted to attend sessions.

The protocol begins from the start of term two and the time away from the centre will be determined by SA Health.

Education Minister Susan Close said vaccinations were crucial to protecting children against preventable diseases and the procedure would allow services to act swiftly.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-13/joondalup-health-campus-funding-pledge-dismissed-as-panic/8181504

The WA Liberals have committed $140 million to fund the expansion of the public children’s ward at the Joondalup Health Campus, but the Opposition has branded it a “panicked” move as the unofficial campaign for the WA election gears up.

The campus is a public-private partnership with Ramsay Health servicing fast-growing northern suburbs.

Health Minister John Day said government funding would be used to expand public health services, including 90 more public beds, and up to 30 more mental health beds.

Mr Day said if the Barnett Government was re-elected on March 11, the hospital’s emergency department would also be expanded.

“There’s almost 100,000 visits to the emergency department each year,” he said.

Population growth is expected to draw 50,000 people to the area, placing more pressure on health services.

Speaking at the Joondalup Health Campus, Mr Day said the planned expansion would help with that increased demand.

In the past year, a new children’s ward has opened at the hospital, increasing the number of paediatric beds.

Work is about to begin on a new mental health observation area.

Mr Day said despite some political opposition, the public-private partnership at Joondalup had been effective and had delivered good results for the community.