The Health News – 20 April 2017

Overview:

• Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the Coalition was abolishing the 457 visa system, replacing it with two new classes of visa. Speaking at the opening of the new Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Ms Palaszczuk said although she preferred locals to fill jobs, many regional health districts relied on foreign doctors

• Two months after being appointed the interim chief executive overlooking the New Royal Adelaide Hospital (NRAH), Len Richards has quit, despite the hospital’s opening being just weeks away.”We’re in the second month of the testing process for the new RAH, one of the biggest projects in Australian history, and to have another leader pass through the revolving door just adds another layer of risk to an already high-risk project,” Opposition health spokesperson Stephen Wade said.

• The Five Year Mental Health Youth Report released …[recently] by Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute found almost one in four 15 to 19 year olds “met the criteria for having a probable serious mental illness”, rising from 18.7 per cent in 2012 to 22.8 per cent in 2016. Mission Australia CEO Catherine Yeomans labelled the findings “alarming” and noted those with mental illness turned first to friends, followed by parents and the internet.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the  20th of April 2017. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-19/annastacia-palaszczuk-fears-hospital-shortages-from-457-changes/8453790

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she hopes regional hospitals will not suffer from the Federal Government’s changes to the 457 visa system.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the Coalition was abolishing the 457 visa system, replacing it with two new classes of visa.

Current visa holders will not be affected by the changes, which will see the introduction of two new temporary skills visas — a two-year visa and a more specialised one for four years “targeted at higher skills”.

Speaking at the opening of the new Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Ms Palaszczuk said although she preferred locals to fill jobs, many regional health districts relied on foreign doctors.

She accused the Federal Government of failing to fund training places for local medical students.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-18/interim-ceo-len-richards-quits-ahead-of-nrah-opening/8451738

Two months after being appointed the interim chief executive overlooking the New Royal Adelaide Hospital (NRAH), Len Richards has quit, despite the hospital’s opening being just weeks away.

Len Richards became Central Adelaide Local Health Network chief executive officer in February after previous CEO Julia Squire was sacked.

Opposition health spokesperson Stephen Wade said there had been a revolving door of departures at SA Health.

“This is the sixth key project leader of the NRAH project who has been lost in the last two years,” he said.

“We’re in the second month of the testing process for the new RAH, one of the biggest projects in Australian history, and to have another leader pass through the revolving door just adds another layer of risk to an already high-risk project.”

A number of senior SA Health leaders involved in overseeing the NRAH project have left the department in recent years, including Andew Neilsen, David Panter, Steve Moro, David Swan and Judith Carr.

In a bulletin to staff, SA Health said Mr Richards had decided to return to the United Kingdom for “family reasons” and a new job.

Mr Richard’s last day will be on June 16.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/five-year-mental-health-report-shows-females-indigenous-teens-at-risk/news-story/8f85351168c8cc590d061b56d7de179f

The rate of mental illness among Australia’s young people has increased by 4 per cent in half a decade, according to new analysis, with females and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teenagers most at risk.

The Five Year Mental Health Youth Report released …[recently] by Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute found almost one in four 15 to 19 year olds “met the criteria for having a probable serious mental illness”, rising from 18.7 per cent in 2012 to 22.8 per cent in 2016.

Prompting calls for more government-funded, gender-specific programs in schools and greater input from indigenous communities, the analysis also shows the prevalence of mental illness was twice as likely in females compared to males — at 28.6 per cent and 14.1 per cent respectively — and at its highest in indigenous youth at 31.6 per cent.

Mission Australia CEO Catherine Yeomans labelled the findings “alarming” and noted those with mental illness turned first to friends, followed by parents and the internet.

Issues of most concern … included coping with stress, school and study problems, and depression, while there was also a “notably high level of concern” about family conflict, suicide and bullying or emotional abuse.

Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute used the Kessler 6 psychological distress scale to gauge people’s mental health and surveyed between 13,133 and 21,172 teenagers each year between 2012 and 2016.