The Health News – 5 December 2016
Overview:
• A medical internship has given students the experience and understanding of how medical professionals in Brisbane save lives in hospitals. The aspiring health professionals spent a week of their Christmas holidays at Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital, walking the wards alongside doctors and nurses.
• The Muslim Charitable Foundation, together with Christians, provides medical services to those who are in need every Wednesday and Friday night at 7:00pm in a car park at Woodridge, south of Brisbane.
• The Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial is the largest clinical trial conducted in Australia, which determines whether daily low dose of aspirin prevents or delays onset of age-related illness and if the benefits will outweigh the risks.
News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 2nd of December 2016. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News
An innovative internship has given students from 20 Brisbane high schools an understanding of how medical professionals save lives.
The program aims to inspire future pathways for Year 11 students, who were chosen from a field of 400 candidates.
The aspiring health professionals spent a week of their Christmas holidays at Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital, walking the wards alongside doctors and nurses.
The students learnt how a hospital runs, took part in simulated surgeries, used life-saving equipment and listened to a patient’s brush with death.
Program coordinator David Nix said it was the only internship of its kind in Queensland.
“It is important for students who are looking for a medical career who want to work out where they are going in the health care field,” he said.
“It works because it gives exposure to the students of all of the things that happen in a major hospital.”
Acting director of Clinical Education, Sally Epple, said it helped students decide if they have a future in the health care industry.
Clinical nurse educator Deb Evans said showing the students the therapeutic ropes of medical emergencies was a fantastic experience.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-04/logan-homeless-outreach-nights-woodridge/8058386
An unusual grouping of Christians, Muslims, doctors and award-winning laundromat operators are turning a car park by a busy roadside at Logan into a one-stop shop for those experiencing difficult lives.
Every Wednesday and Friday night at 7:00pm, the car park at Woodridge, south of Brisbane, is occupied by charity groups.
Rosies — Friends On the Street hand out blankets and snacks.
The Muslim Charitable Foundation brings hot meals and Orange Sky provides its mobile laundry service.
The Street Doctors, with their converted ambulance, offer a GP service for those who find it hard to get to the doctors.
…
Rosies Friends coordinator Margaret Harvey said their mission was to connect and provide friendship and support to the isolated and lonely, as well as those needing help.
She bristles at what she sees as overly negative media stories about Logan.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-03/aspirin-research-gets-multi-million-dollar-boost/8088684
Australian patients will play a crucial role in finding out if taking a daily low dose aspirin can prevent disease in healthy older people.
The Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial is the largest clinical trial ever conducted in Australia.
…[It shares in] $483 million in grants for health and medical research funding announced by Minister for Health and Aged Care Sussan Ley.
“We know that every dollar invested in medical research returns on average of more than $2 in benefits through reducing the burden of disease and driving productivity,” she said.
Aspirin trial leader Professor John Zalcberg said there was considerable evidence that low dose aspirin prevents the development of cancer, particularly in the case of colorectal cancer.
“If we can determine whether aspirin can protect against the development of colorectal cancer in an aging population, and how it does so, this would have enormous public health benefits,” he said.
The ASPREE trial is a joint Australia-US collaboration involving 16,700 Australians aged 70 and over, and is being run by Monash University.
Another 2,500 participants are in the US.
Participants are randomly assigned to take either a low-dose aspirin tablet (100mg) or a matching placebo tablet for an average of five years.
The trial will determine whether daily low dose aspirin prevents or delays the onset of age-related illness such as cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke), dementia, depression and certain cancers and if the benefits outweigh the risks, such as bleeding.
- If aspirin is shown to be of overall benefit, millions of healthy older people around the world will be advised to take aspirin
- If aspirin is shown not to be of benefit, then many older people will stop taking an unnecessary medication