The Health News – 30 May 2017
Overview:
• In January, the ABC revealed dozens of reports of people being severely burnt while using Banana Boat products as well as the Cancer Council’s Peppa Pig sunscreen. It prompted the TGA to test a range of sunscreen products. Sydney’s Dermatest Laboratory chemist John Staton said the TGA’s testing fell short of what was needed. He said the TGA has only tested that the ingredients in the sunscreens contain what is on label, rather than testing whether the products actually work.
• Graham Rollbusch, 70, died after he suffered head and neck injuries at the Makk and McLeay Oakden home early in 2008. Peter Palmer, 84, was charged with murder but died before a trial. The attack happened two months after the nursing home had been sanctioned by the Commonwealth for failing to provide a safe environment for its residents, the inquest was told.
• The Medical Journal of Australia has published a new study showing avoidable nursing home deaths have increased by 400 per cent over the past 13 years. Falls were the number one killer, followed by choking and suicide. The author of the study, Monash University’s Professor Joseph Ibrahim, says nursing homes — unlike hospitals — have failed to improve their care standards over the years.
News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 30th of May 2017. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News
Questions are again being raised about the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) testing regime after the organisation declared sunscreens linked to serious burns contain the “correct ingredients”.
In January, the ABC revealed dozens of reports of people being severely burnt while using Banana Boat products as well as the Cancer Council’s Peppa Pig sunscreen.
It prompted the TGA to test a range of sunscreen products.
“In response to reported concerns during the past Australian summer that sunscreens were failing to provide adequate sun protection, the TGA undertook laboratory testing of 31 commonly used products, including lotions, creams and aerosol sprays, sourced from pharmacies and supermarkets,” it said in a statement.
“We found that all products tested contained the correct levels of ingredients, as specified on their labelling, and complied with the Australian regulatory guidelines for sunscreens for content of sun protection ingredients (90-120 per cent of the labelled claim).”
Banana Boat said it welcomed the results of the TGA’s independent testing of sunscreens, including the company’s own products.
Consumers have continued to contact the ABC reporting severe burns, as recently as this month.
Sydney’s Dermatest Laboratory chemist John Staton said the TGA’s testing fell short of what was needed.
He said the TGA has only tested that the ingredients in the sunscreens contain what is on label, rather than testing whether the products actually work.
He said the sunscreens should be tested in a TGA laboratory as well as other laboratories to make sure the results stack up.
The TGA said it had only received a low level of complaints from consumers.
Dermatologists have also raised concerns about the effectiveness of aerosol spray products.
The TGA said it will undertake “additional investigations into aerosol products” as part of its ongoing review.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-29/oakden-death-of-graham-rollbusch-inquest-starts/8570470
An Oakden nursing home resident who died after a dementia patient attacked him was twice previously assaulted by the same man, an Adelaide inquest has heard.
Graham Rollbusch, 70, died after he suffered head and neck injuries at the Makk and McLeay Oakden home early in 2008.
Peter Palmer, 84, was charged with murder but died before a trial.
Counsel assisting the coroner Amy Cacas said Mr Palmer had been a demanding patient since entering the nursing home in December 2006.
“He exhibited paranoid beliefs, suffering moderate to severe dementia and pre-morbid narcissistic personality disorder,” she told the coroner.
“He was also known to pick objects up and throw them about the room, or at people.”
Ms Cacas told the court Mr Palmer was known to wander day and at night, sometimes disrupting other residents.
The attack happened two months after the nursing home had been sanctioned by the Commonwealth for failing to provide a safe environment for its residents, the inquest was told.
Oakden facilities are to close down within weeks and patients will be transferred to other Adelaide accommodation.
Val Earle says her mother would still be alive today if she hadn’t fallen and broken her hip at a nursing home.
“She was calling out for assistance, for somebody to help her go to the toilet, and apparently nobody came,” Ms Earle said.
“She just tried to go by herself without the wheelie walker and fell over in the bathroom and broke her hip.
“She was lying there crying in pain, and the lady in the next room had a visitor, her daughter, and she could hear mum singing out and no-one was going near her, so she went looking for staff.”
Ms Earle believes her mother, Joyce Cockerill, died because there was not enough staff for the residents in her nursing home.
The Medical Journal of Australia has published a new study showing avoidable nursing home deaths have increased by 400 per cent over the past 13 years.
Falls were the number one killer, followed by choking and suicide.
The author of the study, Monash University’s Professor Joseph Ibrahim, says nursing homes — unlike hospitals — have failed to improve their care standards over the years.
He said if similar increases in avoidable deaths were happening in hospitals, there would be a national outcry.