The Health News – 11 March 2014

Overview

• In WA, a diagnostic services clinic, as well as a former Perth doctor, were found guilty of deceptive conduct for asserting that their treatments effectively detected breast cancer.

• Queensland Health has confirmed that several cases of swine flu have been reported on Palm Island in the state’s north.

• lso in QLD, the new 1.75m dollar hospital on the Gold Coast will undergo an intense review beginning this week.

Health News on HPR.

Breast Check and Alexandra Boyd guilty over misleading cancer treatment claims – no author listed
In WA, a diagnostic services clinic, as well as a former Perth doctor, were found guilty of deceptive conduct for asserting that their treatments effectively detected breast cancer.

The Breast Check clinic and former doctor Alexandra Boyd were taken to federal court by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, specifically for making claims that thermal imaging and electrical current treatments offered by the clinic could detect presence of breast cancer.

Justice Michael Barker yesterday passed his judgement that pamphlets released by the business from 2010 to 2011 were misleading and deceptive, and agreed with the ACCC’s accusation that the business had claimed its treatments were effective substitutes for mammograms. Justice Barker found Alexandra Boyd was knowingly involved in the deception. The case has been adjourned until May when sentencing will be handed down.

Swine flu cases confirmed on Palm Island – no author listed
QLD Health has confirmed that several cases of swine flu have been reported on Palm Island in the state’s north. One patient was treated on Friday at Townsville Hospital. This is not the first case of the virus reported in QLD this year. The Mayor of Palm Island Alf Lacey warns residents of the importance of flu vaccination and said “Certainly I’d encourage all members of the community to attend and get their vaccinations shots at the health service or one of the providers in the town.

“There’s a strong possibility it may happen, given the conditions in the shire, in terms of better housing and certainly the social make-up of the town and given it’s a small island community it doesn’t take much for illnesses like swine flu to move through the community.”

Experts to assess Gold Coast health service – no author listed
Also in QLD, the new 1.75m dollar hospital on the Gold Coast will undergo an intense review beginning this week. A group of independently contracted surveyors will scrutinise the quality of service at the University of Robina hospitals as a component of an accreditation process for the facilities. Executive director of organisational development Naomi Dwyer is confident the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service will exceed the prescribed requirements. She said “Accreditation is part of a routine quality assurance process and we would be looking to see if there is anything that these health experts who review health organisations across Australia might bring forward to us as a further opportunity to continually improve what we do. The most important part of their survey is going out into our health services, observing what is happening, talking to our patients and clinicians and community reps to really validate that what we say is the quality of care that we develop is actually what is happening in practice.