The Health News – 30 March 2016

Overview:
• Narelle and Allan Nothdurft entered an agreement with the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) to drill wells on their property near Chinchilla on the Western Downs in 2006.

• Better management, not money, is the key to fixing Tasmania’s “broken” emergency health system, says Australian College for Emergency Medicine Tasmania chair Dr Brian Doyle.

• University of Canberra researchers Naroa Etxebarria and Rachel Gale are looking into whether training in a hot, humid room can help Australia’s top athletes improve their performance.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 30th of March 2016. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-29/queensland-farming-family-launch-compo-bid-against-csg-company/7282478

A Queensland farming family has launched a landmark bid for compensation over the alleged impact of coal seam gas mining.

Narelle and Allan Nothdurft entered an agreement with the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) to drill wells on their property near Chinchilla on the Western Downs in 2006.

“We were offered a lot of water and some gravel roads around the property. It was all good at the start,” Mr Nothdurft said.

But Mr Nothdurft said issues with wells on and around their property, including noise levels and problems with gas vents, have made them sick ever since.

“The children have headaches, they get fast onset migraine headaches. They’re missing a lot of school because they get headaches at the drop of a hat,” he said.

The Nothdurft family has challenged QGC and four other respondents for compensation in the Land Court in Brisbane, so they can move away.

The family’s lawyer George Houen said it was the first time the compensation rules under Queensland’s Petroleum and Gas Act had been tested.

QGC said the matter was now for the Land Court to decide and it would comply with its orders.

The case is due back in court in September.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-29/more-money-not-the-solution-to-tasmanias-broken-health-system/7280782

Better management, not money, is the key to fixing Tasmania’s “broken” emergency health system, one of the state’s most senior doctors says.

Last week, two women had miscarriages in chairs due to a shortage of beds at Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH).

Australian College for Emergency Medicine Tasmania chair Dr Brian Doyle said he spent the long weekend in the emergency department at RHH and said a few changes had made a huge difference.

“It’s not simply throwing money at a system that’s unfortunately a bit broken and needs to be better managed,” he said.

Dr Doyle said the root cause of the problem was an issue referred to as bed block, or access block.

“This is where we have sick people who have been seen and treated in the emergency department who then need to be in hospital for treatment … but there’s not a bed for them to go to so they stay in the emergency department,” he said.

“They’re taking up the beds in the emergency department that you would usually use to treat everybody else so we juggle and try to treat people in chairs and just use our common sense as best we can.”

Dr Doyle said simply spending more money was not the answer.

“Over the Easter weekend, I worked at the Royal Hobart Hospital and it was beautiful, it was easy, there was no access block,” he said.

“Even though it was busier, we were able to sort through things rather easily.

“There are solutions that don’t necessarily require money and extra funding, it’s making sure you maximise the existing resources that you have.

Mr Goddard said communication also needed to be examined.

“We’ve had empty beds in the wards but the people in emergency haven’t been told they’re empty,” he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-27/heat-training-study-examines-benefits-for-athletes-canberra/7270316

Canberra researchers are looking into whether training in a hot, humid room can help Australia’s top athletes improve their performance.

As part of the project, players from Ainslie Football Club have taken part in regular training sessions in a room heated to about 35 degrees Celsius and 50 per cent humidity.

University of Canberra assistant professor of sport and exercise science Naroa Etxebarria and PhD candidate Rachel Gale have studied how the players’ bodies adapted.

“We are basically trying to enhance their cardiovascular fitness and some of the thermoregulatory capacities that the body has,” Dr Etxebarria said.

“That means that in hotter conditions they will be able to cope with exercise better.”

She said the training was also expected to help improve the players’ performance in cooler temperatures.

…the research could also have implications for athletes hoping to compete in the Rio Olympic Games later this year.

She said it could also benefit Canberra sportspeople who travel to compete in warmer areas, such as Queensland.