Category Archives: Health

Parents ‘horrified’ by response to petition after suicide of Bristol student

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Government declines to act on call for legal duty of care for all students after death of Natasha Abrahart in 2018

The parents of Natasha Abrahart, who took her own life while studying at the University of Bristol, have reacted with “absolute horror” to the government’s response to their petition calling for a statutory legal duty of care for all students in higher education.

The Abraharts are one of 25 bereaved families who helped launch a parliamentary petition last October, calling on ministers to pass legislation to better protect students and arguing that their mental health, safety and wellbeing should be a government priority.

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Stress led to more NHS staff absences than Covid, new figures show

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The scale of the mental health crisis is revealed as nurses and ambulance workers prepare to strike this week

“Burnout” and stress among doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health staff has cost the NHS in England more than 15m lost working days since March 2020, about 50% more than the days lost to Covid infections and self-isolation, analysis of official figures by the Observer reveals.

NHS sickness figures show that between March 2020, the month of the first Covid lockdown, and last September, 15.4m working days have been lost in the NHS because of stress-related absences, compared with 9.8m days lost from staff who were required to self-isolate or were ill with Covid.

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‘It’s soul destroying’: why so many NHS staff are off sick with burnout

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Doctors, paramedics and nurses explain the stress and anxiety of working in a system that has reached breaking point

“Frustration with the system was why I went off in the end,” said Conor Calby, 26, a paramedic and Unison rep in southwest England, who was recently off work for a month with burnout. “I felt like I couldn’t do my job and was letting patients down. After a difficult few years it was challenging.”

While he usually manages to keep a distinct divide between work and home life, burnout eroded that line. He also lost his sleep pattern and appetite.

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Mark Butler says increase to Medicare rebate ‘not off the table’

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Health minister hits back at criticism from AMA that government report had no immediate recommendations to help Australians access more affordable care

The health minister, Mark Butler, says an increase to the Medicare rebate is not off the table, as the federal government tries to address problems in Australia’s healthcare system.

Butler has also hit back at criticisms a Medicare review initiated by the government did not have tangible recommendations to provide immediate relief.

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Australian approval of MDMA and psilocybin a ‘baby step in the right direction’, medical experts say

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Psychiatrists cautiously welcome decision as Australia becomes the first country to officially recognise psychedelics as medicines

Psychiatrists have cautiously welcomed the ability to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin, saying it’s a “baby step in the right direction”.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration announced on Friday that, from July, approved psychiatrists would be able to prescribe MDMA (ecstasy) for post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) for treatment-resistant depression.

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Port Macquarie cleans up after ‘mini-cyclone’ – as it happened

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A “mini-cyclone” has left significant damage across the coastal NSW city of Port Macquarie, with trees and powerlines downed and roofs ripped from buildings, AAP’s Phoebe Loomes reports.

Multiple emergency crews responded after the sudden sudden storm hit the coastal city just after 3pm on Friday. Some 60 calls for help were made to the State Emergency Service in the 30 minutes to 4pm, with reports of roofs blown from buildings, fallen trees and requests for flood rescues.

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Australia to allow prescription of MDMA and psilocybin for treatment-resistant mental illnesses

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From July, authorised psychiatrists will be able to prescribe the drugs for post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression

After decades of “demonisation”, psychiatrists will be able to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin in Australia from July this year.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration made the surprise announcement on Friday afternoon.

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An improved My Health Record will be at centre of push to modernise primary healthcare

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Better digital systems are to be discussed at national cabinet, while the AMA will call for stronger safeguards to protect patient data

The under-utilised and much-maligned My Health Record will be at the centre of a push to modernise primary healthcare, with better digital systems to be discussed at national cabinet.

The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce has agreed to improve and expand the use of the platform, with a broader range of health professionals able to access and add to digital health records a key recommendation of its report to drive improvements in primary care.

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Tiny radioactive capsule lost in Australian outback found by side of 1,400km stretch of road

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Coin-sized radioactive device, missing for more than two weeks in WA, posed a significant public health risk

A tiny radioactive capsule that was lost in the Australian outback for more than two weeks and posed a “significant public health risk” has been found by the side of the road.

The 8mm by 6mm capsule, which fell from a secure device on a truck that was travelling from a Rio Tinto mine site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to Perth, was found south of the town of Newman.

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Three or more concussions add up to long-term cognitive problems, study suggests

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Multiple concussions in a lifetime were shown to affect the ability to plan and pay attention, though research also underlined health benefits of playing sport

Experiencing multiple concussions may be linked to worse brain function in later life, suggests a study of nearly 16,000 people.

Among 15,764 people aged 50 to 90, those who reported three or more concussions had worse complex planning and attention scores on a range of cognitive tests.

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Doctors in England and Wales urged to monitor people’s drinking habits

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More than 10m people consume alcohol at levels that pose a risk to their health, experts say

GPs in England and Wales are being urged to ask patients detailed questions about their drinking habits amid concerns that thousands of people with alcohol issues are “slipping through the net”.

More than 10 million people consume alcohol at levels that pose a risk to their health, according to experts. Millions are mildly or moderately dependent on alcohol, while about 600,000 people have severe alcohol dependency and will, as a result, benefit hugely from professional alcohol treatment.

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Hospitals in England cancel 88,000 appointments in seven weeks due to strikes

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NHS leaders warn disruption to patients could become even worse as healthcare staff plan further strikes

Hospitals in England have had to cancel 88,000 appointments because of strikes by nurses and ambulance staff over the last seven weeks, figures have revealed.

NHS bosses warned on Tuesday that the already “shocking scale of disruption” to patient care could “skyrocket” in coming weeks as unions intensify their campaign and walkouts over pay become commonplace.

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George Washington University installs emergency contraception vending machine

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Students led effort over concern for reproductive rights after supreme court struck down constitutional right to abortion

A vending machine that provides emergency contraception has been installed at a Washington DC university, as colleges contend with how to protect reproductive rights on campus.

Students at George Washington University successfully obtained the vending machine dispensing morning-after pills following concerns in the wake of the supreme court’s ruling last summer to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision that had ushered in the constitutional right to an abortion.

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Polish health minister ‘appalled’ girl, 14, struggled to get abortion after rape

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Doctors at several hospitals cited a conscience clause to avoid treating the teenager who has a mental disability

Poland’s health minister has weighed in on a high-profile rape case, saying it was “unacceptable” that a mentally disabled 14-year-old girl struggled to get a legal abortion.

The case, in which doctors at several hospitals used a conscience clause to avoid carrying out the procedure, has sparked renewed calls to ease the Catholic country’s abortion laws, which are among Europe’s most stringent.

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Long-term sickness leaving 1.6m UK adults over 50 unable to work

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Campaign charity Rest Less says figures illustrate not only a national health issue but an economic one

More than 1.6 million adults aged 50 and over are unable to work because of long-term sickness amid ballooning NHS waiting lists and an exodus from the British workforce since the pandemic, according to the most detailed analysis yet of official data for this age group.

The number has increased 20%, or 270,000 in three years, according to an analysis of Office for National Statistics figures by Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for over fifties.

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Rishi Sunak set to unveil emergency care plan to slash NHS waiting times

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Experts warn plan does not address staff vacancies and £1bn fund pledged is not new money

Rishi Sunak will vow to rapidly slash long waiting times for urgent NHS care with a promise of thousands more beds, 800 new ambulances and an expansion of community care backed by a dedicated fund of £1bn.

The health service is engulfed in its worst-ever crisis, with urgent and emergency care in particular under unprecedented pressure in recent months. The prime minister will describe his blueprint for resolving the problems as “ambitious and credible”.

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Search stepped up for potentially deadly radioactive capsule lost in Western Australia

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Authorities have conceded the capsule of highly radioactive material may never be found after disappearing on a 1,400km journey

A tiny, potentially deadly, radioactive capsule that has been missing for more than two weeks somewhere in the vastness of Western Australia might never be found, authorities have conceded.

On Sunday, Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (Dfes) revealed it was bringing in new radiation detection equipment that could be fitted to vehicles – superseding handheld sensors – to help locate the capsule somewhere along the 1,400km journey from which it originally disappeared.

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Czech pair defend Australian Open doubles title; millions of RATs to expire in coming months – as it happened

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There are reports of delayed and diverted flights at Sydney airport after an air control tower was evacuated.

Airservices Australia has told Nine that the incident was sparked by fumes emitting through the air conditioning system, resulting in two international flights being diverted.

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Australian period underwear makers deny using ‘forever chemicals’ after Thinx settles suit in US

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Modibodi and Bonds say they avoid using PFAS chemicals, which break down slowly over time and have unclear health impacts

Australian manufacturers of period underwear have denied using “forever chemicals” in their products following a class-action lawsuit in the US, while experts say more research is needed into the compounds and their potential health impacts.

Thinx, a US manufacturer of menstrual hygiene products, announced last week that it had reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit over allegations “regarding the presence of short chain per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (‘PFAS’)” in its underwear.

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Missing radioactive capsule: WA officials admit it was weeks before anyone realised it was lost

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Fire and Emergency Services official says capsule left Rio Tinto mine site on 10 January but was not found missing for 15 days

Western Australian authorities are scrambling to find a missing radioactive capsule that is a fraction of the size of a 10c coin, conceding it was not found missing until more than two weeks after it left a Rio Tinto mine site.

The 8mm by 6mm capsule is a 19-becquerel caesium 137 ceramic source, commonly used in radiation gauges, and was supposed to be contained in a secure device which had been “damaged” on a truck which travelled from the mine site north of Newman in the Pilbara to a depot in Perth.

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