Category Archives: Health

Avoid booze and close the curtains: how to cope in England’s 40C heatwave

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Health officials are advising people how to stay safe during expected record temperatures next week

Put that cold beer down, hold the iced coffee and shut the window. Common tricks for keeping cool in a British summer do not apply to the sweltering, record-breaking temperatures forecast for much of England early next week.

Heat of 40C (104F) is a risk to life and not only to vulnerable people. Healthy people who do not take care were also in danger, government health officials warned on Friday. So go easy on the caffeine and alcohol, pull the curtains, drink water and stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day. Importantly, do not presume the air outside is cooler than inside. But, most of all, check that people who live alone or in potentially hot and stuffy rooms are safe.

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Two-year wait for a wheelchair: inquiry hears of difficulty accessing NDIS for remote Indigenous communities

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Royal commission told NDIA services and communications need to be tailored to meet the needs of First Nations people

An Indigenous person living with disability in a remote Northern Territory community had to wait two years for a wheelchair, a royal commission has been told.

A report into National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) performance at Ngukurr, 635km from Darwin, found mainstream models of delivery were not working, and would not work in other remote areas.

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Australia news live: nation records 66 Covid deaths as push for Albanese to continue pandemic leave payments and free RATs grows

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NSW has recorded 12,228 new cases and 14 deaths in the past 24 hours.

There are 2,027 people in hospital and of those, 60 are in ICU.

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NHS doctors’ strike is ‘inevitable,’ says new BMA chair

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Exclusive: doctors will use pay row to expose ‘desperate state’ of NHS after years of government neglect, Prof Philip Banfield warned

A doctor’s strike is “inevitable” and will expose how dangerously threadbare the Conservatives have left the health service, the profession’s new leader has said.

In his first interview since taking over as the British Medical Association’s chair of council, Prof Philip Banfield warned ministers that doctors will take the fight to them by using a pay dispute to tell the public patients are dying as a direct result of government neglect of the NHS.

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Covid-19 Australia data tracker: coronavirus cases today, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccination

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Guardian Australia brings together all the latest on daily new Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and live state by state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT. We bring together the latest numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.

Due to the difference in reporting times between states, territories and the federal government, it can be difficult to get a current picture of the pandemic in Australia. Here we have brought together data on cases, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccinations.

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Skin cancer death rates for men in UK have tripled since 1970s

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Men 69% more likely to die from melanoma than women, says Cancer Research UK, warning that lack of sun protection is a factor

Skin cancer death rates among men have more than tripled since the 1970s, research reveals, prompting fresh warnings from experts to stay safe in the sun.

Since 1973, death rates from melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – have increased by 219% in men, compared with the rise of 76% in women, Cancer Research UK found. As many as 1,400 men are now dying from the disease each year, in contrast to 980 women. This amounts to a total of six people a day, the charity said.

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Voting is significant determinant of health, US medical association declares

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Some advocates suggest AMA could partner with civic groups to encourage voting, which correlates to better health outcomes

Access to voting is now considered a health issue, according to the country’s largest physician group.

The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates adopted a resolution calling voting a social determinant of health, a term used to describe non-medical factors that affect health and wellbeing. Co-sponsored by the National Medical Association, the resolution also recognizes that gerrymandering limits access to care and leads to worse health outcomes.

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Nation records 78 Covid deaths – as it happened

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The International Monetary Fund could downgrade its expectations for global economic growth this month.

Its head Kristalina Georgieva has hinted as much, saying the war in Ukraine, higher than expected inflation and the Covid pandemic are to blame.

As G20 ministers and central bank governors gather in Bali this week, they face a global economic outlook that has darkened significantly.

Recent indicators imply a weak second quarter – and we will be projecting a further downgrade to global growth for both 2022 and 2023 in our World Economic Outlook Update later this month.

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Hospital patients being treated in corridors and waiting areas, says RCN

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Poll reveals more than a quarter of UK hospital nurses have seen patients cared for in ‘inappropriate’ settings

Patients are being treated in the wrong places in UK hospitals, such as corridors and waiting areas, leaving them at risk of poor care, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warns today.

Hospitals are so overstretched and understaffed that patients are ending up being looked after in clinically “inappropriate” settings, where personnel may not have the right skills.

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Covid deaths in aged care reach almost 100 a week as active cases surge across Australia

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Rising case numbers and death rates prompt fears that two-thirds of providers could be grappling with outbreaks in next six weeks

Almost 100 aged care residents are dying from Covid each week with active cases linked to the more than 700 current outbreaks in facilities reaching near-record levels for 2022, data shows.

An analysis of government data on Covid in aged care shows a worrying surge in the weekly number of deaths, number of active outbreaks, and cases among residents.

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End to Covid leave payment and RAT subsidy ‘disincentives’ for casuals to be tested

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Australian Council of Social Services says end of supports amid new wave of virus leaves insecure workers more exposed

Lilly Hallett has become accustomed to regular lentil meals amid recent spiralling costs of living as a way to curb everyday expenses.

But the Melbourne-based casual call centre employee is also now trying to stash away part of her income in case she becomes reinfected with Covid, amid a surge in cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

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Calls for return of Covid controls after UK death toll passes 200,000

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‘Damning milestone’ means measures such as mask-wearing and better sick pay needed again, doctors and bereaved families say

Doctors and people bereaved by Covid have described the 200,000th death from the virus in the UK as a “tragic milestone” and called for the return of infection control measures, including mask wearing and better sick pay amid concern about rising cases and new variants.

Prof Philip Banfield, council chair of the British Medical Association, said: “This terrible loss of life must serve as an important reminder that Covid-19 has not gone away and remains a serious threat to public health.”

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More than 700 aged care Covid outbreaks – as it happened

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Cockroach alert at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane

As the Maroons and Blues prepare to face off in the State of Origin final decider tonight, another showdown is occurring between the SES and the “influx” of cockroaches in the stadium where the final will take place.

To be very clear, my government has not made this decision, this is a decision that was inherited from the former government and state governments.

I’d encourage concession cardholders to go and get the 10 free rapid antigen tests that they’re eligible for by the end of this month. There’s still a lot of time to go and do that. Of course, on top of that, there are free rapid antigen tests available in aged care facilities, across a range of areas as well in addition to that.

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‘Millions’ of Australians will be infected with Covid in coming weeks, health minister says

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Mark Butler is urging Australians to get their booster jabs as case numbers rise and pandemic supports are scaled back

The Australian health minister, Mark Butler, has warned “millions” of people will be infected by Covid in coming weeks, urging Australians to take boosters even as the government winds down other Covid supports.

On Wednesday, Anthony Albanese, doubled down on the federal government’s decision not to extend free rapid antigen tests for concession card holders beyond 31 July.

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US law will overrule states for abortions in cases of medical emergencies

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Biden administration insists federal law would overrule state bans, protecting providers who perform emergency abortions

Physicians must continue to offer abortions in cases of medical emergencies without exception, Joe Biden’s administration said on Monday, as it insisted federal law would overrule any total state bans on abortion.

In a letter to healthcare providers, the president’s health and human services secretary, Xavier Becerra, said the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) protects providers from any purported state restrictions should they be required to perform emergency abortions.

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Charcuterie’s link to colon cancer confirmed by French authorities

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Blow for industry as government backs WHO data and vows to cut additives in ham and cured sausages

French health authorities say they have confirmed a link between nitrates added to processed meat and colon cancer, dealing a blow to the country’s prized ham and cured sausage industry.

The national food safety body Anses said its study of data published on the subject supported similar conclusions in 2015 from the World Health Organization (WHO).

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End of rapid Covid test and telehealth subsidies criticised – as it happened

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Payments extended to eight more local government areas and sped up to prioritise victims over auditing; free Covid rapid tests for concession card holders to end this month. This blog is now closed

A new campaign has launched today to tackle racism by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Chin Tan, the race discrimination commissioner, was on ABC Radio this morning discussing the campaign he says calls on all Australians to reflect on the causes and impacts of racism, not only on its victims but Australia’s collective wellbeing as a society.

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Victoria defies health advice for mask mandate as new Covid wave worsens nationwide

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Elective surgeries are again at risk of being delayed with predictions hospitalisations may exceed past Covid waves

The Victorian government has ignored health advice calling for mask mandates in schools, early childhood and retail settings amid a warning that hospitalisations during the current wave of Covid and flu infections may exceed earlier peaks.

As Covid reinfection rates rise nationwide, Victoria on Tuesday joined Queensland in encouraging residents to don masks without requiring them to do so.

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Vaccines and antivirals not enough to combat Australian Omicron surge, experts warn

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Doctors accuse government of ‘mixed messages’ as hospitalisations rise, saying they should be open to more preventive measures

Doctors have urged Australia’s political leaders not to rule out reinstating mask mandates and social distancing if chief health officers back these measures to combat rising hospitalisations from the winter Omicron wave.

The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, said it was important politicians did not block such measures if that was recommended by their medical experts.

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Nation records 13 Covid deaths as WA and ACT reduce official reinfection period – as it happened

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Police questioning three people after man’s body found near Brisbane train station

Three people are being questioned about the suspicious death of a man whose body was found near a train station in inner Brisbane, AAP reports.

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