Category Archives: Health

Poor mental health could result in $7.4bn in lost productivity in NSW, report finds

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Exclusive: Research shows increase in depression and anxiety could result in hit on economy by 2025

Lost productivity due to poor mental health will see almost $7.5bn ripped from the New South Wales economy by 2025 if more is not done to support workers and businesses, according to a new report.

The Impact Economics and Policy report – commissioned by the NSW Council of Social Service (Ncoss) – looked at the compounding impacts of repeated natural disasters and the pandemic on the mental health of the population.

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John Farnham recovering in ICU after mouth cancer removed in surgery, singer’s family reveals

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Veteran Australian hitmaker is in a stable condition in hospital after surgery for almost 12 hours as doctors worked to successfully remove a cancer tumour from his mouth

The veteran Australian singer John Farnham is recovering in hospital after undergoing almost 12 hours of surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his mouth.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, Farham’s wife, Jill, and sons Rob and James said the singer was in a stable condition.

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Popular weedkiller Roundup on trial again as cancer victims demand justice

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A long list of upcoming trials complicating Bayer’s efforts to escape the costly, ongoing litigation over the health effects of Roundup

Cancer has taken an unrelenting toll on 72-year-old Mike Langford. After being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 2007 he suffered through five recurrences despite multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Now he struggles with chemo-related neuropathy in his arms and legs, and new tests show the cancer is back.

Langford blames his cancer on his longtime use of the popular weed-killing product Roundup, which he applied countless times over decades using a backpack sprayer around his five-acre California property and a vacation lake home. He alleges in a lawsuit that Monsanto, the longtime Roundup maker now owned by the German company Bayer AG, should have warned of a cancer risk.

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Struggle to find bulk billing clinics for children prompts fears vaccination rates will fall

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Poorer families set to be hit most, expert says, while single mothers routinely neglect their own medical needs to afford children’s care

As more GP clinics abandon or significantly reduce bulk billing, parents and carers say it is becoming harder to find a clinic that routinely bulk bills children.

In response to Guardian Australia’s series on the bulk billing crisis, more than 300 people shared their stories of how health care costs are adding pressure to family budgets on top of the rising costs of living.

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Cost of abortions causing Queensland women to consider self-harm, study reveals

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More than 40% of women seeking help from pregnancy counselling service had exposure to family or intimate partner violence

Queensland women are self-harming and searching for pills on the black market to induce abortions as they face chronic delays, financial pressures and a lack of support from healthcare providers, a new study has found.

The University of Queensland study published in the CSIRO’s Sexual Health journal analysed almost 2,000 anonymous client records from the pregnancy counselling service Children by Choice between December 2018 and June 2020.

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Australia news live: Greens seek to reconvene Senate committee into former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate’s dismissal

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Departments – not politicians – should decide government grant recipients, Grattan Institute recommends

The Grattan Institute has a very timely report out today with a plan to end pork barrelling, which calls for departments rather than ministers to make the call on who receives grants.

Ministers should be able to establish grant programs and define the selection criteria, but they should not be involved in choosing grant recipients.

Shortlisting and selecting grant recipients is an administrative function for the relevant department or agency. Ministers should have bigger fish to fry.

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GPs to prescribe walking and cycling in bid to ease burden on NHS

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Suggestion of activities to help improve mental and physical health part of wider movement of ‘social prescribing’

GPs around England are to prescribe patients activities such as walking or cycling in a bid to ease the burden on the NHS by improving mental and physical health.

The £12.7m trial, which was announced by the Department for Transport and will begin this year, is part of a wider movement of “social prescribing”, an approach already used in the NHS, in which patients are referred for non-medical activities.

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Abortion rights at risk in region led by party of Italy’s possible next PM

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The Brothers of Italy has further impeded access to abortion in the Marche region – a policy it could replicate nationally if it wins power

When Giulia, 20, discovered she was pregnant she immediately decided that she wasn’t ready to have a baby. Supported by her boyfriend and family, she sought medical advice in her home town in Italy’s central Marche region on how to obtain an abortion. She faced obstacles at every turn, from telephones not being answered and surgeries being closed, to one doctor who tried to persuade her to change her mind.

Abortion in Italy was legalised via a referendum in 1978, overturning an outright ban enforced by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini who deemed it a crime against the Italian race, but the high number of gynaecologists who refuse to terminate pregnancies for moral reasons – 64.6%, according to 2020 data – has meant women still encounter huge difficulties in accessing safe procedures.

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NSW detects first locally acquired cases of monkeypox amid concerns about vaccine shortage

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Health authorities are urging the public to remain ‘vigilant’ for symptoms as the state recorded three cases of community transmission on Sunday

The first locally acquired cases of monkeypox have been detected in New South Wales, placing health authorities on alert amid a global vaccine shortage.

The state recorded three additional cases of monkeypox on Sunday, bringing the total caseload to 42. They included one case that acquired their infection in NSW and two cases that picked up the virus “within Australia”.

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Victorian health minister ‘concerned’ by reports patients forced to wait hours in tent outside hospital

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New $14m healthcare project is expected to ease the pressure on Victoria’s health system as it continues to buckle under demand

Victoria’s health minister admits she was concerned after two vulnerable patients were forced to wait hours inside a makeshift tent outside the emergency department at a major hospital this week.

Mary-Anne Thomas acknowledged the “discomfort” experienced by a young cancer patient and an elderly stroke patient at Box Hill hospital, as the state’s health system continues to buckle under pressure.

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‘Generation sensible’ risk missing out on life experiences, therapists warn

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Reports of rise in social anxiety among overly cautious 11- to 25-year-olds who often interact online

They have been deemed “generation sensible” for their focus on social issues, healthy living and drinking less alcohol. But therapists say generation Z could miss out on a wealth of life experience due to their overly cautious attitude to taking risks.

Many young people increasingly choose to stay within a comfort zone of a small network of like-minded friends in which much of their social activity is virtual, according to mental health experts.

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‘Unethical’ for GPs to charge to prescribe Covid antivirals, Australian charity says

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Council on the Ageing says doctors who charge consultation fee for prescription for older people should be called out

Failing to bulk bill pensioners who require life-saving Covid-19 antivirals is “morally bankrupt” and “unethical”, the head of the national peak body for older Australians has said.

The Council on the Ageing chief executive, Ian Yates, said as growing numbers of general practitioners stop bulk billing, citing rising costs and low Medicare rebates, he is hearing “more and more examples of pensioners not being bulk-billed, especially people with the seniors healthcare card.”

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Australia news live: John Howard criticises lack of detail on voice to parliament as Anthony Albanese arrives in Torres Strait

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The former prime minister has spoken at a National Press Club event at the Canberra Writers Festival

‘Cringeworthy’: energy minister says Morrison’s media conference was embarrassing

Circling back to Chris Bowen’s interview on ABC Radio, where the discussion on climate policy was followed by questions on the biggest story in Canberra – Scott Morrison’s secret appointment to five additional ministries.

I think to be fair that the governor general was in a difficult position, he has to accept the advice of the government or the PM of the day.

It was pretty pathetic, embarrassing and cringeworthy to be honest.

He should call Andrews.

The right thing to do would be to call all ministers concerned.

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Jonah Hill says he will no longer promote his own films to protect his mental health

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Actor and director pens open letter revealing his nearly 20-year struggle with anxiety attacks, ‘which are exacerbated by media appearances and public facing events’

Jonah Hill has announced he will no longer take part in promoting his films due to his mental health issues being exacerbated by media appearances and public-facing events.

The 38-year-old actor revealed his plan in an open letter published by Deadline ahead of the debut of his new documentary, Stutz, which he directed. The film is about Hill’s relationship with his therapist Phil Stutz, who Hill began seeing in 2017 at the recommendation of fellow actor Joaquin Phoenix. In the film Hill and his therapist discuss his mental health.

In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, Mental Health America is available on 800-273-8255

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Survivors of contaminated blood scandal awarded interim payments

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Ministers accepted urgency of need of those infected in 1970s and 1980s, who are dying at the rate of one every four days

Survivors of the contaminated blood scandal have been awarded interim government payments after a 40-year battle, but thousands of parents and children of the victims have still received nothing.

Ministers have accepted the urgency of the need to make the £100,000 payments to about 3,000 surviving victims, after being warned that those mistakenly infected with HIV and hepatitis C were dying at the rate of one every four days.

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Matthew Guy pledges to shelve $34.5bn rail project to invest in healthcare

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Victorian election battle takes shape as opposition leader says fixing the ‘broken health system’ must be prioritised

Victoria’s opposition has pledged to shelve the Suburban Rail Loop, described as the biggest transport project in the state’s history, if elected in November and reinvest the $34.5bn cost of the first stage in the health system.

The state’s opposition leader, Matthew Guy, made the announcement to halt work on the first 26km of the project on Wednesday, 101 days before voters go to the polls, setting the stage for another election turned referendum on infrastructure.

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Victorian health systems’ ‘failure’ led to woman’s death after a stillborn delivery, inquest told

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Brian Moylan urges coroner to be ‘courageous’ in pursuit of facts in inquest into death of his daughter, Annie O’Brien

Healthcare systems failed pregnant mum Annie O’Brien and her family has been burdened with investigating what led to her death, her father has told a Victorian inquest.

Five years to the day after the 37-year-old died, O’Brien’s father, Brian Moylan, urged the state coroner, John Cain, to be courageous in pursuing facts around her death and to make bold findings toward improvements in Victoria’s health system.

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Dutton says he was not aware of Morrison’s secret ministries – as it happened

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Ed Husic pushes for ‘brain regain’

Industry minister Ed Husic will this week host a series of five roundtable meetings with science and technology leaders in the lead-up to the federal government’s jobs summit, in a bid to kickstart what he called “brain regain” – attracting Australia’s bright minds working overseas to return home, to combat the so-called “brain drain”.

These discussions will also include ways to increase the representation of women and people of diverse backgrounds in skilled occupations. One of my priorities is on “brain regain” – encouraging Australian researchers and innovators to return home. I am interested to hear ideas on how this can be best achieved.

I can’t emphasise strongly enough that this is the start of engagement with these industry sectors. After the jobs and skills summit I will continue the work with industry leaders to ensure we apply practical solutions to accelerate Australia’s pathway to high-skilled, high-value economy.

He’s applied for a job and that’s coming with a significant degree of scrutiny, as it should do. That’s part of the territory if you’re going to put yourself forward for those roles.

If he felt the need to protect the environment from offshore drilling for gas off Sydney’s northern beaches and he felt he needed to swear himself in as minister, that’s something I support.

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Government urged to classify Covid as an occupational disease

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TUC calls on Department for Work and Pensions to make move to help workers access key benefits

Ministers should urgently classify Covid-19 as an occupational disease to prompt employers to reduce the risk of exposure and help workers access key benefits, the TUC has said.

The UK is out of step with other major countries that have recognised Covid as a disease that people can get in the course of their work, especially in certain sectors, it says.

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Daniel Andrews backs federal plan to boost migration – as it happened

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Labor’s plan to tackle skills shortages would lift the annual migration cap from 160,000 to between 180,000 and 200,000. This blog is now closed

Bowen says climate reforms will help Australian industry avoid carbon tariffs

Bowen says how this will work has yet to be determined and gives a nod to an upcoming discussion paper, with the details to be hammered out in consultation with industry. But he raises some interesting points that this needs to happen as there is a growing risk Australian industry will be exposed to carbon tariffs if nothing changes.

This will help us avoid these, by showing the EU and the rest of the world, you don’t need to slap tariffs on our manufacturers and our producers because Australia is working with industry to get emissions down in a very sensible way.

The safeguard mechanism is taking the 315 biggest emissions and working with them to reduce emissions, because if we don’t, we will continue the 10 years of no reductions from those facilities and it won’t cut the mustard.

Any facility which emits more than 100,000 tonnes … whether it is new or existing, which is just increasing its activity, we are not having the same architecture. They will be put on a trajectory to net zero, facility by facility. We have designed this in a very sensible way.

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