Category Archives: Health

PBS-listed medicine to cost no more than $25 a script if Labor re-elected

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Election pledge part of Albanese’s focus on cheaper medicines as a cost-of-living measure that will also help reduce inflation

A re-elected Labor government would reduce the price of PBS-listed medicines to no more than $25 a script, in a major new election pledge to be included in next week’s budget that builds on Anthony Albanese’s focus on cheaper medicines as a cost-of-living measure.

With the formal election campaign to start within weeks, where Labor will focus strongly on health as a key issue, Albanese will on Thursday deliver a major speech promising that four out of five medications on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme would become cheaper under the plan which would cost the government $689m.

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Debunked myths that vaccines cause autism are increasing stigma

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As parents resist vaccines over vague potential harms, advocates call it a case of ‘morals more than science’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to devote research dollars to the debunked myth that vaccines cause autism – legitimizing stigma not only around vaccines, but around autism itself.

Matthew Shallenberger, father to an 11-year-old autistic son in Tennessee, says this myth is harmful because “it treats autism as some dreadful disease to avoid at all costs.”

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Peer who led government NHS review failed to declare shares in health firms

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Lord Darzi’s undeclared interests in four companies included $500,000 of shares in US-based healthcare venture

The independent peer Lord Darzi, a senior adviser to the government on the NHS, failed to officially declare shareholdings in healthcare companies worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Ara Darzi is an eminent surgeon and professor at Imperial College London whose report on the NHS for the government in September informed the decision announced last week by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to abolish NHS England. Darzi also has an extensive portfolio of private interests in commercial medical companies.

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Network Ten and Wilkinson ordered to pay own costs in Lehrmann defamation case – as it happened

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Growing inequality erodes social cohesion – Leigh

In his speech, Andrew Leigh will say growing inequality is an issue because it erodes social cohesion.

When wealth is concentrated among a few, society becomes fragmented. Our sense of collective responsibility diminishes, and the fabric that binds us as Australians weakens.

This approach contrasts with our predecessors, whose tax policies disproportionately benefited the highest earners, widening the gap between rich and poor. By maintaining a fair and responsible tax structure, we can fund essential public services while ensuring that the most fortunate Australians contribute their fair share.

Yet since the 1980s, Australia has seen what economists describe as a ‘Great Divergence’, reversing the gains of earlier decades.

Today, the top 1% of income earners receive nearly 10% of national income, nearly doubling their share from 40 years ago. Wealth inequality is even more extreme, with the richest 10% owning more than 60 times the wealth of the bottom 10%.

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Australia news live: Wong urges ‘all parties’ to respect Gaza ceasefire; renters need $130k income to afford average property, report shows

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‘Palestinian civilians cannot pay the price of defeating Hamas. It has now been two weeks since humanitarian aid last entered Gaza’ says foreign minister. Follow today’s news live

Labour-hire flight attendants to get pay boost

More than 750 domestic flight attendants funnelled to Qantas by labour-hire firms will get a hefty pay boost, AAP reports, in what is being hailed as a victory for “same job, same pay” laws.

Some of these crew will no longer need three jobs to make ends meet and put a roof over the heads of their families.

These are workers who wear the same uniform, do the same work, work the same rosters but have been paid significantly less than their colleagues. They do the same job and they deserve the same pay.

A crime scene has been established and an arson chemist will attend the scene [this] morning. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire remains ongoing.

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NSW psychiatrist quit when workload threatened patient safety, court hears

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Dr Suzanna Goodison’s evidence before Industrial Relations Commission part of the push by doctors union to stem exodus of specialists from the public system

A New South Wales psychiatrist who was asked to take on the workload of two public hospitals quit because the amount of work was “untenable” and compromised patient safety, a court has heard.

Dr Suzanna Goodison appeared as a witness for the doctors union, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (Asmof), on day two of its arbitration with NSW Health in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) court in Sydney. Asmof is seeking a special levy to increase its members’ pay by 25% to stem the flow of specialist doctors leaving the public system.

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Watchdog urges regular BMI checkups for millions across England and Wales

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The proposal, put forward by Nice, would see 13 million patients checked regularly

Millions of people in England and Wales with a long-term health condition should have their body mass index (BMI) checked regularly to prevent diabetes and heart disease, an NHS watchdog is recommending.

Anyone found to be overweight should talk to sensitive, non-judgmental doctors and nurses about how they can lead a healthier life and stop their excess pounds causing them problems.

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Lucy Letby calls for public inquiry into baby deaths to be halted

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Ex-nurse says inquiry should be suspended until review of convictions has finished

Lucy Letby has called for the public inquiry into her crimes to be halted, arguing there is now “overwhelming and compelling” evidence undermining her baby murder convictions.

Lawyers for the former nurse took the extraordinary step of writing to Lady Justice Thirlwall on Monday to say that the inquiry – which is due to end on Wednesday – should be suspended immediately.

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Women to save thousands of dollars a year as new fertility and endometriosis drugs listed on PBS

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New contraceptives, IVF and endometriosis treatments added to federal subsidy scheme, with Coalition leaders backing the move

New medications related to contraception, endometriosis and IVF will be subsidised on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 May, with some women expected to save thousands of dollars each year.

The announcement from the federal government on Sunday was welcomed by health campaigners, who said women’s health issues have been sidelined for far too long.

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Wes Streeting warns hundreds more health quangos could face axe

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Health secretary says the scrapping of NHS England is ‘beginning, not end’ of bid to slash ‘bloated bureaucracy’

The health secretary has declared that scrapping NHS England is “the beginning, not the end” and has vowed to continue “slashing bloated bureaucracy”.

Wes Streeting suggested hundreds more quangos could be in the line of fire after the prime minister announced this week the end of the body overseeing the health service in England.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Streeting said: “The abolition of NHS England – the world’s largest quango – is the beginning, not the end.

“Patients and staff alike can see the inefficiency and waste in the health service. My team and I are going through budgets line by line, with a relentless focus on slashing bloated bureaucracy.”

NHS England has managed the health service since 2012, when it was established to cut down on political interference in the NHS – something Streeting described as an act of “backside-covering” to avoid blame for failures.

But on Thursday, Keir Starmer announced this would come to an end as he unexpectedly revealed the government would abolish NHS England in an effort to avoid “duplication”.

In his Sunday Telegraph article, Streeting suggested more was to come, saying the new NHS England chair, Penny Dash, had “identified hundreds of bodies cluttering the patient safety and regulatory landscape, leaving patients and staff alike lost in a labyrinth of paperwork and frustration”.

The move towards scrapping NHS England and other health-related quangos marks a change in direction for Streeting, who in January said he would not embark upon a reorganisation of the NHS.

He told the Health Service Journal he could spend “a hell of a lot of time” on reorganisation “and not make a single difference to the patient interest”, saying instead he would focus on trying to “eliminate waste and duplication”.

But in the Telegraph article, Streeting said he had heard former Conservative health ministers “bemoan” not abolishing NHS England, adding: “If we hadn’t acted this week, the transformational reform the NHS needs wouldn’t have been possible.”

The government expects scrapping NHS England will take two years and save “hundreds of millions of pounds” that can be spent on frontline services.

But during the week, Downing Street would not be drawn on how many people were facing redundancy as a result of the changes.

The Guardian reported on Friday that the jobs cull from the government’s radical restructuring of the NHS will be at least twice as big as previously thought.

The staff shakeout caused by NHS England’s abolition and unprecedented cost-cutting elsewhere will mean the number of lost posts will soar from the 10,000 expected to between 20,000 and 30,000.

Many thousands more people who work for the NHS’s 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) in England will see their roles axed, as well as the 10,000 working for NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) who have already been earmarked to go.

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‘How can I not charge my wheelchair?’ The real effects of benefit cuts for millions of disabled people

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One of those waiting for Labour’s announcement explains why he depends on personal independence payments

Adam Gabsi is unequivocal on the subject of his personal independence payment: “It really is an essential lifeline. I don’t feel that I would be able to function without it.”

Gabsi receives his Pip disability benefit for multiple sclerosis, with which he was diagnosed 18 years ago, when he was 21.

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30,000 jobs could go in Labour’s radical overhaul of NHS

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Loss of staff will be at least twice as big as thought, as new NHS England chief tells regional boards to cut costs by 50%

The jobs cull from the government’s radical restructuring of the NHS will be at least twice as big as previously thought, with other parts of the health service now being downsized too.

The staff shakeout caused by NHS England’s abolition and unprecedented cost-cutting elsewhere will mean the number of lost posts will soar from the 10,000 expected to between 20,000 and 30,000.

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Wes Streeting’s ‘high stakes’ abolition of NHS England will cut 10,000 jobs

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Reforms proposed by health secretary predicted to save as much as £500m but could be distraction for ministers

Wes Streeting has ordered a “high stakes” reorganisation of the NHS that will scrap 10,000 jobs in an attempt to free up cash for frontline care.

Experts warned that the move to abolish NHS England and fold it into the Department of Health could distract ministers from the urgent job of ending long waits for treatment, while trade unions expressed concern about the “shambolic” announcement of job cuts for public servants.

Join Wes Streeting in conversation with Pippa Crerar discussing England’s health and social care system and how Labour plans to turn it around on Tuesday 25 March 2025, 7pm-8.15pm (GMT). Book tickets here or at guardianlive.com

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UK politics: Unison attacks ‘shambolic’ announcement of NHS England’s abolition – as it happened

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Union says staff will have been left reeling after surprise news that body will be scrapped

Starmer is now talking about regulatation, and giving examples of where he thinks it has gone too far.

l give you an example. There’s a office conversion in Bingley, which, as you know, is in Yorkshire. That is an office conversion that will create 139 homes.

But now the future of that is uncertain because the regulator was not properly consulted on the power of cricket balls. That’s 139 homes. Now just think of the people, the families, the individuals who want those homes to buy, those homes to make their life and now they’re held up. Why? You’ll decide whether this is a good reason because I’m going to quote this is the reason ‘because the ball strike assessment doesn’t appear to be undertaken by a specialist, qualified consultant’. So that’s what’s holding up these 139 homes.

When we had those terrible riots … what we saw then, in response, was dynamic. It was strong, it was urgent. It was what I call active government, on the pitch, doing what was needed, acting.

But for many of us, I think the feeling is we don’t really have that everywhere all of the time at the moment.

The state employs more people than we’ve employed for decades, and yet look around the country; do you see good value everywhere? Because I don’t.

I actually think it’s weaker than it’s ever been, overstretched, unfocused, trying to do too much, doing it badly, unable to deliver the security that people need.

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Two women face court charged with manslaughter after home-birth death of NSW baby

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Police allege 41-year-old woman was practising as an unregistered midwife while another woman, 51, held no medical qualifications and was also unregistered when baby died

Two women who police allege practised as unregistered midwives have been charged with manslaughter after a baby died after a home birth on the New South Wales mid north coast.

The women, aged 41 and 51, appeared in Coffs Harbour local court on Wednesday in relation to the newborn boy’s death in 2022.

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Mentally unwell woman in solitary confinement for almost a decade ‘an emergency situation’, Victorian judge warns

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Psychiatrist describes the detained woman at Thomas Embling hospital as one of the most unwell patients in the state

One of the most mentally unwell patients in Victoria will deteriorate further if she continues to be held in solitary confinement, where she has been detained for almost a decade, a court has heard.

Victorian county court judge Nola Karapanagiotidis heard a major review on Wednesday of the detention of the woman under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act.

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Australia news live: Dutton criticises PM’s ‘shocker’ after Trump tariff decision; suspicious packages wash up on Queensland beaches

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The prime minister has ruled out imposing reciprocal tariffs on the US. Follow today’s news live

Trump tariff decision bad for Australia-US ties – Butler

Mark Butler said the US tariff decision was “bad for our relationship” when asked whether it had a damaging effect on international relations on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago.

This is a disappointing decision. It’s a bad economic decision. It’s bad for our relationship. It’s bad for the US, ultimately, because we think that the exports we send to them - which are significantly less than the exports they send to us - are good for the US economy. They’re good for US industry. They’re particularly good for defence, which is an important area of cooperation.

We think this is a bad decision that’s disappointing, and we’ll continue to press the case for it.

We’ve only been going at this for almost seven weeks that President Trump has been back in office. We intend to continue to press the case at the highest level – particularly ambassador Rudd has been relentless in this, meeting with officials almost constantly to press the American case. We’ve had a lot of senior ministerial engagement.

Obviously the prime minister has spoken directly with the president. We’ll continue to do that. It’s not only in Australia’s interest – which for us, is the most important thing – we’re confident, we’re very sure it’s in both of our interests’ interest to continue the open trade that has characterised particularly the last 20 years under the US FTA.

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ADHD prescriptions in England have risen by 18% each year since pandemic

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Research has found that the number of ADHD prescriptions in England increased from around 25 per 1,000 people in 2019/20 to 41.55 in 2023/24

The number of prescriptions being issued in England for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication has risen by 18% year on year since the pandemic, with the biggest rise being seen in London, according to research.

Experts said increased public awareness via social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok could be a factor behind the substantial rise in prescription rates, encouraging “more people to seek assessment, diagnosis and treatment”.

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Dutton says Labor claims ‘utter nonsense’; multimillionaire faces new child abuse material charges – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Good morning blog readers – this is Rafqa Touma, and I’ll be taking you through the day’s live news updates. Thank you to Martin Farrer for getting us rolling this morning.

More than 125,000 properties are in the dark as crews work to restore power across QLD and NSW in Alfred’s aftermath.

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RFK Jr directs FDA to revise ‘self-affirm’ rule to improve food ingredient safety

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Health secretary accuses food companies of ‘exploiting loophole’ over food safety and urges greater transparency

The US secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has directed the Food and Drug Administration to revise safety rules to help eliminate a provision that allows companies to self-affirm that food ingredients are safe.

The move would increase transparency for consumers as well as the FDA’s oversight of food ingredients considered to be safe, Kennedy said on Monday.

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