Category Archives: Health

Australian gardener becomes first person to survive deadly flesh-eating bacteria

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Woman treated with antibiotics and hyperbaric oxygen therapy to survive infection by pathogen that causes blackleg disease in cattle and sheep

An Australian woman has became the first documented person in the world to survive a pathogen that is usually the cause of the deadly “blackleg” disease in cattle and sheep.

The woman’s doctors this week published the case in the Medical Journal of Australia, detailing the successful treatment of the pathogen, after the only other two known cases in humans – one in the US and the other in Japan – had proved fatal.

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China lifts trade restrictions as relationship improves – as it happened

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Trade minister Don Farrell welcomes ‘positive step forward’ but says Australia pressing for all remaining restrictions to be lifted. This blog is now closed

Chalmers also declared the government is not “currently contemplating” a fuel subsidy, as prices continue to rise.

It comes after new data released yesterday showed cost of living is still increasing, with fuel costs jumping 9.1% in August, gas up 12.9% and electricity 12.7%.

It’s not something that we are currently contemplating. And one of the reasons for that is we’ve got I think, a much better way of providing cost of living help for people.

Historically, what the Reserve Bank tries to do is to understand the overall direction of travel.

And the direction of travel has been really clear, inflation is moderating overall, we’ll get these bumpy and lumpy figures month to month from time to time, but it’s moderating overall.

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Contraceptive pill accessible over-the-counter in NSW and Queensland for the first time

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NSW chief health officer says scheme particularly popular in regional areas, where fewer GPs are often available

Women in Queensland and New South Wales will now have easier access to the oral contraceptive pill as state governments expand trials to ease pressure on GPs.

Under the changes, women in NSW will be able to obtain a prescription for resupply of the pill from their pharmacist without having to see a doctor, unless it is the first time they have taken the medication.

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Policy must tackle root causes of England’s record mental ill-health, says report

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Coalition of experts publish action points including tackling inequality, poor housing and child poverty

Ministers must tackle poverty, poor housing and air pollution to improve England’s worsening mental health, a coalition of charities, thinktanks and staff groups has urged ministers.

Their blueprint for better mental health also includes a crackdown on racism, reforms to the benefits system and action to end the stark inequality whereby people with severe psychiatric conditions die up to 20 years sooner than the general population.

A new Child Poverty Act to banish child poverty by 2030.

The creation of a minimum income guarantee and reforming sick pay.

Action against junk food, smoking, alcohol and gambling.

The end of “hostile environment” immigration policies.

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Deputy premier puts hand up for Victoria’s top job – as it happened

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Canterbury Road fire: firetrucks wetting down area

Supt Adam Dewberry with Fire and Rescue NSW has just provided us with an update on the factory fire on Canterbury Road in Sydney’s south-west.

Vacancy rates under 1% in most of these suburbs show the immense strain on housing availability. When you’re allocating nearly half your income on rent … the financial stress becomes unbearable.

Our index is more than just numbers; it’s a call to action. Policymakers and stakeholders need to acknowledge this growing crisis.

The relentless climb in rent and plummeting vacancy rates are not just statistics but indicators of a quality of life that is rapidly deteriorating for Australian renters.

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1m NHS appointments and operations cancelled in England since strikes began

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Latest figures show 1,015,067 ‘episodes of care’ have been postponed since end of last year

More than 1m outpatient appointments and operations have been cancelled since strikes began in December across the NHS in England, figures reveal.

Last week’s four-day stoppage by consultants and junior doctors forced hospitals to reschedule 129,913 more “episodes of care”, taking the total to just over 1m, NHS England said.

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Female doctors vulnerable to sexual assault due to hospital work environments, expert says

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Dr Louise Stone says victims have spoken of ‘enforced closeness’ of long sessions in operating rooms and the ‘boys’ club culture’ of industry

Female doctors who have experienced sexual assault have spoken of work conditions they felt made them more vulnerable to harm from senior colleagues, an Australian researcher says.

“[They described] the enforced closeness that can occur in long sessions in operating theatres,” said Dr Louise Stone, an associate professor at the Australian National University.

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Changes to Covid treatment system in England ‘could lead to postcode lottery’

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Patients have been left confused and frustrated with no centralised system for obtaining medicines

Changes to the way Covid treatments are obtained by those most at risk from the disease could lead to a “postcode lottery” for access, experts have said, with charities warning patients have been left confused and frustrated by the new system.

Previously, people eligible for Covid treatments in England were contacted by their local Covid Medicines Delivery Unit (CMDU) once they reported testing positive for the virus.

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Cannabis brain effects study struggles to attract black UK users

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Exclusive: Fears findings will represent only white population if too few people of colour take part

A major study into the effects of cannabis on the human brain is at risk of being partially thwarted because too few black users have agreed to take part.

White people have come forward in large numbers offering to get involved in King’s College London’s £2.5m study of how the drug may contribute to paranoia and psychosis in some users but not others. It is hoped the project will pave the way for wider medicinal use and make illegal recreational use safer.

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Paramedics not sent to a third of 999 ambulance calls in parts of England

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Exclusive: Concerns over patient safety after NHS figures show less-qualified staff attending urgent calls

One in three life-or-death 999 ambulance calls in some parts of England are not attended by a paramedic, NHS figures obtained by the Guardian reveal.

The disclosure has prompted fears that seriously unwell or badly injured patients may receive inadequate care from a less-qualified member of ambulance staff lacking a paramedic’s skills.

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Eliminate malaria once and for all or it will come back stronger, UN warned

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World faces ‘malaria emergency’ from resistance to insecticides, waning efficacy of drugs, funding shortfalls and climate change

African leaders have warned that the world is facing the “biggest malaria emergency” of the past two decades.

Heads of state and experts came together in a show of unity to call for urgent action on malaria at the UN general assembly on Friday, saying progress on eradicating the disease faced serious setbacks from mosquitoes’ growing resistance to insecticides, and the decreased effectiveness of antimalarial drugs and diagnostic tests.

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Teenager who died after legal fight with NHS trust can be named, judge rules

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Sudiksha Thirumalesh, 19, and her family had opposed her being moved to palliative care

A 19-year-old woman who died after a legal battle with an NHS trust over her treatment for a rare mitochondrial disorder can be named, a judge has ruled.

Sudiksha Thirumalesh, an A-level student, and her family were embroiled in a dispute with an unnamed trust over whether she should be moved on to palliative care.

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One in 18 babies born in Australia are conceived via IVF, latest data shows

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The 102,157 cycles of IVF performed in 2021 was a 17% increase on 2020, with an average of two cycles for each woman

One in every 18 babies in Australia are now born through IVF, with a record high number of births recorded in the latest data.

The annual report from medical researchers at the University of New South Wales found a record 18,594 babies were born in Australia as a result of IVF treatment in 2021, with more than one in three women (37.1%) who completed their first cycle of IVF giving birth.

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China fuels global surge in mpox cases as LGBTQ+ stigma hampers response

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WHO says China facing ‘sustained community transmission’ of virus first detected as imported case last year

China is fuelling a global surge in mpox cases, accounting for the majority of new cases reported in September, according to the World Health Organization.

The number of weekly cases reported globally increased by 328% in the week to 10 September, data shows. Most of that rise came from China, where more than 500 new cases were reported in August. The WHO said China was experiencing “sustained community transmission” of the virus, which was first detected as an imported case in September last year.

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Uluru Dialogue accuses Dutton of ‘deception’ over voice – as it happened

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Jim Chalmers is now on RN Breakfast, where he was asked by host Hamish McDonald whether he was reconsidering the stage-three tax cuts given much of the $22.1bn budget surplus comes from the taxes of “hard working Australians”.

Chalmers said the government has not changed its view on the tax cuts, which recent data showed will flow disproportionately to high-income earners and men:

Well, first of all, it’s partly a function that people are working more and earning more. The labor market is incredibly resilient given what’s coming at us from around the world. And so unemployment is lower than what many people anticipated. And wages have began growing again, and that’s a good thing too. And that’s one of the reasons why the budgets in better nick but also getting good better prices for our commodities and what that means for company tax.

We haven’t changed our view about the stage three tax cuts, but we have found a way to provide substantial cost-of-living relief for people on low and middle and fixed incomes, because we recognise people are doing it tough and they’ve been our priority.

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Ivani’s genetic disease is worsening as she ages. Her mother hopes Australia’s new biobank will help

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Exclusive: National Muscle Disease Bio-databank will store blood test and skin biopsy samples from children with diseases such as muscular dystrophy

Bindu Shree remembers her daughter Ivani had “such a nice plump face as a baby”, but now she sees gravity pulling down her four-year-old’s cheeks as the muscles in her face become weaker.

When Ivani was diagnosed with a genetic muscle disease at four months, Shree’s first response was to ask the doctors, “What’s the treatment? What can we do to help her?”

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Australia news live: Central Land Council executive condemns Jacinta Price’s ‘denial of history’ in press club comments as ‘disgraceful’

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The CLC executive – 90 elected members who represent 75 communities across nine regions – said comments insult survivors of 1927 Coniston massacre. Follow the day’s news live

New report combats ‘inaccurate assertions’ about teaching courses

Almost three-quarters of Australian teachers are satisfied with their training programs, a new report has found, undermining the suggestion poor course content is leading to workforce shortages in the field.

Rather than focusing on the unsubstantiated claim that teachers are generally dissatisfied with ITE programs, we should instead focus on the willingness and capacity of ITE providers to continually improve these programs.

This will require a shift in focus from policymakers - away from the overwhelming emphasis on ITE and towards effective, system-wide [development] that becomes a regular part of teachers’ workload rather than a bolt-on.

Not a preamble. Not a footnote in the Constitution. First Nations people want structural change that can make a practical difference.

A mechanism that can make children’s lives better. Not just something that will feel good - something that will do good.

As the Minister, I will go to the voice and say: ‘this school attendance program isn’t working’. Help me to get the best possible advice to fix it … From every corner of the country – about how we can do better.

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Ohio abortion rights activists suffer blow in suit over referendum language

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A fetus will now be referred to as an ‘unborn child’ on a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution

In this year’s only opportunity for US voters to directly weigh in on the right to abortion, an upcoming ballot referendum in Ohio will include language that describes a fetus as an “unborn child”, in a disappointing loss for abortion rights activists in the state who had sued to stop voters from seeing language they say is misleading.

Ohioans are set to vote on 7 November on a referendum to enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution. The outcome of the vote could not only determine the future of Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, which is currently frozen pending litigation, but also for the midwest writ large. The state has become one of the few in the region to still permit abortions since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last year.

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NHS consultants offer to call off strikes for 12% pay rise in apparent olive branch

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BMA also offers to take non-pay investments into account to reach agreement – but No 10 insists pay talks will not be reopened

Hospital consultants in England have offered to call off their strikes if they receive a pay rise of about 12% this year – double the increase that ministers insist is their final offer.

Their proposal, and the disclosure of recent “constructive” conversations with the government, appear to be a conciliatory move by the British Medical Association (BMA) to end their pay dispute.

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Australian health, wellbeing and connectedness shrinking in the cost-of-living crisis, research finds

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Australian Cohesion Index shows material pressures eroding trust in government and in other people, particularly among young and financially distressed

Demographer James O’Donnell likes to talk about Australia’s Matildas moment – a span of time in the recent past when people from all walks of life rallied behind a common aspiration and shared a sense of national identity.

“That was a really unifying moment,” O’Donnell says. “Then we go straight into this divisive debate around the voice to parliament. How that is playing out in the data is something we are still grappling with.”

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