While Age Care Bills Pass Senate, LASA Believes More Can be Done

While five Aged Care Bills passed the Senate today (Wednesday) Leading Aged Services Australia (LASA) says the road to reform in age services has been rocky. 

New Advisory Group formed to Tackle Indigenous Mental Health and Suicide

A new expert group has been established to advise the Federal Government on practical and strategic ways to improve Indigenous mental health and social and emotional wellbeing. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Advisory Group will be chaired by Prof Pat Dudgeon, recognised as Australia’s first Indigenous psychologist, and human rights campaigner Dr Tom Calma AO, the new chancellor of the University of Canberra.

Grant to Better Understand Cardiac Stem Cells

An international consortium of cardiac stem cell experts, including two Australians has been awarded a $6million USD grant to better understand the role of these cells in heart function and repair.

Breakthrough in Treating Chronic Kidney Disease

Researchers at The University of Queensland have reprogrammed adult kidney cells to act as stems cells to repair damaged kidneys

AHPRA Publishes Guides on Handling Complaints

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has published new guides for health practitioners and the community about how notifications are managed in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme).

Hospitals off Target for Improving Timely Care in Elective Surgery and Emergency Departments

In its inaugural report on The Council of Australian Government’s (COAG) National Partnership on Improving Public Hospital’s the COAG Reform Council has found  no state or territory has met all targets for improving timely care in elective surgery and emergency departments.

LASA launches 3 million reasons campaign to protect aged care workers

Call for National Centre for Disease Control

The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is calling for the establishment of a National Centre for Disease Control to provide coordination of population health issues, particularly with regard to antimicrobial resistance.

Dementia Research Funding Announced

Medical research aimed at unlocking the secrets of the brain has been given a boost with the announcement of six new dementia research grants.

Study Supports Use of Massage to Control Labour Pain

A new study published in the Journal of Physiotherapy provides evidence to support the use of massage to control pain during labour.

Associate Professor Anton Peleg Wins Award

Associate Professor Anton Peleg has been presented the Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical research for his work on hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic resistance.

Researchers Find Widespread Epigenetic Changes in First 18 Months of Life

A new study of twins at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and published in Genome Biology, has found rapid changes in the way our genes are activated occur in the first 18 months of life.

Mortality Rates Have Halved Since the National Cervical Screening Program was Introduced

While a recent report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicates participation in the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) reduced in 2010-2011, incidence rates and mortality rates have both halved since the NCSP was introduced in 1991.

Royal Adelaide Hospital Burns Unit Receives Grant for Telehealth Equipment

Adelaide based hospital burns unit will soon have state of the art telehealth videoconferencing equipment, following the award of a $15,000 Clipsal Community Grants of $15,000.

DisabilityCare Head Office to be based in Geelong

Geelong has had a long awaited for boost, with the announcement DisabilityCare will base its head office in the region.