Archived News for Health Sector Professionals - January, 2012

The Federal Government has used a report that found that the private health insurance industry increased its premium revenue by $1.25 billion last financial year to continue its push for means-testing.

The Federal Department of Health and Ageing is seeking a National Manager for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).  The appointee will be responsible for overseeing implementation of the ‘TGA reforms: A blueprint for TGA’s future’, released in December last year, and will also play a key role in the creation of an Australia-New Zealand international regulatory agency.

Professor Harry Minas, Director of the Centre for International Mental Health at the University of Melbourne has joined experts from the US and the UK to call for a United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the topic.

The Federal Government has released a draft Ten-Year Roadmap for National Mental Health Reform for public consultation.

The Roadmap aims to provide governments, the community sector, workplaces and communities  with a measurable, long term national reform plan for mental health which will guide where attention and funding is focused over the next 10 years.

The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler said more needs to be done to provide a system that provides all the levels of care people living with mental illness need.

“We especially need to target our efforts at those who are hard-to-reach and vulnerable, and stop them from falling between the cracks and from being shunted from one service to another. We also need to work harder to break down the stigma, discrimination and misunderstanding that often surrounds mental illness,” he said.

The Roadmap will identify the most important directions and actions that need to be undertaken to achieve this vision over the next ten years.

Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin,said the Roadmap would complement the Government’s progress towards a National Disability Insurance Scheme.

“We’re taking big steps to help improve the lives of people with mental illness. As a Labor Government we are committed to making sure that no Australian is left behind, and that everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential,” Ms Macklin said.

COAG agreed to develop the Roadmap in 2011 and the Australian Government, States and Territories have been working with mental health experts and consumer and carer representatives to develop the draft.

Public comments on the draft will be used to help finalise the roadmap for COAG to consider in early 2012.

The online survey will be available until 1 February 2012 on the mental health page of the Department of Health and Ageing website – www.health.gov.au/mentalhealth

The ]Government has committed to a record investment of $2.2 billion over five years to build a better mental health system.

Australians with a chronic illness or disability face serious levels of economic hardship, according to an article in the January issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Nearly one third of Australian adults are suffering vitamin D deficiency according to a study involving more than 11,000 adults from around the country.

The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) is urging the Government to reinstate incentives that have supported rural practices to provide after-hours care following the release of data that shows the GP helpline is less cost-effective than providing face-to-face after hours services at a rural hospital emergency department.

Two research grants worth a total of almost $7 million have been awarded to NSW research groups in the latest injection from the NSW Government’s translational cancer research program.

The New South Wales Government has announced a record number of intern training positions across the state, with 850 new interns starting training at 49 hospitals and 15 HP practices.

The Tasmanian Minister for Health, Michelle O’Byrne, has confirmed Graeme Houghton as the first chairperson of the state’s three Tasmanian Health Organisation (THO).

The Victorian Government has called for submissions to the $10 million mental illness research fund that will aim to bolster collaborative research and achieve improved outcomes for Victorians affected by a mental illness.

Australia’s first Partnership Centre will focus on for better dementia outcomes with the theme of ‘Dealing with Cognitive and Related Functional Decline in the Elderly’.

A new cancer research centre established at the University of Adelaide will focus on treatment options tailored to the individual, taking into account DNA and genetic variations between people.

The Centre for Personalised Cancer Medicine brings together researchers with strengths in blood cancers and solid tumours, particularly breast, lung, sarcomas and melanoma.

Headed by Professor David Callen, the team will use tumour profiling and animal and cellular models to develop new drugs that target particular molecular changes in individual cancer patients.

"This centre reflects the trend towards a new, individualised approach to cancer medicine, taking into account genetic variations between people and their reaction to specific drugs," Professor Callen says.

"We will focus on improving the outcomes for cancer patients at all levels, from prevention through to treatment, survival, rehabilitation and palliative care, exploring novel and innovative approaches to cancer research.

"The big thrust at the moment is DNA sequencing. While it is still in the developmental stage, there are enormous resources being poured into this overseas and it looks like we will follow this lead in Australia."

The centre is already making headway in some areas, particularly in the treatment of sarcomas − rare malignant tumours which disproportionately affect young people and have a high mortality rate.

Dr Paul Neilsen, who oversees the Sarcoma Research Group, is collaborating with Royal Adelaide Hospital surgeon A/Prof Susan Neuhaus to trial new drugs on individual patient's tumours in a laboratory setting.

"Currently these patients are treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy but their outcomes are very poor and have not improved in the past decade," Dr Neilsen says.

"We have identified weak points in these tumours and are targeting them with new agents. The next step is to support pre-clinical trials in Australia."

For more information on the new Centre go to www.adelaide.edu.au/cpcm/

More information is at http://www.nicm.edu.au/