Archived News for Health Sector Professionals

Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote exchange between the two countries in the areas of health and medical research.

Under the MOU, A*STAR and NHMRC will commit a total of SGD$4.5m (AUD$3.5m) to a joint grant call over the next three years. The grant will fund collaborative research projects between groups in Singapore and Australia, in areas such as emerging infectious diseases, regenerative medicine, non-communicable diseases, bioinformatics and nanotechnology.

A*STAR and NHMRC will co-organise scientific symposia to help establish research collaborations across Singapore and Australia. The symposia will provide a platform for researchers from both countries to share their latest research and to network with each other. The first symposium is scheduled to take place in Australia in 2012.

States show patchy performance on elective surgery waiting lists

In its third and final report on elective surgery waiting list, the Council of Australian Governments’ National Partnership on elective surgery waiting lists (COAG) found that state and territory governments had achieved mixed results in reforming the area.

Oral Health CRC launched

The Federal Government has launched the new Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

NSW budget: Health overview

The New South Wales Budget has outlined $1.34 billion in spending on mental health services in 2011-12, marking an increase of $109 million from last year's State Budget.

National health reform plan released

The Federal Government has published its plan for national health reform implementation, which will deal with improving public hospitals, increasing transparency and lessening waste.

Chair of National Mental Health Commission appointed

Monsignor David Cappo has been announced as the Chair of the Nation Mental Health Commission, the body behind driving the Federal Government’s planned mental health reforms.

New dental health advisory board appointed

The Federal Government has announced the establishment of the National Advisory Council on Dental Health as part of the agreement between the government and the Federal Greens.

$1.08 billion for NSW health infrastructure

The New South Wales State Government has unveiled a planned $1.08 billion spending package health capital works across the state to be spent over the next year.

NSW to hire 900 more nurses

The New South Wales Government has announced it is still committed to its pre-budget pledge of hiring an additional 900 nurses despite growing fears of a possible $700 million budget blowout.

National study to probe effectiveness of emergency department teams

Australian universities have joined forces with state health departments to test the effectiveness and quality of the nurse practitioner as an addition to the emergency department team.

New national Chief Medical Officer appointed

One of Australia’s foremost experts in emergency medicine, Professor Chris Baggoley, has been appointed Australia’s Chief Medical Officer by the Federal Government.

University of Melbourne signs Indian mental health MoU

The University of Melbourne has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare India to help improve India’s national mental health system.

Queensland Healthcare Improvement Award winners announced

Queensland Health’s most innovative staff were awarded for their fresh approaches to services at the recent 2011 Healthcare Improvement Awards ceremony in Brisbane.

Twelve award winners were acknowledged during the ceremony held as the showcase of Queensland Health Week 2011 from more than 300 abstracts.

Bendigo hospital construction expressions of interest open

The Victorian State Government has announced that expressions of interest for the construction of the new Bendigo Hospital can now be lodged.

Victoria releases Public Health and Wellbeing Plan

The Victorian Government has released the state's first ever Public Health and Wellbeing Plan which aims to address the state's increasing rates of chronic and preventable diseases.

Conroy touts NBN health benefits

The Federal Government has opened the first Queensland National Broadband Network site after Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan launched the service.

ABS publishes gender well-being index

Women are still living longer than men, but men are closing the gap, according to a new publication released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Over the last ten years life expectancy at birth has increased at a greater rate for men (by 3 years) than for women (by 2 years). However, women continue to have a higher life expectancy at birth (now 84 years for women and 79 years for men).

The new publication, Gender Indicators, Australia, looks at the differences between males and females in the main areas of wellbeing such as economic security, education, work and family balance, health and safety and justice.

Over the past ten years women have increased their participation in the labour force, while it has remained relatively stable for men. However women earn 11% less than men per hour, on average.

Men and women also differ in how they spend their working time. While men and women both spend about the same amount of time working, whether in paid or unpaid work, men spend nearly double the amount of time than by women on employment related activities. Women spend nearly double the time on unpaid work, such as domestic activities, child care and voluntary work.

The publication also shows that in 2010, more women aged 18-24 years (31%) than men (23%) were studying towards a qualification at Bachelor's degree or above.

Men are more likely than women to have poor health risk factors, such as being overweight or obese (63% compared to 48% for women) or consuming alcohol at risky levels (15% compared to 12%). Women are more likely than men to report high or very high levels of psychological stress (14% compared to 10%).

The first issue of Gender Indicators, Australia, a new six-monthly publication, presents data from a wide range of sources to reflect the roles of men and women in Australian society, and monitors the changes that have occurred over time in their wellbeing.

To see the full range of indicators, and changes over time, see the full online product,Gender Indicators, Australia

Ambulance Victoria board replaced

The Victorian Health Minister, has sacked four members of the nine-member board of Ambulance Victoria, and announced the appointment of a new board which includes just two members of the outgoing board. Outgoing board members include former Labor MP John McQuilten, Bruce Levy, a senior executive at Medibank Private, Melbourne lawyer Jan Moffatt and Suzanne Ewart, an independent consultant who has worked with water companies and the RSPCA.

Unions campaign against privatisation of WA hospital services

In Western Australia, United Voice and the Health Services Union are continuing their campaign against the Barnett Government’s plans to privatise hospital services.

Field trials promise control of dengue fever

An international research project to eliminate dengue fever has reported successful results from a field trial in which 150,000 mosquitoes infected with a bacterium called Wolbachia that prevents the dengue virus from growing in the insect were released into two suburbs in Cairns.