Archived News for Health Sector Professionals - July, 2012

Western Australia’s five inaugural governing councils for the State’s public health system have come into effect. The councils will see 45 high-level clinical, corporate, government and community representatives aim to streamline communications between the state government and local hospital needs.

The Western Australian Government has launched a scheme that ‘embodies the key elements of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).’

A specialist team of scientists and clinicians is set to begin clinical trials following a study which showed that co-treatment with two pharmaceuticals can help prevent obesity among those being treated with anti-psychotic medication.

A school-based eating disorder prevention program created by researchers from Flinders University is set to become an iPhone app.

A new study has found that despite the advances of modern medicine, gaps still remain in our knowledge when it comes to clinicians looking after patients' well being, especially for older people.

La Trobe University Adjunct Associate Professor Benny Katz, Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care (ACEBAC), looked into the current trend of evidence-based medicine and it being adopted as a means of achieving optimal medical care to reduce variations in clinical practice.

‘Randomised controlled trials are considered the highest level of scientific evidence. However, older individuals are either excluded or underrepresented in these studies, and those who are included are often atypical of patients seen in clinical practice.

‘There are many clinical scenarios that do not lend themselves to being answered by randomised controlled trials.

‘The aim of this study was to examine the approach to clinical decision making in frail older persons when there is little or no scientific evidence to guide management,’ says Dr Katz.

The ageing population will result in larger numbers of patients with complex age-related conditions seeking treatment for pain.

Dr Katz, who is also a Geriatrician at St Vincent's Hospital and Director of the Victorian Geriatric Medicine Training Program—used a case study to highlight many important issues surrounding the management of pain in older adults.

‘There is a need in clinical practice to find a balance with evidence-based medicine and the preferences of the patient for optimal health outcomes,’ says Dr Katz.

The study also highlights the importance of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA)—a multidimensional process designed to detect factors that may have a significant impact on the well being of an older adult.

‘When treating older people, clinicians not only need to take into consideration the severity of pain, but also the impact of pain and its treatment on cognition, mood and functional status.

‘Combining the practices of pain medicine and CGA may result in a better outcome,’ says Dr Katz.

‘A focus on the medical aspects and adjustment of treatment based solely on age will often not be adequate as it fails to take into consideration the heterogeneity of older adults.

‘Some will have aged ‘well’ and need little modification to the approach used for younger patients, while others who are frail or have multiple comorbidities will require a modified approach,’ says Dr Katz.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has published a report that shows nearly one third of all prison entrants suffer from a mental health issue.

The South Australian Government has announced plans to extend laws that punish assaults on paramedics or health workers more severely to other areas of the state’s public hospitals.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has published a report that has found that one in ten months of children aged 24 months or less are diagnosed with perinatal depression.

The South Australian Opposition is calling on the SA Labor government to release an impact statement into the closure of the SA Blood Service’s testing and processing capabilities on the state’s health system.

Health services to the Hunter Region of NSW are being compromised by dangerously short staffing levels – with 106 vital positions currently advertised as vacant on the NSW Health website, Shadow Minister for Health Dr Andrew McDonald has warned.

The unfilled positions include registered nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, occupational therapists psychiatrists, surgeons and sexual assault health workers.

"Health services in the Hunter have become dangerously short-staffed under the O'Farrell Government," Dr McDonald said today.

"The fact that 106 positions were unfilled as of 1pm today is truly shocking – and points to a mounting crisis in health services in the Hunter.

"While the hospital corridors and parking lots are clogging up with patients, there are not enough staff to see them and care is being compromised.

"The frightening thing is that these are just the 106 vacancies we know about.

"The Minister has ordered a recruiting go-slow and many others positions are being left permanently unfulfilled. The 15,000 job cuts announced in the Budget will only wreak further havoc.

"The Hunter is always being forgotten.

"This month's State Budget contained no extra funding to boost beds or staff capacity in the emergency ward at John Hunter, Calvary Mater and Maitland Hospitals.

"Instead, all this Government has delivered is staff shortages. It's left healthcare services in the Hunter basically running on fumes."

Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for the Hunter Linda Burney said: "After 15 months of Barry O'Farrell administering the hospital budget for the Hunter, resources are failing to keep up with population growth.

"It is the O'Farrell Government which has capped the wage rises of nurses and other medical staff in our public hospitals at 2.5 percent – well below the rate of inflation.

"Last week, the Government rammed through sweeping cuts to workers' compensation. A nurse at John Hunter who has to pacify an ice addict or crashes while driving home from night-shift has now had their entitlement decimated.

"Thanks to the O'Farrell Government, the recruiting environment for healthcare professionals in the Hunter has never been worse.

"This is a crisis of the Premier's own creation – and Mr O'Farrell needs to explain how he will direct our locally-trained healthcare professionals to the Hunter where patients are growing more desperate every day."

The Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, Warren Snowdon, has announced a new $1.3 billion contract between Defence and Medibank Health Solutions (MHS), to provide health care services to ADF personnel across Australia. The MHS agreement is for an initial four-year term.

MHS won the contract after a competitive tender process and will deliver a broad range of services, including on-base health support, pathology, imaging and radiology and a 24-hour ADF national health hotline.

“Defence’s highest priority is the health and well being of its personnel. Under this contract, our servicemen and women will continue to receive the highest quality health care services. The agreement will support Defence’s goal of seamless health care from point of injury to recovery,” Mr Snowdon said.

There will be no change to health care entitlements for ADF personnel.

“This contract with MHS will also assist Defence to streamline the delivery of health services, and optimise current services through the adoption of new innovations and technology.”

Medibank Health Solutions has a proven record for providing high quality, innovative and cost-effective health care services to the community, to business and to government at a national level for over 35 years.

“The Australian Government is committed to ensuring support for our ADF members is seamless, particularly during the transition from active service into the veterans community,” Mr Snowdon said.

The current health services contracts have been extended to November 2012. MHS and Defence will facilitate a smooth transition to the new contract and will work closely with the outgoing service providers, to ensure no disruption to services for ADF personnel.

Transition of contracted health services will begin next week and will be completed by 5 November 2012. 

There will be no change to health care on deployment with ADF health professionals to continue providing these services.

A $3 million partnership between the University of Melbourne and The Fred Hollows Foundation will help reduce diabetes related blindness and combat chronic disease amongst Indigenous Australians.

The University of New South Wales will host a new centre targeting primary care in obesity to improve access to services and management of the widespread, chronic condition.

The Centre for Obesity Management and Prevention Research Excellence in Primary Health Care has been funded by the Commonwealth Government under a $7.5 million ANU Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute program.

One in four adults and one in 12 children are obese in Australia and the UNSW-based centre will help people with lifestyle changes to achieve their weight goals, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Sydney, Deakin University and the University of Adelaide.

UNSW Professor Mark Harris will lead the new research program.

UNSW will also partner with the University of Technology, Sydney and the University of Queensland in the Centre of Research Excellence in the Finance and Economics of Primary Care.

 The Victorian Government has appointed Dr Pradeep Philip as the Secretary of the Department of Health.

Online depression therapy programs can have a positive impact on more than just depressive symptoms, a new study from The Australian National University reveals.

Laws establishing the new eHealth system include a new role for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as the system's independent privacy regulator.

Queensland’s independent health watchdog has released the first in a series of special reports about its investigations into healthcare complaints in Queensland.

Hip, knee and shoulder joint implants will be reclassified as high risk, Class III medical devices from 1 July 2012, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King has announced.