I took the plunge into ocean swimming – and changed my life
Dub me un-Australian, if you like, but the truth is that I was never comfortable at the beach. So it was not an easy commitment in February 2022 to walk down the steps to the ocean pool.
Health
Covid-19 deaths push life expectancy lower
Life expectancy in Australia has recorded its second drop in a row, with more deaths from Covid behind the bad news.
$600m ghost town amid housing crisis
The $600m Covid-19 quarantine centre in Melbourne has become a ghost town despite 1000 new beds potentially available for emergency housing.
Health Minister lashed over PBS subsidies ‘cap’
Katy Gallagher’s warning of a new ‘reality’ for medicine subsidies sits at odds with promises of faster bureaucracy, as the government navigates drug delays.
Shortage of lifesaving isotopes means delays for cancer patients
Britain’s hospitals have been restricting the use of medical isotopes, which are required for spotting breast and prostate cancers, due to production issues.
Lupus patients given hope of remission in groundbreaking trial
Three patients with the condition, which can cause severe joint pain and fatigue, are receiving treatment that could end the lifelong need to take drugs.
Andrew Forrest backs health start-up’s fight against ageing
Verge Genomics’ Alice Zhang left university to build an AI-powered drug discovery platform to develop the next blockbuster treatments for diseases linked to ageing, from Alzheimer’s to obesity.
Emergency drugs review to combat delays
Mark Butler has called in the government’s drug assessor for an emergency meeting after consideration of 45 drugs – some potentially lifesaving – without consultation.
No PBS service, but a $200,000 fee
Pharmaceutical companies whose medicines have been indefinitely delayed are being charged $200,000 per application despite no services being provided, as patient outrage grows.
Push to give nurses, physios bigger roles
Nurse practitioners, pharmacists and allied health professionals should be funded to carry out a greater array of healthcare under calls for major reforms to health workers’ scope of practice.
Fury as Parks Victoria bans rock climbing after secret surveys
The Victorian government is set to formally destroy rock climbing at Australia’s most significant site after a four-year secretive process to investigate cultural heritage.
Is the King’s interest in ayurveda healthy?
After their trip to Australia, Charles and Camilla returned to a wellness resort that’s famous for its ayurvedic treatments. But what is this ancient practice?
‘Lives depend on it’: uproar at medicine delays
Cancer treatments and chronic-disease medications are among the drugs deferred in a shock decision by the government’s advisory body for drug subsidies, which has left 45 new medicines stalled without discussion.
‘Rare, relentless’ lymphoma now treatable from home
Mycosis fungoides affects three in every million Australians; for those few sufferers it is a near-constant agony that renders the threat of hospitalisation constant.
Universal childcare isn’t always the best deal for youngsters
If it turns out centre-based care is harmful for many children, is it appropriate for taxpayers to subsidise ever greater access to it?
The other Covid plague that devoured our brains
The authors of the Covid-19 inquiry have done a good job, but the best disinfectant for this disease would have been a harsh dose of sunlight.
Private hospitals’ financial health check shows deep trouble brewing
A host of private hospitals, maternity services and psychiatric wards are under threat of closure, with a federal government review revealing the extent of the sector’s decline.
Childcare workers close in on $10,000 pay rise
The looming pay rises for 200,00 childcare workers follow wage increase for labour hire workers.
The cruel consequences of a mismanaged NDIS
When I read Bill Shorten’s comments that he was ‘extremely proud’ that $1bn has been shaved from the NDIS as a result of reforms that rein in spending, I felt sick.
The battle brewing over how much red meat you eat
Scientists advising the government have drafted recommendations that would tell Americans to limit red meat
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/topics/health/page/19