Archived News for Health Sector Professionals

City doctors would need a salary increase of up to $200,000 to entice them work in some country areas, a University of Melbourne study has determined.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has joined her Western Australian counterpart to turn the first sod of the construction of the $360 million Midland Health Campus in Perth.

The Federal Government has welcomed the move by New South Wales to decommission its independent organ donation register and sign up to the national Australian Organ Donor Register.

The South Australian Government has announced the appointment of members to the Health Performance Council (HPC) for its second term.

The Federal Government has poured $7.4 million into funding three separate mental health research centres.

Scientists have discovered a new avenue for the treatment of vision loss, one of the complications of Parkinson's disease.

A major international study led by University of Adelaide researchers aims to prevent death and serious illness caused by one of the most common infections contracted by patients in hospitals.

The University of Wollongong (UOW) will partner with leading Chinese high tech pharmaceutical corporation Di’ao Group to research the effectiveness of natural Chinese medicines for treating a range of medical conditions including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, schizophrenia and obesity.

Adelaide has been named the successful bidder of the 2013 Health Informatics Society annual conference in July next year.

The Federal Government’s positive response to Victoria’s proposal to establish a National Disability Insurance Scheme trial in the state’s Barwon Region looks likely to result in the establishment of the trial.

Researchers from Charles Sturt University (CSU) have contributed to research that has the potential to radically change the way septic shock (septicaemia) can be treated.

Three new Centres of Research Excellence have been funded under latest round of the NHMRC Centres of Research program to focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues. The new centres are:

The Federal Minister for Health, Tanya Plibersek, has announced new appointments to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) including the new chair Justice Annabelle Bennett AO.

Funding totalling $42.3 million has been allocated to 17 research centres in the latest round of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centres of Research Excellence program. The program provides up to $2.5 million over five years  to support teams of researchers to pursue collaborative research and develop capacity in clinical, population health and health services.

The Queensland Government has announced sweeping changes to the way in which ambulances and hospitals treat emergency patients.

Australian researchers have developed a breath test using an electronic nose to help diagnose malignant mesothelioma in its early stages.

The Queensland Government has released the Metropolitan Emergency Department Access Initiative report, accepting all fifteen recommendations to improve the flow of patients through the Emergency Departments of Queensland hospitals.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said that when the new arrangements are implemented, hospital bypass will be a thing of the past.

A new report released by the Tasmanian Cancer Registry has shown that cancer survival rates in Tasmania have improved significantly over the past 20 years.

The Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has launched the Health eTowns TelehealthNT Network initiative that will give remote communities in the Northern Territory better access to healthcare.

The new Director of Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research says his focus will be to ensure that high quality research is effectively translated to health practice and policy so that it makes a real difference to the lives of children and families. 

The University of Western Australia's Winthrop Professor Jonathan Carapetis started in the role last week after heading the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin.

Professor Carapetis was appointed to replace Founding Director Professor Fiona Stanley, who retired at the end of last year.

Professor Carapetis said he was very keen to forge strong links with the people delivering health services at hospitals and the Health Department.

"As a paediatrician I know how important it is to have that strong connection between practice and research.  It not only means that we're working on the basis of the latest evidence but that what we see in clinics can also be fed back to shape and inform the type of research that's undertaken," Professor Carapetis said.

"The Telethon Institute has an outstanding record of advocacy and influence and I'll be very keen to see that continue and grow.

"In particular, Aboriginal child health research will continue to be a priority area and I am committed to pursuing that agenda at both the Institute level and through my own research interest in rheumatic heart disease."

Professor Carapetis said he was also excited by the Telethon Institute's strong focus on scientific discovery.

It's very important that we better understand the biological basis underpinning the disease process at the cellular and molecular levels as well as the influence of genetic and environmental factors.

"I think the mix of translational and discovery science is very powerful and gives the Institute a breadth and depth that sees it very well positioned for the future."

With the Institute's geographical position on Australia's west coast, Professor Carapetis said he was keen to increase its activity in international health issues.

"Our proximity to Asia and Africa and our expertise in child development and Indigenous child health research presents some excellent opportunities within the broader region," he said.

The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research was founded in 1990 and has more than 500 staff and postgraduate students investigating major diseases, disabilities and disorders affecting children and families.