Health news

• Victoria rolls out free pads and tampons at public vending machines across Melbourne

  13-11-2024 20:00
  
  Libraries, Tafes and hospitals among first 30 locations to have period product dispensers installed in government initiativeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVending machines offering free pads and tampons will begin operating at the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne Museum and the Royal Exhibition Building, as well as hospitals, libraries and Tafes, as part of an Australian-first government initiative aimed at end
  
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• Police make arrest and seize water pistol after incident outside NSW parliament – as it happened

  14-11-2024 07:53
  
  This blog is now closedAustralia backs UN resolution recognising ‘permanent sovereignty’ of Palestinians in major departureGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCould Donald Trump really fire Kevin Rudd?The former prime minister’s criticism of Donald Trump has drawn the ire of those in the president elect’s inner circle, and prompted renewed debate about whether the incoming administration could seek retribution.I’d be very much opposed to that.
  
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• Jessica has private health insurance – but she will have to drive 150km to the Gold Coast to have her baby delivered privately

  13-11-2024 15:00
  
  Australian women increasingly facing limited choices as private hospitals close maternity wards, obstetricians and gynaecologists warnFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDespite paying for private health insurance for the last four years, Jessica* has no idea who will deliver her baby.The first-time mother felt assured by the policy’s promise of continuity of care and comforted that the doctor who saw her at the b
  
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• Another senior TV executive leaves Nine – as it happened

  13-11-2024 07:44
  
  This blog is now closedNurse at rest home where Clare Nowland was tasered had ‘never seen anything like that’, court hearsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe treasurer, Jim Chalmers will today announce funding of $900m for states and territories through a new national productivity fund to boost competition and productivity across the economy.Launching the plan in a speech to the Australian Business Economists in Sydney, Chalmers is hoping the plan will will
  
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• ‘Very clearly gendered’: furious NSW nurses and midwives reject pay rise deal amid 24-hour strike

  13-11-2024 06:21
  
  Union at loggerheads with Minns government over 10.5% pay rise offer after NSW police win deal for wage increase of up to 40%Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastStriking nurses have rejected an offer to fund their requested pay rise in return for delaying the rollout of their “big ask” for more staff, the New South Wales health minister says.Nurses and midwives across NSW were “infuriated” before
  
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• The high cost of Australia’s dental care divide - podcast

  12-11-2024 15:00
  
  Dental care in Australia is largely privatised and nearly always expensive.According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, almost one in five adults delay or don’t see a dentist due to cost.For those who can access the public system, staff are often overstretched and the long wait times mean crucial appointments come far too late.Guardian Australia health reporter Natasha May speaks to Reged Ahmed about how the perfect smile is a privilege increasingly available only to the we
  
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• Shonky awards: Choice names NIB and Meta among worst Australian products and services of the year

  12-11-2024 15:00
  
  The 2024 Shonky awards also list a ‘green’ juice with food colouring and a stick vacuum that ‘sucks at sucking’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastConsumer advocacy group Choice has named Meta for failing to protect social media users from scams and health insurer NIB for charging single parents more than couples in the 19th annual Shonky awards, which list the worst Australian products and servi
  
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• Man charged with murder after woman’s body found in Penrith hotel – as it happened

  12-11-2024 08:33
  
  This blog is now closedBondi Junction killer’s mental health deteriorated after stopping medication, hearing toldGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMeteorologists are forecasting that thunderstorms will develop over large swathes of the country every day this week, and likely into next.Ben Domensino from Weatherzone has outlined the forecast as follows:Early in the week, showers and thunderstorms will target central, eastern, southern and southeastern Australia on M
  
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• Private health insurance is a dud. That’s why a majority of Australians don’t have it | Grogonomics

  12-11-2024 00:05
  
  The private insurers are reportedly seeking a 5-6% premium rise next year. That’s rich – especially when you consider 65% of policies don’t cover everythingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRight now final submissions are being made by private health insurers to the government for an increase in insurance premiums next year. In light of reports they are seeking increases above 5%, it is worth remembering that private health insurance is a terrible way t
  
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• Work to regulate one of Australia’s biggest sources of carbon dioxide stalls, FoI documents reveal

  11-11-2024 15:00
  
  Exclusive: Environmental group says it is ‘concerned’ to hear progress on cleaning up air pollution from diesel-burning may have hit a wallFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWork to regulate one of Australia’s biggest sources of carbon dioxide and other pollutants “has stalled”, despite the project beginning six years ago and comparable nations limiting emissions years earlier, New South W
  
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• Offshore detention makes it 20 times more likely asylum seekers will suffer PTSD, Australian study finds

  11-11-2024 15:00
  Exclusive: Researchers examine how regime impacts someone’s risk of experiencing long-term serious mental illness once living in the communityFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAsylum seekers detained offshore face a 20-times greater risk of post-traumatic disorder than someone who is not detained or held onshore for less than six months, new research from the University of New South Wales has found.In a letter t
  
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• How much does the gender health gap cost? For Alyse, it’s $400,000

  11-11-2024 15:00
  
  Exclusive: Women twice as likely to delay seeing a GP compared with men, with the high cost of living delaying treatmentFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlyse Bradley has done the maths. The cost of living with multiple chronic health conditions has left her at least $400,000 out of pocket over the past two decades.Each year the 37-year-old pays $600 for regular GP visits, $2,000 for specialist appointments, $1,000 f
  
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• Doctors say women pay more than men for healthcare. For Alyse, the gap is up to $400,000

  11-11-2024 15:00
  
  Exclusive: women are twice as likely to delay seeing a GP compared to men, with the high cost of living delaying treatmentGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlyse Bradley has done the maths. The cost of living with multiple chronic health conditions has left her at least $400,000 out of pocket over the past two decades.Each year, the 37-year-old pays $600 for regular GP visits, $2,000 for specialist appointments, $1,000 for scans, $4,800 for ongoing pain treatments includ
  
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• Asylum seekers in Australian offshore detention at 20 times greater PTSD risk than someone not detained, study finds

  11-11-2024 15:00
  
  Exclusive: New survey data offers ‘unique insight into the long-term psychological effects of offshore process’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAsylum seekers detained offshore face a 20-times greater risk of post-traumatic stress disorder than someone who is not detained or held onshore for less than six months, new research from the University of New South Wales has found.In a letter to the editor published in the British Journal of Psychiatry on Tuesday,
  
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• Ahlia says her GP ‘laughed in her face’ when she asked for a water birth – and that weight stigma in pregnancy has to stop

  09-11-2024 20:00
  
  Australian researchers propose a new model to reduce ‘mum shaming’ over body size, which has negative health outcomes for mother and childGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen Ahlia* was waiting to check in for a routine pregnancy appointment, she says a receptionist walked by calling out directions to gestational diabetes education – then looked at her, waiting for Ahlia to follow.“I’m not here for that,” Ahlia recalls saying in fron
  
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• ‘I had a full-blown relapse’: woman allowed into Victorian pokies clubs despite self-excluding from gambling

  09-11-2024 15:00
  Bree Hughes says state’s safeguards to curb gambling are a ‘joke’ after she realised very few venues checked if she was on the self-excluding listFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAfter Bree Hughes signed herself up to Victoria’s pubs and clubs pokies self-exclusion program, she didn’t go into any venues for several months.“I was worried about what might happen if I tried to enter,&
  
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• ‘I had a full-blown relapse’: problem gambler allowed into Victorian pokies clubs despite self-exclusion

  09-11-2024 15:00
  
  Bree Hughes says state’s safeguards to curb gambling are a ‘joke’ after she realised very few venues checked if she was on the self-excluding listFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAfter Bree Hughes signed herself up to Victoria’s pubs and clubs pokies self-exclusion program, she didn’t go into any venues for several months.“I was worried about what might happen if I tried to enter,&
  
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• Sydney homes flooded after water pipeline bursts – as it happened

  08-11-2024 07:48
  
  This blog is now closed.‘It was just coming through the window’: wave of water rushes into Sydney homes after pipe burstsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRacism, colonialism ‘driving Indigenous self-harm’Australia’s dark colonial past and ongoing racism are driving self-harm in Indigenous communities, according to a respected Aboriginal psychologist.That whole process has left communities suffering from intergenerational trauma, disadvantag
  
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• Shrinkflation a ‘difficult decision’ for manufacturers, inquiry told – as it happened

  07-11-2024 07:43
  
  This blog is now closedAlbanese says Trump call ‘very constructive’ as Dutton calls US president-elect ‘not somebody to be scared of’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFormer prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who had some colourful moments in his relationship with Donald Trump in his first presidency, is up now being colourful on the ABC. He says the Australian prime minister “has to stand up for Australia and not follow the conventional appro
  
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• The sunscreen myth: could it really be causing skin cancer? | Antiviral

  06-11-2024 15:00
  
  Overblown concerns about potential dangers of a common chemical threaten to undermine scientific evidence to the contraryBecause of his job as a dermatologist, Dr Deshan Sebaratnam frequently gets asked questions by friends, family and strangers about skin treatments. But lately, he says, he has been confronted by “a lot of myths around sunscreens”, especially on his social media feed.Among the most frequent is “that sunscreen can actually cause skin cancer”, says Sebarat
  
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• Australians’ appetite for ketamine hits record high as alcohol consumption drops

  06-11-2024 15:00
  
  Wastewater monitoring reveals cannabis is most widely used illegal drug, with use in regional areas double that in citiesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralians are consuming less cocaine and alcohol than they were last year while ketamine use is at an all-time high, according to levels of drugs detected in sewers.The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission released its latest national wastewater drug monito
  
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• Morrison and Abbott praise Trump – as it happened

  06-11-2024 09:17
  This blog is now closedFormer PMs praise Trump’s ‘self-belief’ and ‘assertiveness’ ahead of likely US election victoryGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThere was some seriously colourful language in Senate estimates yesterday, but in this case the media regulator found radio hosts’ words were a step too far. Sarah Martin reports on what the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young described as “revolting, sexist, racist, misogynistic, d
  
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• In an era of remarkable cancer advances, getting a second opinion can help guide choices and provide valuable reassurance | Ranjana Srivastava

  05-11-2024 15:00
  Faced with a life-threatening condition, sometimes the best treatment may lie behind a comprehensive second opinion“Please see this patient for an urgent second opinion,” pleaded the letter on my desk.But when I read the referral, it became clear that the patient was not looking for a second opinion as much as confirmation that she did not have cancer. Her diagnosis, however, was evident – and curable. What she needed was good communication and a way forward.Sign up for a weekl
  
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• ‘Deplorable’: nurse slammed therapy doll dementia patient believed was real baby on table, NSW tribunal hears

  05-11-2024 15:00
  Sudiksha Ahuja found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and her nursing registration cancelledFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn aged care nurse who slammed a dementia patient’s therapy doll on a table and laughed at the distressed patient who believed it was a real baby has been found to have been “callous and deplorable”.Sudiksha Ahuja was found guilty in August of unsatisfactory profe
  
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• Watt confirms Labor considering releasing sealed section of robodebt report – as it happened

  05-11-2024 07:51
  
  This blog is now closedNo relief for borrowers as Reserve Bank leaves interest rates on hold at 4.35%Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast‘We need to extend the average time people stay in our defence force,’ says Matt KeoughThe defence personnel minister, Matt Keough, has also been talking about that retention and renumeration package for defence.We need to extend the average time people stay in our defence force.That does mean it had a vulnerability. We’
  
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• ‘It’s kind of whispered in corridors’: women being forced into underground abortion networks in rural NSW, study finds

  04-11-2024 15:00
  
  Small but influential number of medical practitioners leave pregnant women unable to access terminations in many parts of the stateFull Story podcast: the abortion culture war and its consequencesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA small but influential number of medical practitioners who obstruct abortion care or are uninterested in providing it are leaving women unable to access abortion in many parts of rural New S
  
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• More than 5.4m extra doctor visits were bulk billed last year after incentives boost, health minister says

  03-11-2024 15:00
  
  Increase follows Albanese government tripling financial rewards for GPs to bulk bill pensioners, concession card holders and childrenFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than 5.4m additional visits to the doctor were bulk billed in the past year due to a boost to incentives, according to figures released by the health minister, Mark Butler.The proportion of all doctors’ visits that are bulk billed has increase
  
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• ‘Will haunt me for life’: nurse suspended over Covid lockdown baby shower in Melbourne aged care home before deadly outbreak

  03-11-2024 01:42
  
  Father-to-be was unaware of planned party at Epping Gardens aged care facility and stayed only five minutes, tribunal hearsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn aged care nurse who attended a baby shower at a nursing home during a Covid lockdown has been suspended, telling a tribunal the mistake “will haunt me for the rest of my life”.Staff at the Epping Gardens aged care held a surprise baby shower in July
  
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• Sadness simmers inside this Melbourne hospital ward. But it’s a lifeline for people suffering a mental health crisis

  03-11-2024 00:00
  
  Guardian Australia was given access to a sealed-off section of St Vincent’s to find out why other hospitals are copying what it doesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt’s a Tuesday afternoon in the emergency department at one of Melbourne’s busiest public hospitals, St Vincent’s. Over a loudspeaker, a nurse announces a code grey: an attack on a staff member. It punctuates a cacophony of yelling
  
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• The scientist who tested his revolutionary medicine on his own brain cancer: ‘It seemed worth it to give it a crack’

  02-11-2024 20:00
  
  Richard Scolyer was one of the world’s leading melanoma researchers when he was struck with a brain tumour. Facing likely death, his team made him a guinea pig for his own medicineSign up for a weekly email featuring our best readsRichard Scolyer was fully engaged in the business of living when he suddenly received a death sentence. A person more alive would be hard to find. As an endurance athlete competing across the globe, he was in peak physical condition. As one of the world’s l
  
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