A leading dust diseases lawyer has called on the mining industry to focus on stronger preventative safety measures for workers, following the re-emergence of black lung disease in Queensland. Slater and Gordon lawyer Martin Rogalski said there is now an opportunity to not only eradicate black lung but also reduce the occurrence of other respiratory diseases in the industry.
QUT is set to ban smoking from all three campuses from July 1.
The announcement was made to coincide with World No Tobacco Day, and would see QUT banning smoking of all forms, including the use of electronic cigarettes. Continue reading QUT goes smoke free
Ahead of the Federal Election, major parties and political candidates are being urged to spell out their plan to tackle suicide and self-harm across Australia. It’s been described as a “national emergency”, with latest ABS figures showing the suicide rate has increased by nearly 20% in the past decade. Suicide Prevention Australia CEO Sue Murray says there are nearly 30 federal electorates where the problem has hit an alarming level. If you need help, or someone to talk to, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or on their website.
We now have strong evidence that improvements in admission processes through hospital emergency departments leads to a decrease in patient deaths, according to the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. Dr Simon Judkins was a part of this research, which he says helps close the loop, showing that improving hospital processes and access targets not only reduced the time patients spent in ED, but led to fewer patients dying.
I spoke to Katie Clift, executive manager for the Cancer Council Queensland, about a new survey which has provided an updated picture of the smoking habits of young people. You can call quitline 13 QUIT to get help with quiting. You can also find information on the Cancer Council website here.
Numerous reviews and law reform agencies have recommended reforms to unfitness to plead laws. But changes have been laboured, when they’ve occurred at all. A new research project at the University of Melbourne is investigating support systems that may help prevent disability-based disadvantage and discrimination in the criminal justice system. Dr Piers Gooding is a part of this project, and spoke about what he’s doing.
It’s been five years since the devastation of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and the fallout is far from over. Associate Professor Tilman Ruff says 300 tonnes of contaminated water still leaks from the wrecked nuclear plants every day, with ongoing effects on people and the environment.
Treating hearing loss could be the key to significantly reducing the risk of dementia, researchers believe. University of Melbourne audiologist Dr Julia Sarant is working in the same field, studying cognitive decline in those requiring cochlear implants.
The CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, Michael Moore, is calling on the government to adopt sensible alcohol policies to prevent unnecessary emergency visits and take pressure off hospitals. I spoke to him about this stance, and some of the statistics regarding alcohol and its relation to hospital visits.
Five million Australians pay for a doctor’s visit in an average four week period—but an increasing proportion of them are also going online to look up health and medical information themselves, Roy Morgan Research shows. Roy Morgan communications writer Shaun Ellis says that Queenslanders are among the most likely to access the internet after a doctor’s visit.