Health

The wild Australian Brumby is seen by many as a threat to the native environment, especially in the Snowy Mountains, but horse trainer Joe Hughes has not only helped to solve the problem but in the process has saved the lives of people suffering the effects of trauma ... he now uses his unique 4BP horse training methods (4 Brumby Protection) to transform wild brumbies for a life working with people.

Returning to Mount Peel Bushland Park in 2023 will be Hike to Heal, an interactive hiking adventure suitable for all levels of fitness and hiking experience. Hikers have fun following clues at the Mt Peel Bushland Park or a park of their choosing to find natural treasures and solve riddles as they walk along the trail.

Territorians and visitors are being urged to protect themselves from mosquitoes bites, with mosquito numbers expected to increase following recent heavy monsoonal rainfall. Some mosquito species can transmit viruses including the Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses, as well as the potentially fatal Japanese encephalitis and Murray Valley encephalitis viruses ... three cases of Japanese encephalitis have been diagnosed in the Northern Territory (NT), with the first detected in in 2021.

Chronic pain doesn’t discriminate. It can impact anyone, of any age, and in any location. However, how it is managed can differ greatly ... The problem of chronic pain is complex, so solving it is going to be difficult. However, progress is being made and researchers at the University of South Australia are exploring how to bring better outcomes for rural Australians challenged by chronic pain.

While the heavy rains that lashed the Shire of Broome last week from ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie caused relatively minor damage in Broome, they have presented an increased risk of exposure to mosquito-borne diseases in town and surrounding communities. The Shire has commenced a pest management program ...

Mildura Rural City Council’s routine mosquito monitoring program has detected Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) virus in our municipality ... This detection of the virus in Mildura and northern Victoria, marks the first detection in Victoria in more than a decade.

When Moulamein local, Shantal Sherman, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August of this year, it was the last thing she expected to hear ... What she didn’t expect to have to do was travel for basic follow up wound care, when her hometown is supposed to have an operational, functional and staffed community health service ... Shantal said she can’t believe the deterioration in rural health care and the lack of empathy and concern shown for patients.

Emma Pritchard. Ruby Howell has her sights firmly set on a bright future. And the enthusiastic eight-year-old from Grafton is on track to achieve her dreams ... Ruby recently travelled overseas with her family to take part in the Competitive Off-Road Racing Series 2022 National Race Event at Carolina Adventure World in Winnsboro, South Carolina ...

For the first time this century, expecting mums in Weipa and the surrounding community will be able to give birth in a local hospital when a new service begins early in 2023. The Weipa Hospital has a fully equipped birthing suite and a top team of staff lined up to welcome Cape York’s newest arrivals.

New support to improve the mental health of people working in social and community sector organisations will be available in the seven flood-impacted local government areas of Northern Rivers NSW ... “Having worked in the social sector for many years, I’ve seen the almost normalised acceptance of this kind of burnout and mental ill-health across the social sector – a sector that is always on the frontline when disasters and pandemics strike": Julia Keady, founder of The Xfactor Collective Foundation.

Health authorities are encouraging all Cape York residents involved in pig-hunting to take advantage of the free vaccination program for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) ... there was heightened awareness of JEV on Cape York following the detection of the virus in some feral pigs in an area north of the Skardon River in June, and a further detection in pigs in the Mapoon area in September.

In Remote as Ever, David Scrimgeour tells the story of his working life as a doctor in isolated communities in Australia's Western Desert in the late 1970s. Being involved in the Homelands movement and the Aboriginal community-controlled health campaign gave him significant insight into the strength of the Aboriginal struggle for autonomy - a struggle too often undermined by government policy.

The first of December marks the start of summer, as well as onset of snake season. As temperatures rise, AMA (NSW) is warning residents to look out for venomous snakes and refresh your knowledge of snake bite first aid.

The Narrandera Branch of NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Union members took to the streets as part of strike action last Wednesday (November 23). About 15 Narrandera NSWNMA Union Members and numerous community representatives showed their support during a march in East Street ... Taking a stance, the members highlighted their plight of fighting for safer staffing levels by means of more acceptable nurse-to-patient ratios.

When I came to rural NSW pathology in the 1990's, there were approximately six rural cytology positions employed in the government pathology laboratories in the state and a single rural cytology position employed by the private sector. So the number of trained cytology positions was never large and very much fewer in rural areas. However, as of 2016-17 they are non-existent in any rural NSW pathology setting, private or public sector. Similarly, numbers are greatly reduced for most of the other specialist pathology positions, especially pathologists themselves.

Ryan Saunders died in hospital. He was nearly three years old. His parents were worried he was getting worse and didn’t feel their concerns were being acted upon by medical staff. They were right ... When Ryan’s death was found to have been preventable, the Queensland Department of Health made a commitment to introduce a patient escalation process to minimise the possibility of a similar event occurring. It is called Ryan’s Rule.

After recent rains in Tennant Creek, the Mozzie Mob is back to work under a renewed program to cleanse the town of the dengue mosquito. NT Health Director of Medical Entomology at the Centre for Disease Control, Nina Kurucz, said a fresh round of home backyard inspections will begin with technical officers in town to conduct inspections to prevent an outbreak.

Whilst those who are located regionally ... are well versed in the gaps in healthcare availability, there is a lack of practical solutions to meet the demand and support these communities deserve ... Open Support offers a 100 per cent free of charge transport program which aims to help bridge the gap in access to healthcare for those who live in regional NSW by providing transport services across Sydney.