A union trailblazer: Remembering former ANF NT Branch Secretary Joan Wilkinson
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has paid tribute to former Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) Northern Territory (NT) Branch Secretary Joan Wilkinson who passed away at the end of last month. Joan, who served as Branch Secretary between 1977-1996, worked assiduously to raise the profile of the ANF, to the extent that the Branch […]
Health consumers urged to take a proactive role in stopping COVID on World Patient Safety Day
The Consumer Health Forum of Australia (CHF) and the Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) have joined forces for today’s World Patient Safety Day (17 September), urging all Australians to join in the effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. The event’s organisers, the World Health Organization (WHO), have declared that this year’s […]
Army of volunteers supports Australian frontline workers by producing thousands of scrubs
Healthcare workers across the country will receive a free pair of scrubs as part of a volunteer-led response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 6,000 orders to be filled by the end of the month. Founded by Victorian Annabelle Parsons “over a glass of wine and Zoom”, with a healthcare worker in April this […]
Nuclear weapons and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Nuclear weapons are by far the most evil, destructive and indiscriminate of weapons ever created. Both in the scale of the devastation they cause and in their uniquely persistent, genetically damaging radioactive fallout, they are unlike any other weapons. Nuclear weapons have been used twice in warfare- targeting the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki […]
Climate change loss and grief in the Pacific
The way Pacific Island communities on the frontline of climate change are experiencing and working through loss and grief will be documented in a project set to start in 2020. University of Queensland (UQ) researchers will work with people in the Cook Islands, Marshall Islands and Vanuatu to document the impact of climate change on […]
Hike in complaints about AHPRA
Complaints about the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and health practitioner boards were up by 32% in the last financial year, new data shows. The office of the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman and Privacy Commissioner (NHPOPC) released its annual report this week. The NHPOPC oversees AHPRA and the 15 health practitioner boards, including the […]
Hands off Medevac laws
Supporters of the Medevac legislation held an overnight vigil at Parliament House on Sunday urging Senators to reject a repeal Bill. The Coalition is calling to overturn the Medevac legislation with the Migration Amendment (Repairing Medical Transfers) Bill 2019 [Provisions] in a Senate-only sitting this week. The Medevac legislation passed in February 2019, allows the […]
Reducing low value and unnecessary care
A national scale-up of an initiative to reduce low value care and reduce unnecessary treatment was the focus of a nationwide meeting recently. The Choosing Wisely Australia national meeting was held in Melbourne in late May and showcased innovative projects both national and international. A nurse discontinuation protocol of telemetry implemented at Johns Hopkins Hospital, […]
Reducing low value and unnecessary care
A national scale-up of an initiative to reduce low value care and reduce unnecessary treatment was the focus of a nationwide meeting recently. The Choosing Wisely Australia national meeting was held in Melbourne in late May and showcased innovative projects both national and international. A nurse discontinuation protocol of telemetry implemented at Johns Hopkins Hospital, […]
Taking a stand on workplace violence
Hundreds of NSW nursing and midwifery delegates stood up in unison to send a message about the growing prevalence of workplace violence and urgent need for action to the state’s Health Minister Brad Hazzard at the 74th Annual Conference of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) in Sydney last Thursday. A recent series of […]