Welcome to the March 2009 edition of the HealthInsite e-newsletter, and a special welcome to any new subscribers!
In this edition, we'll look at a report published recently by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing on improving maternity services in Australia following a comprehensive review.
An anticipated doubling of demand for blood and blood products in the next ten years has prompted the Australian Red Cross Blood Service to launch a nationwide recruitment drive and making 2009 the Year of the Blood Donor.
Consistent with the need to encourage donors of a different sort, the Commonwealth Government has announced the formation of a 15-member Advisory Council to help drive its new national approach to lifting Australia's organ and tissue donation and transplantation rates.
And finally, one of our prolific Information Partners, the National Prescribing Service, has developed a new online tool to help people better understand how different medicines work.
A review of maternity services led by the Commonwealth Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer, Ms Rosemary Bryant, is the first step in developing a comprehensive plan for maternity services in Australia.
The Review aimed to:
canvass a wide range of issues relevant to maternity services, including antenatal services, birthing options, postnatal services up to six weeks after birth, and peer and social support for women in the perinatal period;
ensure that all interested parties had an opportunity to participate; and
inform the development of a National Maternity Services Plan.
If you are unable to access the PDF version of the report, please send an email to Maternity.Services.Review@health.gov.au and an alternative copy will be provided.
HealthInsite has a set of topic pages on Pregnancy and Birth.
National 24-hour breastfeeding helpline
The Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, recently launched a national toll-free 24-hour helpline to provide support with breastfeeding information. The Commonwealth Government has provided $2.5 million to help establish and run the service, as well as a further $1.8 million to help train breastfeeding counsellors.
Breastfeeding helps protect infants against a number of conditions, including diarrhoea, respiratory and ear infections, and obesity and chronic diseases later in life. It can also benefit a mothers health by reducing the risks of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis.
An anticipated doubling of demand for blood and blood products within the next ten years has led the Australian Red Cross Blood Service to launch a nationwide recruitment drive in 2009. The Blood Service is appealing for more than 100,000 new blood donors this year, in addition to the 40,000 who registered across Australia to give blood in the week after the Victorian bushfires.
Year of the Blood Donor will encourage non-donors to find out their blood type and roll up their sleeves to give blood. To locate your closest blood Donor Centre, and to make an appointment, please call 13 14 95, or visit www.donateblood.com.au.
The Government has announced the establishment of a 15-member Advisory Council to help lift Australias organ and tissue donation and transplantation rates. The Advisory Council will be headed by businessman and double-lung transplant recipient, Sam Chisholm. For the full list of members, please view the media release online.
Despite more than 90 per cent of Australians supporting the idea of organ donation, Australia has a longstanding shortage of organs for transplantation with nearly 1,800 Australians on official transplant waiting lists.
The Advisory Council will support the recently-appointed Chief Executive Officer of the new Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority, Karen Murphy, and these organisations will lead a best practice, coordinated national approach to organ and tissue donation in Australia.
A key element of the reforms is a four-year national community education and awareness program to give Australians regular, clear, factual and relevant information about organ and tissue donation, the benefits of transplantation, and how they can make a difference.
The campaign is encouraging all Australians to discuss their wishes about donation with their family, friends, and loved ones.
With the onset of autumn and the temperatures starting to cool, the HealthInsite Team has received a number of enquiries regarding the availability of influenza vaccine.
If there is an issue that you would like to see covered in a future newsletter, please send an e-mail to the HealthInsite team at: healthinsite.feedback@health.gov.au
Information Partners
The HealthInsite Team is currently assessing applications from two more prospective Information Partners, and we expect to be able to make an announcement shortly.
One of our existing partners, the National Prescribing Service, has developed a new online tool to help people better understand their medicines. The NPS Medicine Name Finder identifies the active ingredient in a prescription medicine and the brand names by which it is known. Each year, 140,000 people are hospitalised because of adverse events relating to medicine and many of these cases could be avoided if people had a better understanding of how their medicines work.
Some medicines are known by a number of different names, and this tool will help both consumers and health professionals quickly identify which active ingredients are marketed under which brand names. The data supporting the online tool is updated monthly, but it does not cover over-the-counter medicines, complementary medicines, or medicines not listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. For specific advice about your medicines, speak to your doctor or pharmacist.
How do I search for information in different languages?
If you are looking for information in a specific language, click on the advanced search from the HealthInsite home page, type in your search, and select the language from the list.
Latest Resources
The HealthInsite team regularly adds new items to the database including new information partners, new topic pages and news items. Why not take a look at the list of new and updated material added to the database in the past month!
Next
Edition
We aim to publish the HealthInsite e-newsletter monthly. Should you have a specific question before then, please don't hesitate to contact us through the e-mail feedback address, or by telephone on (02) 6289 8488.
