By Kim Powell in Sydney Australia’s healthcare system is a product of a “bygone era” and in order to meet the challenges of an ageing population, a more integrated and flexible approach to prevention and care needs to be adopted, Professor Hal Swerissen, the acting dean of La Trobe University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, told...
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When two heads are better than one
By Jane Garcia Job sharing – where two or more people share a full-time work role – is in its infancy in Australia but there are significant opportunities for organisations to use it as a proactive people-management tool to help address issues such as the retention of working parents and mature aged workers, according to...
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Links to the past
By Jane Garcia You not only have to know the past to understand the present, but you should recognise its effect and potential when dealing with Aboriginal health, according to a Curtin University of Technology expert. “If I get hit by a truck tomorrow, there is virtually nothing that the emergency department of Royal Darwin...
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End of the party
By Kim Powell With significant increases in the number of Australians using ‘party drugs’, including ecstasy, amphetamines and cocaine, the NSW Health Minister John Hatzistergos unveiled the Amphetamines, Ecstasy and Cocaine: A Prevention and Treatment Plan 2005-2009 to tackle the use of psychostimulants in young people, long-haul truck drivers, indigenous people, injecting drug users, people...
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Sound advice
By Jane Garcia It has been quite a long time since the loudest noise in a city was the piercing “hear ye, hear ye” of the town crier. In modern cities like Melbourne, the mix of shops, restaurants, entertainment and an increasing inner-city population is forcing local councils to address the noise generated by all...
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Victorian public sector’s bully blight
By Jane Garcia Bullying and harassment continue to be a major concern for the Victorian public service, according to a survey of nearly 14,000 public sector workers by the State Services Authority’s. The People Matter Survey 2005 found only 62 per cent of public sector employees agreed that their workplace was free from bullying and...
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Information management is everyone’s business
By Lisa Simmons Last year saw a spate of document security breaches and inadvertent leaks of sensitive information in Australia and globally that have left government departments reeling with thoughts of what the consequences could be if a similar thing happened to them. In August 2005, Victorian Premier Steve Bracks said he was “sick and...
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How to woo an engineer
By Kim Powell Unless councils become more creative with the salary packages they offer, they will continue to have trouble attracting and retaining engineering staff, says Dominic Angerame, surveys and website manager for the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA). He says there are shortages across the board when it comes to...
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Australia’s health spending prognosis
By Jane Garcia in Sydney More than 80 delegates attending the 8th Annual Health Conference held in Sydney in March heard about diverse aspects of health care from funding frameworks and the role of the private health care industry, to workforce challenges and information technology. Health care had essentially become a luxury good, with economic...
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Concealed costs of casual workforce
By Jane Garcia Australia has experienced an increase in the number of workers employed on a casual or temporary basis, but employers should beware of the growing international research linking increased risk of illness and injury to these forms of employment, according to research sponsored by Sydney law firm Bartier Perry. The Hidden Health and...