Month: August 2020

Public and private service providers are invited to apply for grants totalling $45.5 million, to develop regional radiation treatment centres for local cancer patients in ten regions across four states.
The Australian Government is providing the funding to improve access to radiation therapy for thousands of cancer patients in rural and regional areas of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.
Currently, cancer patients in these areas have to travel to major centres to obtain their radiation therapy. This can be an exhausting and expensive process, adding to the stress of a cancer diagnosis on the individual, their family and carers.
The Government’s investment will reduce the need to travel outside the region and allow many patients to access all of their cancer treatment services in one place.
Public and private service providers are encouraged to form consortia to apply for the funding, as this will maximise their ability to provide the new or expanded cancer treatment centres.
New and innovative approaches to delivering radiation therapy services in regional Australia are encouraged.
The locations of the new radiation cancer treatment centres were announced in 2019:

• South Coast (Bega /Eurobodalla), NSW.
• Grafton and Clarence Valley, NSW.
• Far North Coast, NSW.
• Mid North Coast (Nambucca, Kempsey), NSW.
• Taree, NSW.
• Armidale, NSW.
• Western NSW (Griffith).
• Gladstone, Qld.
• East Gippsland, Vic.
• Mt Gambier and Limestone Coast, SA.

Funding for this initiative comes from the Australian Government’s Health Infrastructure Program, an important part of our long term health reform agenda.
The program is building, upgrading and expanding vital health infrastructure to ensure Australia’s health system is equipped to meet current and future health needs.
The open competitive grants process for the $45.5 million, which will be provided over five years from 2020-21, will open today at 4pm (Thursday 13 August 2020) for eight weeks and close on Wednesday 7 October 2020.
Full details can be found on GrantConnect.

The Australian Government is committed to supporting Australians who are hard of hearing through improvements to its hearing services.
The social and economic impacts of hearing loss are significant, and it is vital the Hearing Services Program continues to keep pace with demand and improvements in technology.
As the nation’s population ages, the impact of hearing loss could double, with 7.8 million Australians predicted to be affected in 2060.
In order to address the challenges faced by Australians who are hard of hearing, the Commonwealth is working with State and Territory authorities to implement the 2019 Roadmap for Hearing Health and delivering investment and reforms that align with the Roadmap, including:

• The national rollout of innovative hearing screening tools for primary health care clinics in remote areas, through a collaboration between Hearing Australia and the Royal Flying Doctors Service
• The development of nationally consistent clinical standards for paediatric audiology and teleaudiology by the Ear Science Institute and Audiology Australia
• Roll-out of a free sign language interpreting service for senior Australians, being delivered by Auslan Connections
• Funding the National Acoustic Laboratory to examine the clinical and economic benefits of upgrading sound processors in clients aged over 65
• A review of the Minimum Hearing Loss Threshold used under the Hearing Services Program, also being undertaken by the National Acoustic Laboratory

Minister Coulton reiterated his desire for the Government’s hearing services to be fit-for-purpose, client-focussed, and prepared for the future.
“The client must sit front and centre when we consider how best to deliver the services Australians need.
“Technology is changing, markets are changing, and our population is changing.
“If we are to ensure the best future for all Australians we must identify and address the barriers faced by all Australians in accessing services,” said Minister Coulton.
“It is therefore necessary and timely to conduct a review of settings in the Hearing Services Program.”
The Hearing Services Review, which will examine settings within the Hearing Services Program to ensure its continued performance, will be conducted by an expert panel consisting of Professor Michael Woods and Dr Zena Burgess PhD.
“Both Prof Woods and Dr Burgess bring with them a wealth of experience and understanding and having discussed the Review with them, they are ready and will launch into their work,” Minister Coulton said.
“I encourage all stakeholders, both within and beyond the sector, to contribute to this review to ensure it is informed with the most conclusive evidence it possibly can.”
This review is part of a suite of efforts underway to improve the lives of Australians who are hard of hearing, regardless where.
The Hearing Services Review is underway and will deliver its findings to Government in July 2021.
Further information about the review – including its Terms of Reference – is available at www.health.gov.au/hearing-review

Today is Red Nose Day, a day to remember loss and to spread the message to future mothers that the risk of stillbirth and neonatal death can be reduced.
While there has been a reduction in SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in Australia, almost 3,000 young babies still die suddenly and unexpectedly each year.
Of 2,924 babies who died in the perinatal period in 2017, three quarters were stillborn. The others died within four weeks of birth.
Every death of a baby is a devastating event for the family. It can lead to ongoing personal, social and financial consequences for parents and families.
In some cases, stillbirth and neonatal death can be prevented. Last December, the Morrison Government announced that $3 million would be provided for a national awareness campaign to demystify stillbirth and reduce its incidence.
The campaign is expected to begin in late September 2020. It will educate women about the importance of three actions during their pregnancy, which can help their unborn babies:

• being aware of fetal movements and reporting changes to their health professional;
• sleeping on their sides; and
• quitting smoking during pregnancy.

The campaign is being developed by Red Nose Limited and the University of Queensland’s Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence. They are working in partnership with Sands Australia, the Stillbirth Foundation, Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The campaign will include elements targeted to groups of women with a higher risk of stillbirth, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, some migrant and refugee women, and women from rural and remote communities.
To support parents and families after the death of a baby or toddler, the Morrison Government also provides funding to Red Nose’s telephone and online support service.
The Red Nose Bereavement Support Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be accessed by contacting 1300 308 307.
The Government has also committed $43.9 million for a new Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing Program to support the mental health of expectant and new parents experiencing or at risk of perinatal mental illness or grieving the loss of a baby, and $1.3 million to Sands Australia for an intensive support service to families affected by stillbirth. The Sands service provides support in hospital that continues when the family returns home.
We continue to work with states and territories, medical, health professionals, and other stakeholders to finalise the first National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan.
The Plan is expected to be released in late 2020 and will provide a national strategic approach to reducing stillbirth in Australia, as well as ensure families affected by stillbirth receive respectful and supportive bereavement care.