Month: May 2022

Australia’s private hospitals stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking on almost a third more public hospital patients than 2019-20 to ease the burden on the public system, according to newly released data.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) ‘MyHospitals’ update releases data on hospital admissions in 2020 – 2021, the first of the COVID-19 pandemic data.

Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) CEO Michael Roff said the data shows the significant contribution of private hospitals to the pandemic response.

“We said at the time the private hospital viability guarantee was announced that private hospitals were ‘stepping up to the plate and doing whatever is required to help the country get through this pandemic’. And the data shows that’s exactly what we did.

“The number of public patients treated by private hospitals increased from 236,515 to 312,527. This amounts to private hospitals increasing public patient separations by 32 percent in 2020-21.

“In addition, private hospitals increased the number of patients they treated in intensive care units from 36,387 separations to 52,518 separations. Private hospitals provided one in three of all ICU separations, an increase of 44 percent, and 18 percent of all separations where patients required continuous ventilatory support, up from 16.5 percent.”

Mr Roff said the data does not separate COVID-19 ICU days from those occurring from other surgery, but says the significant increase shows the public system would not have coped without private hospital assistance.

“Despite private hospitals getting back to performing procedures as quickly as possible following restrictions on surgery, with surgical interventions up almost 15 percent, from 1,473,605 admissions in 2019-20 increasing to 1,691,215 in 2020-21, much of this progress has already been wiped out.

“Data released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority last week showed more than 390,000anticipated private hospital admissions in the past two years did not occur. Over 100,000 of these “missing episodes’ were added in the first three months of 2022 alone, further increasing elective surgery wait times.

“All the gains made in reducing the elective surgery backlog in 2021 have been wiped out by surgery restrictions put in place during the Omicron wave. Now we must start again.

Mr Roff said the elective surgery backlog would continue to be a concern in both public and private hospitals for the foreseeable future with the issue exacerbated by critical health workforce shortages.

“Addressing health workforce shortages will be the first and most important issue we raise when we meet with incoming Health Minister, Mark Butler,” Mr Roff said.

On the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, the Governor‑General today appointed Professor Glyn Davis AC as the new Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Professor Davis currently serves as CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Australia’s largest philanthropic trust. Professor Davis served on the panel led by David Thodey to review the Australian Public Service.

Professor Davis has had a long and distinguished career in both academia and public service, having served as Director-General of the Queensland Department of Premier and Cabinet from 1998 until 2002, before moving to Vice-Chancellor roles at both Griffith University and the University of Melbourne. He holds emeritus roles at universities around the world, and has served as Chair of the Group of Eight, Chair of Universities Australia and Chair of Universitas 21. In 2010, Professor Davis delivered the Boyer Lectures on the theme The Republic of Learning.

Prime Minister Albanese has welcomed the appointment of Professor Davis.

“Professor Davis will bring to the role of Secretary a deep understanding of public policy and will work with my Government in bringing about positive change for the Australian people,” he said.

The Prime Minister thanked Philip Gaetjens for his service to the Australian public, both as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet since August 2019, and across a distinguished 45-year career of public service.

Professor Davis will commence his five-year appointment on 6 June 2022.

In a legal first, Traditional Owner Traditional Owner Jiritju Fourmile will give evidence to the Land Court of Queensland of Queensland on his Country tomorrow, 31 May 2022. Evidence will be given in accordance with First Nations protocols about speaking for Country, elders’ authority and revealing traditional knowledge. He will describe the impacts of climate change on his Gimuy Country. 

The Queensland Land Court will travel to Gimuy (Cairns) for the sixth week of Youth Verdict’s challenge to Palmer’s proposed Coal Project. Jiritju, a Gimuy Walubara man from the Yidinji Nation, will deliver cultural evidence about climate change impacts on his Country in combination with site visits where he will explain how climate change is already having impacts. 

Last week, the court travelled to Erub and Poruma on Zenadth Kes (the Torres Strait) and heard evidence from members of the community about how sea level rises due to climate change are impacting their culture and Country.

Represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, Youth Verdict is arguing that coal from Waratah’s proposed Galilee Coal Project will impair the human rights of First Nations Peoples, especially their cultural rights, by contributing to dangerous climate change. 

Youth Verdict’s First Nations-led argument is the first time in Australia a coal mine has been challenged on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and human rights grounds. 

Youth Verdict and Bimblebox Alliance’s closing arguments are set to be heard 15th until 18th June. However due to illness, the applicant’s closing arguments will not be heard until the 20th and 21st of July. 

Murrawah Johnson, Co-Director and First Nations Campaign lead said:

“Youth Verdict is a small team led by our First Nations’ members fighting for climate justice grounded in respect for First Nations rights.

“First Nations peoples and our cultural rights must be prioritised in discussions around climate change solutions. The most important aspect of this case is making sure First Nations voices are front and centre in the conversation about the impacts of coal-fuelled climate change upon Country and culture.

“We know how to take care of Country. Our knowledge has been passed down for thousands of generations. It’s about time our voices are heard in decision making processes that allow others to harm our Country and our young people’s future.”

Serena Thompson, Gimuy (Cairns)-based Youth Verdict member said:

“I am a Waribarra Mamu woman from far north Queensland and my Country is around Millaa Millaa, up in the tableland region. I joined Youth Verdict because I refuse to sit idly by while the human rights of all First Nations people are being encroached upon.” 

“The changes that we are seeing to Country and Waters because of climate change are devastating and quickly becoming irreversible. For First Nations people, our ability to connect and physically be on Country is becoming more and more uncertain as climate change worsens. The only certainty in our future is that we must suffer the worst of the impacts before politicians will start to pay attention.

“First Nations people have been looking after Country for tens of thousands of years; in the last 234 years, colonisation has undone so much of that work. 

“Climate change fuelled by coal and gas mining is the violent legacy of colonisation. And while its impacts will reach far beyond just our First Nation communities, we will undoubtedly suffer the first and most extreme repercussions.

“We, as a whole Australian society, need to embody the ideology that has existed amongst blackfullas for thousands of generations: ‘when Country suffers, we suffer’.”

EDO Managing Lawyer Sean Ryan said:

“It’s of the utmost importance that those whose human rights are already being impacted by the effects of climate change, have a say over proposed fossil fuel projects which will make that climate change even worse. 

“This hearing puts the lived experience and knowledge of First Nations witnesses at the heart of our client’s arguments against this mine. We argue that this project will further impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ ability to practice their culture and is therefore a limitation of their human rights under Queensland law. 

“From a legal perspective, this case is groundbreaking. Never before has the Land Court of Queensland, taken evidence on-Country from First Nations cultural witnesses in a mining objection hearing. We are looking forward to representing our clients and presenting these compelling stories to the court.” 

Cisco, one of the Australia’s leading IT and networking companies, has joined Lifeline in pushing for better Mental Health in the workplace. For the second year running, Cisco will take part in The Push-Up Challenge as it aspires to top the community fundraising chart.

Every year, about 1 in 5 Australians will experience a mental health condition of some form. The importance of workplace mental health is rapidly increasing in the post-pandemic environment and particularly within the IT workers due to the higher rates of depressionexperienced in the industry.

As ways of working have shifted with the pandemic and with demand for telecommunication resources ever growing, the sector has been confronted with the challenges of supporting their staff to be mentally healthy.

Following success of last year’s The Push Up Challenge, Cisco is now calling on the broader IT industry to join them and provide tech workers with an ‘antidote’ to feelings of ‘isolation’, all while enabling them to prioritise their physical and mental health.

The Push Up Challenge participants will take on 3,139 push ups across 24 days in June, putting a spotlight on the tragic number of lives lost to suicide in Australia in 2020.

Head of Small Businesses at Cisco, Karen Schuman, said The Push Up Challenge creates a safe and relaxed space to talk about mental health at work. By completing the challenge as a team, Karen and her colleagues are able to provide personal support to each other and foster better understanding of mental health.

“When working in a high-pressure industry, it is crucial to have conversations about mental health and suicide, and we need to see more workplaces making it a priority,” said Ms Schuman.

“May 2021, when I was first introduced to The Push Up Challenge, marked the 25th anniversary of my father’s death by suicide. The Challenge resonated with me instantly, both professionally, as a Cisco leader, and personally. For years after my father’s death, I couldn’t say the word ‘suicide’ without shame or hurt, so I knew it was the time to be vulnerable and have open conversations within the team.”

Ms Shuman believes that rallying a workplace to complete the Challenge can have a positive impact on teams’ mental and physical health. It also provides much needed financial support to Lifeline Australia, which is working to make sure no one is facing their darkest moments alone.

Colin Seery, CEO of Lifeline Australia said, “Just like Lifeline’s services, The Push Up Challenge is for everybody. The terrific thing about the Challenge is how it connects people through exercise, while empowering them with ways they can make a positive difference in other people’s lives.”

“More people than ever before are reaching out to Lifeline for help, and the money raised will support our services to be there for anyone, anytime, whatever the reason. We are delighted to have the Cisco team fundraising to back our crisis support services.” 

“When organisations take the lead like this, it helps encourage Australians to talk about their mental health, learn how to best support each other and recognise when they might need to put their own hand up for help.”

In 2021, over 174,000 participants completed 240 million push ups and raised $9 million for mental health programs and services.

Participants of all ages and abilities push-up while learning about mental health, with the number of daily push-ups changing to reflect a vital mental health fact.

Alternatively, participants can set their own push-up goal, which can also be done as sit-ups, squats or tailored exercises, with progress tracked through a dedicated app. 

You can register for The Push-Up Challenge as an individual, a team, or get your whole workplace, club, gym or school involved at www.thepushupchallenge.com.au/lifeline.