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Health Policy

They know it's harmful but young Australians still think it's cool to be tanned

Hearing "slip, slop, slap" and "no hat, no play" in childhood hasn't kept today's teens and young adults out of the sun. But there is hope social media campaigns can change attitudes about tanning.
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Three young women wearing bikinis smile. A graphic of sunscreen, sunglasses and a juice are in front of them.

Launceston hospital former top doctor allegedly covered up causes of death to avoid coronial scrutiny, nurse claims

The former head of medical services at a major Tasmanian hospital allegedly falsified medical certificates of death, a registered nurse and midwife tells a parliamentary committee.
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A women with blonde hair tied back into a ponytail looks towards the camera.

Woman's husband administered morphine while waiting for ambulance

A man still grieving the loss of his mother in January says Tasmanian ambulance paramedics had to ask him to provide blankets and pillows to transport her safely and comfortably — meanwhile, an inquiry into the service hears apologies over long wait times and inadequate care.
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Ambulance Tasmania paramedic at rear of vehicle.

When Harry could no longer clench a fist during karate classes, it signalled the start of a long, painful journey

Harry was 10 when clenching his fists during karate classes became difficult. But the real turning point came when he asked his mum and dad to stop hugging him because it hurt too much.
Harry Dannock in karate uniform.

analysis:All big policy changes take time. But does the South Australian premier have enough?

South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has always been a politician in a hurry. But now he's calling for time and patience from the public to deliver his platform.
A man sits in a chair under lights being interviewed by another person

Ambulance ramping outside SA public hospitals increases in January following November record

The South Australian government said ramping increased to 3,960 hours outside emergency departments last month, an increase from December's 3,595 hours.
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A close-up of the side of an ambulance

Bulk billing rates rise after Government incentives

The data show free appointments have risen – especially in areas with historically low rates of bulk billing.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 52 seconds

EPA warns lead contamination from Tasmanian metal recycler a 'public health issue'

Tasmania's EPA has ordered a north Tasmanian scrap metal facility to immediately stop using a metal shredder after "elevated levels of lead" were found in the dust it produced. 
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A satellite view of a scrap metal processing site with large stockpiles of metal.

Since SA introduced voluntary assisted dying laws, more than 100 people have opted for 'a death of their choosing'

A year after voluntary assisted dying came into effect in South Australia, families of some of the 110 people who have opted to take that path describe their experiences.
Voluntary assisted dying recipient Lynne Wong.

'I said X-ray and she said no': The stories you told us about Tasmania's healthcare system

We ask people for their experiences of Tasmania's ailing health system and hear of misdiagnoses, long waits for treatment or, worse still, no treatment at all. But we also receive some good reports.
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Timothy King

Disposable vapes seized in first large-scale bust in Australia since new import ban

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has seized more than 13 tonnes of disposable vapes in Adelaide in what the federal government says is the first large-scale bust since new laws took effect this year.
ABF Assistant Commissioner Chris Waters and Health Minister Mark Butler with seized vapes.

'I did my best': Ambulance dispatcher tells of emergency phone calls that 'kept coming'

A senior Tasmanian ambulance dispatcher tells of a night when emergency calls piled up and there were no available paramedics to send. "I did my best."
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A female paramedic walks past an ambulance parked outside the Royal Hobart Hospital.

How dangerous is the asbestos found in mulch around Sydney? Here's what we know

Contaminated mulch containing asbestos has been found in Sydney's inner west and western suburbs after first being discovered in Rozelle Parklands. How worried should people be about this substance?
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Park grass cordoned off with tape and signs

Exodus of GPs leaves city of 20,000 facing healthcare crisis

A veteran GP says he is scrambling to keep his outback Queensland clinic working, as calls grow for an urgent fix to staff shortages.
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An aerial showing an outback city at night

'I thought I could get it sorted in a couple of days': Lengthy mammogram waits, out-of-pocket costs for women

With one in seven Australian women likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, concern is growing about the wait times for diagnostic mammograms around the country.
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A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer

Australia is facing a new public health crisis in vaping. So, how can we help teens stop?

Graphic anti-smoking advertisements on television remain in the minds of Australians and were successful in lowering smoking rates. But campaigns around the risks of vaping might not be hitting home with many young people, a researcher says.
A silhouette of a person vaping with an orange light behind the vapour cloud.

SA Ambulance Service defends response time after woman in pain left waiting for paramedics

The South Australian Ambulance Service has defended its response time after a grandmother with cancer and in "extreme agony" was left waiting for paramedics last year.
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A woman with glasses smiling at the camera

'Extraordinary event' declared in Indonesia's East Java province amid polio outbreak

Health officials in Indonesia are carrying out a mass immunisation drive after 11 cases of polio were detected on the country's main island.
a health professional with a vaccine and Monkeypox vial

Almost one person a week dies after being ramped at hospital. Tim's father narrowly missed being one of them

Over the past five years, 136 people died in Tasmanian hospitals in the 24 hours after being "ramped", a parliamentary inquiry has been told. But the Health Department warns against drawing conclusions.
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A line of ambulances queued up down the ramp to the emergency department at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Future of genetic testing threatened by life insurance catch as Australian comedian Michelle Brasier discovers

The comedian has a 97-per cent chance of contracting cancer, but taking a genetic test to shed more light on the risk could ruin her chances to obtain life insurance.
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image of woman with curly hair in green shirt smiling

Family of man shot by police in Nowra say mental health system failure contributed to his death

The family of a man shot dead by police in New South Wales say they understand the actions taken by officers, but the incident exposes a failure within the systems designed to support people with mental illness.
Man smiling

Australia choked during the Black Summer bushfires. What happens if the smoke comes back?

In the event of another summer dominated by bushfires, are our cities better equipped than they were in 2019?
Orange haze obscures Parliament House.

Adelaide woman fights for elective heart surgery amid long wait lists in SA public hospitals

A South Australian woman suffering a potentially fatal heart condition lodges a complaint with Adelaide’s biggest public hospital after it postponed her open-heart surgery amid mounting pressure on the state’s health system.
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A woman in a dark room looks out a window

Half of Tasmania was without an available ambulance on Monday afternoon and this image shows why, union says

A screenshot of a dispatch system showing all ambulances unavailable is presented by a union as further evidence of the worsening "crisis" in southern Tasmania's health system — as the government says holiday season "injuries" are adding to the fleet's workload.
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A screen showing all southern Tasmanian ambulance crews and where they are, including 8 ramped at Royal Hobart Hospital

Widow questions if ambulance patients were prioritised over husband who died waiting hours in hospital

Tony Eccleston went to an Adelaide hospital for a suspected blood clot and after nine hours in the waiting room, he died.
A man in a red soccer shirt holding up a purple cocktail