This week's top health stories

Commissioner calls for more Indigenous medicos

The World Today - 17/03/2010
There's a call today for more initiatives to be introduced to increase Indigenous representation in medical schools. Indigenous people make up 2.5 per cent of the population, but less than one per cent of all medical practitioners are of Indigenous descent.

Glaucoma may start in the brain

Science Online - 17/03/2010
In what may be a turning point in glaucoma research, scientists have determined that the disease, the leading cause of irreversible blindness, shows up first in the brain, not the eye.

Renewed push to list Melancholia as a mental illness

AM - 17/03/2010
Melancholia hasn't been included in the psychiatrist's diagnostic manual for mental illness since 1980. Now a Sydney psychiatrist is leading a global push to have it recognised as a condition in its own right. He argues that the condition doesn't respond to the same treatments that are effective for depression.

Lack of clean water kills 4,000 children a day: UN

The World Today - 16/03/2010
The World Health Organisation and UNICEF have released a report that's found more than 2.5 billion of the world's people live without proper sanitation and access to clean water. It's also found the lack of sanitation spreads diseases which kill 4,000 children every day.

Kennett suggests surgery for PM's plan

The World Today - 16/03/2010
Jeff Kennett joins The World Today to discuss the Prime Minister's hospital reform plan. Kevin Rudd has been highlighting Victoria's case-mix system, introduced by Mr Kennett, as the model for his national funding proposal, but the former Victorian premier is yet to come aboard.

Rudd pledges doctor training funding boost

Lateline - 15/03/2010
Kevin Rudd has promised a huge financial injection into doctor training to massively boost the number of qualified GPs and specialists.

Rudd promises more doctors

7.30 Report - 15/03/2010
The Rudd Government has promised to spend more than $600 million over the next four years to employ more General Practitioners. But will the latest government health promise deliver doctors where they're needed?

First ever treatment guidelines for perinatal depression

PM - 15/03/2010
Clinicians should soon have more help treating depression in young people, pregnant women and new mothers with the development of new guidelines. It's the first time there have been guidelines for young people for many years and the first time ever mental health in pregnancy has been given such priority.

Govt promises $632m in training to address doctor shortages

PM - 15/03/2010
The Prime Minister's promised $632m over the next 10 years to train a record number of doctors to address the problem of shortages across the nation. The Government hopes the new money will help convince state and territory leaders that they should support Mr Rudd's national health and hospital network.

New standards for disabled access

The World Today - 15/03/2010
New standards to make public buildings more accessible to disabled people are expected to come into force in May next year. The Disability Discrimination Commissioner and the Master Builders Association have welcomed the Government action, despite what they've termed a difficult process.