The International Journal of Mental Health Nursing has published a virtual issue on mental health and older people. Topics include the impact of falls on mental health, family carers' experiences, restraint use, suicide and delirium.
Nurses make up more than half of the health workforce and are responsible for providing the majority of health care worldwide. Current shortages in the availability of nurses are predicted to worsen, in part due to nurses having corresponding aging and chronic disease development in common with the populations they serve. Loss of productivity in the nursing workforce would substantially affect the availability and quality of health care globally.
Australia's hospitals
2015-16 at a glance provides summary information on Australia's public and
private hospitals. 
New research from The George Institute for Global Health has revealed Australians are eating ever bigger portions of foods laden in fat, sugar, and salt. Researchers compared data from 1995 to 2012 and found portion sizes for a large proportion of Australia’s most commonly consumed junk foods had risen significantly. An average slice of cake has increased in size so much it now contains almost 1000 kilojoules more than it did two decades ago.
This paper in Australian Health Review describes the perceptions of operating theatre staff in Australia and The Netherlands regarding the influence of logistical or operational reasons that may affect the scheduling of unplanned surgical cases.
Local Health Districts (LHDs) provide palliative care services in settings such as homes, hospitals and clinics to patients with varying needs. There are several care providers that can be involved. This audit assessed whether NSW Health is effectively planning and evaluating palliative care services, in the context of rising demand, increasingly complex needs, and the diversity of service providers.
It is confirmed that 2017 is already its worst year for flu, and people are being warned
that due to different strains circulating the country there’s a chance they
could get a second dose.
The report showed 71 per cent reported they were concerned about making clinical errors because of fatigue.
The
UK charity The King’s Fund has published this report examining how a systematic
approach to quality improvement can enhance the quality of care in mental
health. The report’s findings show that
where providers have introduced a quality improvement approach reduced lengths
of stay in inpatient care, improved staff morale and reduced absence, reductions
in violent incidents involving staff, and shorter waiting times have been
achieved. Guidance is provided for for mental health leaders wanting
to embed quality improvement in their organisations, and seek to engage and
empower frontline teams, service users and carers to develop solutions
collaboratively.
The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet has a new resource on
its eye health
section. To support the health workforce, a new animated
infographic about diabetic retinopathy (DR) has been produced to add to the key
fact sheets about this condition. This short animated 4-minute video has been
designed by the HealthInfoNet
and the Fred Hollows Foundation. It provides visually engaging evidence-based
information to assist health care providers in their everyday practice. Also included on the website is a key factsheet.
As a patient Kate observed that many staff looking after her did not introduce themselves before delivering her care. It felt incredibly wrong that such a basic step in communication was missing and as a result, the campaign continues long after Kate has passed away. Kate believed it is not just about common courtesy, but it runs much deeper. Introductions are about making a human connection between one human being who is suffering and vulnerable, and another human being who wishes to help.
Results are available at a NSW, local health district, peer group and hospital
level with an easy search option to find particular hospitals. 
The website under the Resources link includes a information on family violence, child protection and ending violence against women.
The object of the study in this article was to identify barriers to implementing evidence-based practice initiatives in small to medium sub-acute facilities in Queensland. Three themes emerged which described the needs of clinicians when evidence-based practice initiatives were being implemented: (1) valuing evidence; (2) risk prioritisation; and (3) controlling the flow of evidence. A ‘Spillway Model’
New Aproaches to Value in Health and Care was written for those seeking to add value to people’s lives and mobilise the value that people and communities themselves can create for health and wellbeing. Although this is a UK initiative, it is of value in that it bases core national outcomes on the health and wellbeing outcomes that are most important to people and communities.
The McMaster Optimal Aging Portal’s (Portal) professional bibliographic database contains high quality scientific evidence about optimal aging specifically targeted to clinicians, public health professionals and policymakers.
Access the virtual issue here.
This report published by the Royal Flying Doctor Service, is from a collaboration between the National Farmers' Federation and the Country Women's Association of Australia. A survey of over 450 country people drawn from every state
and territory, saw one-third of responses (32.5%) name doctor and medical
specialist access as their key priority. 
