NEWS DESK EARLYBIRD EN CLOSE 1 SEPT TRIES EMBER 2019
REGISTER
NOW!
6.7km Fun Run+WALK TAKE THE CHALLENGE SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2019 8.30am
Reducing the toll on young drivers and their passengers Proceeds from this event provide funding to deliver the Fit To Drive road safety program at no cost to our local schools
Arthurs Seat Eagle Catch a return ride down on the gondola after the event. Purchase tickets with your registration!
REGISTER ONLINE AT arthursseatchallenge.com.au
MA JOR PARTNERS:
E VENT PARTNERS:
PAGE 12
Southern Peninsula News 24 July 2019
Studies into ageing: The federal government, Monash University and Peninsula Health have combined to establish a “national centre for healthy ageing”. Pictured at the announcement are, from left, Professor David Copolov, Dr Johnson George, Greg Hunt, Dr Nadine Andrew, Felicity Topp and Professor Christina Mitchell. Picture: Supplied
‘Healthy ageing’ centre for uni A NATIONAL centre for Healthy ageing will be established at Monash University’s Peninsula campus following a financial agreement between the federal government, Peninsula Health and the university. An existing building at the campus in Frankston will be extended to “accommodate staff and cutting-edge simulation environments/ transformation facilities for research and education for community-based care”. Flinders MP and Health Minister, Greg Hunt, last week said the first “milestone payment” of the government’s $32 million contribution had been made. “The national centre, the first of its kind in Australia, will deliver new research and treatment programs for older people and those with addiction and mental health issues, backed by new state of the art physical testing environments and data infrastructure,” Mr Hunt said. “Bringing together the major health training, education and research activities at Monash’s Peninsula campus and Peninsula Health’s Frankston Hospital, the National Centre for Healthy Ageing will fast track and improve the health care of the nation’s most vulnerable people.” Mr Hunt said the Mornington Peninsula region’s population is one of the fastest ageing in Australia “making it the ideal place to trial innovative health care solutions for older people, whether it be at home or in residential aged care”. “Successful models would then be scaled up and rolled out across Australia.” Mr Hunt said the use of “state-of-the-art living labs” and technology, would see “new models of care focus on delivering greater independence
so people can stay at home for longer and avoid unnecessary hospitalisations”. Mathew Langdon, Mr Hunt’s media contact, said ‘living labs’ was “a term used to describe real-life and life-like environments to help ensure research outcomes are easily implementable and lead to quick translation in the health system”. Priority work of the new centre would include developing strategies and programs “to engage and assist those at risk of having an unwanted transfer to the emergency department, to develop their end of life care plans”, Mr Hunt said. New models of care would be designed using assistive technology within purpose-built facilities to improve quality of life through continued successful living at home and reduced hospital admissions. The centre will also partner with organisations in Frankston and on the peninsula to “identify addiction and severe mental illness solutions at the local level to improve the treatment for Australians with these illnesses”. One of the Frankston campus-based projects would use electronic record data to develop ways of monitoring the prevalence of dementia. The $600,000 grant to Monash University researchers will use the unique aspects of the peninsula region to conduct a pilot study for a program that will be rolled out across Victoria and nationally if successful,” Mr Hunt said. The university had also been given $2 million for a study designed to prevent and reduce the risk of developing dementia in 45-65 year olds. “Without a medical breakthrough, it is predicted that more than 1.1 million Australians will be living with dementia by 2056,” Mr Hunt said.
Optus to consult on tower OPTUS says a public consultation process will take place before any site is selected for a proposed 4G base station at Capel Sound. The company’s corporate affairs advisor Rob Sharpe said the consultation phase was “us consulting on any planned sites”. “No decision has been made [on a site] and Optus is now assessing alternative locations raised by the community,” he said. “A public consultation will be undertaken for any site selected and we look forward to working with council and the community to deliver improved coverage and capacity for residents, business and visitors to Capel Sound area and surrounds.” The issue came to a head last week when concerned Capel Sound residents began campaigning against a proposed Optus mobile phone base station on the northern side of Pt Nepean Road, opposite Violet Street, (“Residents call for phone tower to be put on hold” The News 15/7/19). The residents would prefer the base station to
be 250 metres south on the foreshore reserve opposite 1781-1795 Pt Nepean Road. They say this would take it away from a bus stop used by school children, residential areas, and the Bay Trail – and mean less vegetation has to be removed in construction. Their main concerns are the negative health impacts of low level radiation emissions on humans. Phone towers can emit radiation up to 500 metres, with the most dangerous areas within 150 metres. The potentially harmful impacts of the impending 5G service are unknown, but what is known is that radiation is linked to cancer and other health issues. Optus is looking for new base station sites along Pt Nepean Road, Capel Sound. “The preliminary stages of consulting involve us seeking council feedback on our consultation plans and proposal, which is in line with the S6 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code 2018,” Mr Sharpe said. Stephen Taylor