HEALTH NEWS 11
TORRES NEWS THURSDAY 29 JUNE 2023
Inquiry to hear from diabetes advocates and people with lived experience ABOVE: Ella Kris, TCHHS Board Chair. RIGHT: Dean Davidson, Interim Chief Executive, TCHHS. Pics supplied.
Torres & Cape health service welcomes interim Chief Exec Long-time Torres & Cape health service Chief Executive Beverley Hamerton has resigned. Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) Board Chair Ella Kris said Ms Hamerton had advised she was resigning for personal reasons, effective from last Friday. “The Board and I have accepted her resignation and respect her desire for privacy at this time,” Ms Kris said. She said Ms Hamerton had a long and distinguished career serving our Torres Strait, Northern Peninsula Area, and Cape York communities. “She and I have developed a strong personal connection since my appointment as Board Chair in 2019,” she said. “I will miss her strong leadership, and her commitment and dedication to our communities, our staff, our health
service and to our Board. “I am sure our staff and our communities will join me and the Board in wishing Ms Hamerton all the best for her future. “We will now begin the process of recruitment for a new chief executive, in the interim, our Executive Director Strategy and Investment, Mr Dean Davidson, has agreed to act as Interim Chief Executive. “Mr Davidson has been with us since 2016 in a variety of senior managerial and executive positions and is very familiar with our health service, our communities, and our challenges. “He will be able to provide strong continuity of leadership for our health service and our communities and I and the Board welcome him to the position of Interim Chief Executive.”
Protect yourself and your family from influenza Local MP Cynthia Lui has urged families to join her is making sure they were protected against influenza. “The 2023 flu shot is now available at GPs and pharmacies, and is free for some eligible members of the community under the National Immunisation Program,” she said. “Annual vaccination is the best tool we have to prevent flu and is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and over. “This is especially important for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as we know the disease burden is significantly higher.
FLU VACCINE
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport has heard from Diabetes Australia, the Australian Diabetes Society and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) at a public hearing as part of the Committee’s inquiry into diabetes in Australia. Committee chair Dr Mike Freelander MP, said the Hearing was an opportunity for the Committee to hear from major peak bodies which each played a critical role in improving diabetes prevention, treatment and care, advocating for policies and funding around diabetes, and supporting Australians living with diabetes. “The Committee [looked] forward to hearing evidence from these organisations, including about new advances in the prevention, diagnosis and management of diabetes that may be emerging either in Australia or internationally,” he said. Committee Deputy Chair Melissa McIntosh MP said the
Committee also heard from a 15-year-old girl living with type 1 diabetes and her mother, about their personal experiences with this health condition that affects more than 130,000 Australians. The Committee said they intended to hold more public hearings in due course.
The Committee will investigate: 1. The causes of diabetes (type 1, type 2 and gestational) in Australia, including risk factors such as genetics, family history, age, physical inactivity, other medical conditions and medications used 2. New evidence-based advances in the prevention, diagnosis and management of diabetes, in Australia and internationally 3. The broader impacts of diabetes on Australia’s health system and economy; 4. Any interrelated health issues between
diabetes and obesity in Australia, including the relationship between type 2 and gestational diabetes and obesity, the causes of obesity and the evidence-base in the prevention, diagnosis and management of obesity; and 5. The effectiveness of current Australian Government policies and programs to prevent, diagnose and manage diabetes. Interested parties were encouraged to make a submission to the inquiry by 31 August 2023. More information about the Committee’s inquiry, including the full terms of reference and details on how to lodge a submission are available at the Committee’s website at https://www.aph.gov.au/ Parliamentary_Business/ Committees/House/ Health_Aged_Care_and_Sport
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Torres News “While the best time to get the shot is now, it’s never too late to vaccinate as influenza can continue to circulate in the community all year, especially up here in tropical Queensland.” See https://www.health.gov.au/ our-work/national-immunisationprogram
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