Home
Search
thewest.com.au‌‌
NewsChevron Right Icon

Public Health

The State Government’s Country PatHS service will be rolled out across the Great Southern from next month.

Country healthCountry PatHS will roll out across Great Southern next month

Great Southern patients will receive improved support when travelling to Perth for specialist healthcare, with a new expansion of a Country PatHS aimed at making medical journeys easier to navigate. 

Amy Towers

An Australian-led trial of an mRNA cancer vaccine has been found to significantly decrease the risk of recurring melanoma and skin cancer-related deaths.

Public HealthMajor breakthrough in Australian trial of cancer vaccine

An Australian-led trial of an mRNA cancer vaccine has been found to significantly decrease the risk of recurring melanoma and skin cancer-related deaths.

Rhianna Mitchell and Jessica Evensen

Georgie Turco and her son Noah (10 months old.

HealthPremiumWA announced as hub for global women and babies centre

Perth will become home to a new global research institute for women and babies, aimed at bringing together world-leading science to tackle devastating health issues such as preterm birth and endometriosis.

Rhianna Mitchell

The West Australian understands Shirley Bowen is retiring for family reasons

State PoliticsPremiumWA’s health boss quits two years into five-year contract

The State’s health boss has quit, sparking a scramble to fill the tough job amid record ambulance ramping, bed block and surgery wait list blow-outs. 

Jessica Page

Laura West with her daughter Charlotte (12).

exclusive
exclusive
STATE POLITICS Premium
exclusive
Alarming number of West Aussies living in poverty

A new report has laid bare the growing divide in WA between those reaping the benefits of a rich resource state and those left behind – with more than 450,000 West Australians now living in poverty. 

Joe Spagnolo

Professor Chan Cheah and patient Cheryl Rowlands with her baseline PET scan in background, a breakthrough clinical cancer trial which has had 100pc success in WA patients newly diagnosed with advanced follicular lymphoma, the most common type of slow-growing lymphoma in the Western world. Andrew Ritchie

exclusive
exclusive
HealthPremium
exclusive
WA-led cancer trial’s groundbreaking chemo-free results

A ‘groundbreaking’ WA clinical trial testing a new chemotherapy-free treatment for a common cancer has achieved remarkable results, with 86 per cent of patients free from disease after treatment.

Rhianna Mitchell

Elisha Tran in the ambulance with Asta Raskell. The Great Southern sub-branch welcomed the community to its Sanford Road office for an open day on September 12.

socialsIN PICTURES: Wounds, ambulances and jellybeans at open day

The inside of a working ambulance, how to deal with car crash patients, and wound care were among the educational insights on offer when the local St John WA sub-branch opened its doors to the public.

Melissa Sheil

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital breast centre staff Heather Taylor and Christiane Purcell-Wells.

HealthBlitz to raise $100,000 for Perth hospitals

Perth locals have been asked to get behind a fundraising blitz to raise an ambitious $100,000 in 24 hours to help improve medical research at Sir Charles Gairdner and Osborne Park hospitals.

Belinda Hickman

Spring is arguably the most beautiful time of year — but for one in five Australians with hay fever, the season can bring more sneezing, itchy eyes and sleepless nights than perfect weather and flowers.

HealthPremiumHay fever warning as Perth springs into bloom

Spring is arguably the most beautiful time of year — but for one in five Australians with hay fever, the season can bring more sneezing, itchy eyes and sleepless nights than perfect weather and flowers.

Sophie Gannon

Meningococcal vaccines are widely available in Australia. CDC

WA NewsHealth alert after second WA child sick with deadly disease

A second WA child has been hospitalised with meningococcal disease in just two weeks, prompting a fresh warning about the potentially deadly infection.

Troy de Ruyter

UWA Dental School specialist paediatric dentist Lisa Bowdin, UWA Dental School student Elyssa Chan, and Amelia Sanson, 4, at the Borden Playgroup.

dental milestonePremiumFree Great Southern dental care service hits milestone

Hundreds of young children have been able to access free dental care in the Central Great Southern in the three years since a vital health program was developed for the region.

Melissa Sheil

Aussie high school students experimenting with a dangerous mix of vapes, traditional cigarettes and nicotine pouches, a new study revealed.

HealthPremiumAussie teens hooked on deadly mix of nicotine, study finds

Aussie high school students are experimenting with a dangerous mix of vapes, traditional cigarettes and nicotine pouches, a new study has revealed.

Caitlin Vinci

Dr Thomas Brough made comments about the LGBTQIA+ community in the council chambers in his capacity as an elected member.

SATPremiumWA doctor cautioned for misconduct after LGBTQIA+ remarks

The SAT has cautioned an Albany doctor after finding he engaged in professional misconduct when he made allegedly homophobic comments about the LGBTQIA+ community in his capacity as a councillor.

Melissa Sheil

St John Great Southern District Office will host a community open day.

open daySub-branch to open its doors for behind-the-scenes look

A rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the inner workings of the operation that keeps the Great Southern safe is available on Saturday as the St John WA office on Sanford Road opens its doors to the community.

Melissa Sheil

Meningococcal B vacinations. Illustration: Don Lindsay

HealthHealth warning as WA child fights off deadly infection

The disease can deteriorate rapidly and, despite being treatable with antibiotics, can be fatal.

Caitlin Vinci

Australia’s fertility rate is at a record low, having dropped to just 1.48 children per woman and is predicted to decline further.

HealthPremiumWhy more young Aussie women are freezing their eggs

Australia’s fertility rate is at a record low, having dropped to just 1.48 children per woman and is predicted to decline further.

Angela Pownall

Health minister Meredith Hammat

State PoliticsPremiumWA’s hospital bed crisis forces new push for Federal funding

State Health Ministers will ramp up their push for more Federal funding to cut the number of older patients stuck in hospital beds during their meeting with Federal Health Minister Mark Butler on Friday.

Oliver Lane

One of WA’s biggest private emergency departments will no longer be open 24-hours, citing ‘workforce pressures’ as the reason for the change. 

HealthcarePremiumMajor change to Perth emergency department’s opening hours

One of Perth’s busiest private emergency departments is no longer providing 24/7 service due to severe staffing shortages — and a neighbouring public emergency department is preparing to cop the overflow.

Eliana Hullett

There are concerns bird flu may get to little penguins on Penguin Island.

Bird fluVic penguins get vaxxed while Rocko’s colony remains at risk

While bird flu vaccinations are being rolled out among little penguin populations over east, there are no concrete plans in place to protect Rockingham’s iconic yet declining colony. 

Rachel Fenner

GEN Supplied photo of 18 years old Hailee Hilderbrandt who took her own life. Iain Gillespie

exclusive
exclusive
Mental healthPremium
exclusive
Red flags that could have saved suicidal Perth teen

A lack of accessible mental health support and bed shortages have been exposed in a report that lays bare missed opportunities to save a suicidal Perth teenager.

Jessica Page

Madi said she was enjoying a Whittaker’s Peanut Slab, a popular Kiwi treat, while walking along the airbridge when a female passenger began making comments about the snack.

LifestyleVideoPerth traveller’s snack on Bali flight sparks furious debate

A holidaymaker has sparked a fierce debate after she was called out for eating a peanut-filled chocolate bar while boarding a flight from Perth to Bali.

Troy de Ruyter

Those who suffer the worst of allergic rhinitis, the condition’s technical term, shouldn’t dismiss their symptoms, said clinical immunologist Dr Daman Langguth. 

HealthDoctor issues new warning for Aussie hay fever sufferers

A warning has been issued to the one-in-four Australians with hay fever who in a few weeks will be at the mercy of their annual springtime flare up.

Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry show Australia has recorded 215 H5 bird flu cases, with WA holding at 10.

BIRD FLUREVEALED: How WA bird flu numbers compare to other states

Western Australia is experiencing different bird flu numbers to elsewhere in the country.

Kirsty Lichtenstein

Little penguins on Penguin Island.

Public HealthPremiumREVEALED: WA’s ‘doom’ list of native animals at risk of H5

Some of WA’s most iconic animals such as the black swan and the dolphins of Monkey Mia face an uncertain future after appearing on the Federal Government’s ‘doom sheet’ for H5N1 avian influenza.

Ben O'Shea