Healthcare
Calls for laser hair removal to be subsidised for common condition
Polycystic ovary syndrome is a complex hormonal condition that affects about one in 10 Australian women. A common symptom is excess facial and body hair.
- by Aisha Dow
Latest
Editorial
Aged care
The Boomers are coming for aged care. Australia must be ready
Faced with older residents, with more complex health conditions, the aged care facilities of the future will need to be more hospital than retirement village.
- The Herald's View
Exclusive
Healthcare
Would you have surgery if it badly impacted Earth’s carbon footprint?
A new study explores the potential cost to the planet of future surgical procedures.
- by Kate Aubusson
‘I see scars’: Mel’s long and costly battle to restore her breasts – and identity
After undergoing mastectomies, breast cancer patients face years-long waits in the public system for “medically necessary” reconstructive surgery – or crippling out-of-pocket costs in the private system.
- by Henrietta Cook
Sarah’s mum starved herself to death. It was the only legal way for her to go
Wendy Mitchell spent a decade educating people about living with dementia. Now her daughter wants to tell us about how she died, and why it didn’t have to be that way.
- by Michael Bachelard
Exclusive
Healthcare
Why Angela feels unbearable pain from a leg that is no longer there
An unbearable electric current shoots down Angela’s left leg. She reaches down to rub it, but there’s no leg there.
- by Kate Aubusson
Exclusive
Healthcare
Ambulance Victoria hit in coffers by patient billing ban
Protracted industrial action by paramedics, including an indefinite pause on taking billing details from patients, is hitting the service’s bottom line.
- by Jewel Topsfield and Cassandra Morgan
Exclusive
Healthcare
‘He shouldn’t be dead’: Families sue Frankston Hospital over suicides
Michael Abeling was desperate for help when he presented to the emergency department. But he was refused admission and died a few days later.
- by Henrietta Cook
Exclusive
Coronavirus pandemic
Payments for COVID vaccine injuries are ending. Patients want that changed
A UNSW analysis suggests many types of injury were not covered by the complicated scheme, which is set to close next month.
- by Mary Ward
Polly never suffered from asthma – then a clap of thunder left her gasping for air
Melburnians dreading pollen season may be able to breathe a sigh of relief, with dry conditions and low rainfall likely to lead to a shorter, less-intense event.
- by Melissa Cunningham
Updated
Ambulance Victoria
Ambulance Victoria chief executive resigns amid industrial dispute
Paramedics recently passed a vote of no-confidence in the troubled emergency service’s leadership.
- by Jewel Topsfield, Lachlan Abbott and Rachel Eddie