Young Australians Suffering Psychotic Illness

A SUMMIT of the country's leading mental health experts yesterday declared a "state of emergency" in youth mental health.

Researchers from Melbourne's Orygen Research Centre, Sydney's Brain & Mind Institute, and Sane Australia, said young Australians suffering psychotic illness were feeling the brunt of more than a decade of neglect. They said $200 million a year could be saved if the state and federal governments invested in 25 new youth-specific mental health centres, such as Melbourne's pioneering HeadSpace, around the country. A spokesman for Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the Government recognised there was more work to be done, but it was committed to moving towards prevention and early intervention. The reform summit yesterday was held in advance of a major conference on youth psychosis beginning on Monday in Melbourne. More than 1000 international experts will gather to discuss new research, developments in care and causes of the illness.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says about 2.5 million people aged 15 and over care for someone at home because of a disability or old age. Carers Australia says 6.6 per cent of carers are aged under 18.

The parents of a nine-year-old boy who is blind, deaf, brain damaged and has spastic quadriplegia left the District Court $6 million richer yesterday after settling a medical negligence case against St John of God Hospital and their son’s doctor. Nicola and Peter Netherway sued the hospital and Dr Anita Cvitanovich after their son Jeremy was misdiagnosed in 2000 with a virus when he had the potentially deadly bacterial infection pneumococcal meningitis.

Commonwealth Financial Planning launches New Study Revealing Funding Shortfalls for Carers. Commonwealth Financial Planning will launch tomorrow the findings of a major research study into the financial well-being of carers in the community as part of a new partnership with Carers Australia. The Commonwealth Financial Planning Women Carers in Financial Stress Report (CFP Women Carers Report) is the first to examine the lifetime financial wellbeing and health of Australia's predominantly female carer population. It underlines the need to reduce financial stress on the approximately 2.6 million unpaid carers in Australia. The value of these services is estimated at more than $30.5 billion per year1. Many carers are economically and socially disadvantaged. For a full copy of the CFP Women Carers Report please visit the Commonwealth Financial Planning website

Australia's 2.6 million mostly female unpaid carers earn much less and are in much poorer health than women without caring responsibilities, a new report shows. The research, conducted by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling, shows informal carers provide services worth $30 billion every year but face significant economic and social disadvantage. The report, Commonwealth Financial Planning Women Carers in Financial Stress, has been touted as the first to examine the lifetime financial wellbeing and health of Australia's carers. "There is a clear social and economic benefit to improving the financial position of carers," he said. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will launch Carers' Week on Monday.

COMPLAINTS against welfare workers in New South Wales have jumped dramatically, with a total of 380 incidents reported including neglect, abuse and theft from the disabled in government-run homes. Despite twice as many alleged offences by staff in the past year, just one in 10 of the investigations has been finalised, and hundreds more have not been investigated at all. More than 150 allegations were for a breach of policy or procedure, 102 were for mistreatment ranging from physical assault to inappropriate physical contact, and a further 41 were for theft from clients or fraud.

One of the biggest threats to healthy mental ageing is the development of dementia in later life.

Alzheimer’s disease, as one of the most common causes of dementia, has age as its strongest risk factor. The prevalence of the illness doubles approximately every five years after age 65. Dementia Awareness Week recently reminded us that currently more than 26 million people globally suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, which is expected to rise to more than 106 million in the year 2050. A comparable rise is expected in Australia from currently between 113 000 and 159 000 people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease to more than 730 000.

REVEALING a disability in the workplace is no easy task, no matter how confident you are. But despite fears of being stereotyped, most employers just want to help out and make the office a safe place for everyone, say experts. On average one in five Australians are living with a disability, and around 2.2 million of those are in the workforce, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Disability can be anything from severe intellectual and physical ailments to health issues such as diabetes.