Feast or famine at Kati Thander-Lake Eyre
Named for an English audience after the explorer Edward John Eyre, who first sighted it in 1840, Australia’s Lake Eyre is still one of the natural wonders of the world. Not for thirty years would the lake’s expanse be determined, and was 113 years before the site would be renamed Kati Thander, the sacred Aboriginal name for its more common characteristic, a flat salt pan. Showing how dry and hard it can be, it was chosen in 1964 as the site for Donald Campbell’s successful world land-speed record (of 403mph) in his wheel-driven Bluebird.
The traditional name refers to “how the lake was formed after the skin of a kangaroo was spread over the ground”.
When full, it is one of the largest inland seas in the world as well as being the lowest natural point in Australia at 15 metres below sea level. On the rare occasion when totally full - a major flood may occur about every eight years - it covers 9,500 square kilometers. The feeder rivers such as Warburton Creek, Cooper Creek and Diamantina River from Queensland’s Channel Country turn the whole basin into a vast wetland.
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- Written by: Andrew Binns
The eyes have it
Dr Andrea Zarkovic shares valuable tips on maintaining vision in AMD patients in the primary care setting.
Patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and those at high risk of developing the disease make up a large proportion of patients attending general practice.GPs can play an important role in the diagnosis and management of patients with macular degeneration.
Who should be checked for wet AMD?
Prevalence of AMD-related blindness in Australia has declined in recent years. While this is largely due to successful treatment, the key to success has been early diagnosis prompted by awareness of AMD in the general population and medical community.
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- Written by: Dr Andrea Zarkovic, Ophthalmologist. myEyeSpecialist, Ballina and Robina MBChB, PGDipOphthBS
Get cracking on ‘Ice’ findings – Premier
Despite taking seven weeks to reply to the Commissioner’s request for a six-month extended deadline for the NSW Government’s inquiry into the drug ‘Ice’ Premier Gladys Berejiklian has agreed to only half that time.
This is despite a two-page written request by Commissioner Dan Howard SC arguing that the original deadline of 28 October 2019 “allows insufficient time for the Commission to adequately address the many important matters raised by the terms of reference.”
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- Written by: Robin Osborne
Sedative reduction improves resident care and staff satisfaction
Residential aged care facilities in Australia have long faced criticism – inadequate medical supervision, insufficient numbers of nursing and care staff, poorly trained and lowly paid workers… no one talks of an easy fix, but few argue that changes aren’t needed.
Although the number of elderly residents exceeds 200,000 (in 2672 ‘nursing homes’, as they were once called) the volume of concerns made public seemed relatively low… until recently when mounting complaints and media coverage prompted the Federal Government to call a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Hearings are well under way, as most Australians would know, and often harrowing evidence is being tendered. The Royal Commissioners are required to provide an interim report by 31 October this year, and a final report by 30 April 2020.
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Read more: Sedative reduction improves resident care and staff satisfaction
The magical mystery tour - editorial Spring 2019
My first 45 rpm record was The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby in retrospect an odd choice for a child, being written in a mixture of minor keys that go back to the ancient Greeks and with lyrics of loss and death that still evoke sadness
I soon moved on to reel to reel with headphones. It was magic. The sound quality was so much better as the Dolby audio compression got rid of the hiss. You could easily get lost in the sound and “picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies ...”.
Next came the Sony Walkman. Its name said it all. You clipped it on your belt, plugged in the headphones and set off. I got a lot of satisfaction listening to the Stones but found it was best to only sing and dance in the privacy of your own home.
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- Written by: David Guest
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