Healthcare
Jessica thought she was ready for her first baby. Instead, she wound up traumatised
Thousands of NSW women shared harrowing stories during the inquiry into birth trauma. A new report says some of their experiences were preventable.
- by Megan Gorrey
Latest
Emergency departments are busier than ever. Here’s how your hospital stacks up
Emergency waiting times at two of the state’s biggest hospitals have skyrocketed as the health system buckles under “unprecedented pressure”.
- by Angus Thomson and Megan Gorrey
‘He was absolutely shocked’: The moment Alisha told her dad he’d passed on mutation linked to female cancers
Tens of thousands of Australians are unaware they carry genetic mutations that can cause aggressive cancers and require them to make life-changing – or life-saving – decisions.
- by Wendy Tuohy
Financial woes cast ‘significant doubt’ over Northern Beaches Hospital
Northern Beaches Hospital owes $280 million to Healthscope, the private hospital operator that tumbled to a $649 million loss in 2023.
- by Angus Thomson
‘Havoc’ for patients as hundreds of medicines in short supply
More than 420 medicines are in short supply, including hormone replacement therapies. Medical experts warn the shortages are at best frustrating and at worst dangerous.
- by Mary Ward and Amber Schultz
Exclusive
Healthcare
Prolific circumcision doctor banned from performing the surgery
The Medical Board of Australia has placed a series of conditions on the registration of Melbourne doctor Hershel Goldman.
- by Henrietta Cook
Victorian child confirmed to have rare and dangerous H5N1 bird flu
A critically ill child who returned from India in March was infected with the disease, which has killed millions of animals worldwide.
- by Angus Dalton and Bianca Hall
Exclusive
Healthcare
Heart surgery suspended at Melbourne hospital after second equipment failure
The fault in a machine that takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery was the second equipment malfunction at the Austin in the past month.
- by Jewel Topsfield
Explainer
Healthcare
‘Disorders of consciousness’: The million-dollar question and the mysteries of coma
An “acute brain failure” jettisons a patient, their doctors and families into an anxious twilight zone. How aware is a person in a coma? And how are decisions made in the face of uncertainty?
- by Jackson Graham
Exclusive
Healthcare
The unusual plan to reverse the long-running sperm and egg drought
In a bid to help hundreds of patients wanting to start a family, the state government has launched a campaign to encourage Victorians to donate their sperm and eggs.
- by Henrietta Cook
The virus soup that’s making Victorians so sick
Xavier complained of a headache. Within hours, he was having seizures in hospital. The five-year-old is one of the rising number of Victorians falling victim to the flu, COVID-19 or RSV.
- by Henrietta Cook and Melissa Cunningham