Commenting on the story: Health razor gang called off as Marshall prioritised COVID-19 response

What is happening at the RAH? 

Is this why my RAH Oncologist phoned me a fortnight ago and advised me that my place on the usual 6 month waiting list (already 5 1/2 month passed) for me to have my prostate cancer treated is now uncertain and it will be prolonged indefinitely?

 I still do not have a surgery date.

 The reason given for this delay was that my Oncologist claimed that there is a shortage of  anaesthetists.

Obviously this is of concern to me, due to the fact that any delay in treatment adds to the likely spread of my cancer (as is being seen on my most recent MRI, which was done three weeks ago).

I have to wonder if this delay of treatment is actually really a budget thing? – Malcolm Watts

A huge bouquet to our State government for its response to date to the Covid-19 crisis.

From re-activating hospitals to getting the homeless into accommodation, there are numerous examples of what can be achieved where bi-partisan political will exists to work for the good of the entire community.

Another bouquet for the proposed joint funding of the long overdue refurbishment of the North Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

These are great examples of what can be achieved when government provides leadership and services to the community and that takes the view that the provision of these services is not a cost to be avoided, no matter what.

The brickbat, though, is a whopper. 

According to the World Federation of Public Health Associations’ environmental health working group, the rate of people dying as a result of increased temperatures caused by climate change has been increasing for years. Heatwaves kill more Australians than any other natural disaster.

In Melbourne alone 100 or so people die every day during a heatwave. Adelaide, too, becomes ever hotter, yet our State government continues to allow the removal of big trees (whether regulated, significant or simply providers of street and home cooling canopy). 

“Replacement” programmes are not the answer; we need to stop removing our big old trees and plant new ones. 

Roads continue to become bigger and car-parking is far too cheap for the environmental price that we all pay for so many people driving their car to work each day.

That’s before we even take into account the continued impoverishment of our public transport system.

The life-saving decisions that have been made in the face of the Covid-19 crisis have been based on less evidence than we have on the ravages of climate change, yet still we refuse to act for the greater good in the face of the climate crisis.

Ordinary citizens understand that climate change is here to stay and that we must act now to prevent Adelaide from becoming unliveable.

We’re all proving right now that we can make sacrifices to achieve great things when the blowtorch is to the belly. 

We need to act on climate change the same way we are acting on Covid-19 and we need to get started on that emergency response too, before it is too late. – Joanna Wells

Commenting on the story: “Children’s brains just don’t heal themselves”

Children in out of home care may be less at risk in some way compared to if they were left in situ.

However, in my experience as a youth worker, many young people return to the situations they were removed from.

They are not happy in out of home care, and if possible, they feel out of home care is not their home.

I’ve seen young people return to our service, fill their bags with food, and go back out the door again to where they were removed from.

Further, the out of home environment often sees a mixture of young people share brick and mortar residence.

This is not a natural home life, which, can see young people become victims of further trauma at the hands of the other young people they are forced to live with.

Out of home care is not a long-term solution. Workers need to be on the ground in the homes working with the families.

It’s the parents (in collaboration with the young person) that need retraining in order to stop another generation becoming part of the out of home care system and for the repeat of another stolen generation. – Hamish Gale

Commenting on the story: Casual university workers fall through the cracks

What about university students who are working hard juggling studying and a job?

If they are full time students they’re not looking for work, so they can’t access JobSeeker payment.

And if their employer declines to register for JobKeeper, then they have no income and no recourse. – Trish Richter

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