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The saying goes that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
This year, medical groups like the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners have said what's keeping doctors away is a lack of Medicare support.
Their 2023 Health of the Nation report found that burnout, heavy workloads and greater dissatisfaction with their jobs meant almost a third of GPs were planning to bow out in the next five years.
GP Dr Kenneth McCroary from the Australian Medical Association said it's because doctors were under increasing strain.
“Remuneration compared to other specialties, the inability to keep your doors open, practices closing left right and centre because they can't afford to keep seeing their patients essentially for free, then - it's a pretty no brainer.”
Also prominent in the headlines this year: concerns over who is accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
35 percent of participants have autism as a primary diagnosis, and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has been talking all year about making sure the scheme gets back to being for those it was originally designed for - and convincing the states and territories to take on a greater share of disability funding so the scheme isn't the only option for those with a disability.
“The NDIS is not what it should be. It is not delivering the outcomes Australians with disability need and the Australian public expects. For the NDIS to reach its potential, it needs a reboot.”
That's worried neurodiversity advocates who are concerned about being left without any support.
Some - like Kristen O'Connell - have talked to SBS about not being able to get on the NDIS - or the experience of having their plans cut.
“I'd been hearing from other autistic people that they had had really big cuts to their plans when they were up for review. Then I was feeling pretty worried about my review. Sure enough, I got a letter in the middle of January telling me I would lose 75 percent of my supports with my psychologist, which is my most important support.”
Another significant development for health in 2023 was a formal apology for thalidomide survivors.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said sorry to those who had been impacted by the medication that was prescribed decades ago to expectant mothers for morning sickness, and instead caused birth defects in thousands of children, after warnings about its safety were ignored by successive governments.
One such survivor, Sue Jerome, says she has had to deal with severely underdeveloped arms and still faces a number of challenges with a body that is aging prematurely due to the impacts of the drug.
“When I was born I was taken away and all mum heard the nurse saying was 'oh my god'. I had a lot of people laughing at me. I loved my arms. I thought 'this is me, I like my little arms', but then when I'm in public I could feel the looks and the smiles and the smirks.”
COVID was also making the headlines on a regular basis.
Australia announced a twelve month inquiry into its response to the pandemic - except it isn't looking at state and territory decisions on lockdowns.
The Opposition's Anne Ruston said that was a problem.
“Well, we're concerned that any inquiry that has not got the power to compel the states and territories to participate has to be called out for exactly what it is. It's a protection racket for the states and territories and potentially a witch hunt on the previous coalition government - because so many of the decisions that impacted Australians so significantly during the pandemic were decisions of the states and territory. So we are calling on the Albanese government - when they make the announcement of the details of this we are going to be very very critical.”
The peak of the pandemic might be over, but experts have said the virus is still circulating in the country and across the world.
They have been urging people to be up to date with their vaccinations and to think about going back to mask wearing in public places.
Some states - like Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria - provided eligible residents with free vaccinations for influenza, another virus of concern.
New South Wales Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant spent a significant amount of time urging parents to get their children boosted, after a year 9 student in New South Wales, and an 11-year-old in Queensland's Sunshine Coast both died after catching Influenza B.
“So what we're actually seeing this year is a significant impact on our 5-16 year olds, or our school aged children. This is in part related to the type of influenza that is circulating, Influenza B, and that type tends to be associated with a greater impact on school aged children.”
Some good news came this year for First Nations children: the number of Indigenous kids aged zero to 14 suffering with ear or hearing problems has declined, going from 11 per cent in 2001 to 6.9 per cent in 2019.
But Professor Kelvin Kong from the University of Newcastle's School of Medicine and Public Health told NITV News that there is still much to be done to address hearing issues in First Nations people.
“The downside of it is there is still a long wait to be seen. We're still falling behind on some of our language and developmental milestones, and we're still getting quite a lot of hearing loss rate loss in the incarcerated justice system.”
Victoria made the news this year when it changed the law on public drunken-ness.
It's no longer considered a criminal offence, with Minister Ingrid Stitt declaring it would instead be treated as a public health concern.
“There's been close work between the health-led response teams that we are setting up and emergency services, and that will continue to be the case... We are of course keen to get the Collingwood service up and running, and that is only a few weeks away. And that will give us additional capacity... But I am very confident that we've got the model right because it's been based on the outcomes of the trial period and all of the data that's been available to us.”
Reaction was mixed: the Victoria Police union claiming the new regulations restricting officers' power to arrest people for public intoxication would make the state less safe, and Indigenous advocates praising the move.
They say it was about time, with decriminalisation one of the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody - thirty years ago.
Another big change to health regulations this year - a new 60 day regime for the prescribing of medicines.
Health Minister Mark Butler.
“30-day scripts make a lot of sense if you're going to your doctor and seeking a single course of medicine for a single episode of illness for example, an infectious disease. They make no sense for people who are on the same medicine, year in year out, decade in decade out, sometimes for the rest of their lives. That is why the experts advised us to allow 60-days prescriptions, which will give 60-days' supply of medicines for the price of a 30-day script. Halving the cost of medicines for six million Australians who are dealing with these ongoing health conditions.”
The Western Australian community of Bridgetown is around three hours southeast of Perth.
It made the news this year when retailers agreed to stop selling energy drinks to anyone under the age of 18.
An initial four-month trial was spearheaded by local GP Dr Sarah Youngson, who had been approached by residents worried about the increase in energy drink consumption by young people, and the impact it was having on their mental health.
She said it was contributing to anxiety, their ability to sleep, with a knock on effect of poor school attendance and overall health.
And being active and happy was something some studies picked up this year.
A social cohesion report noted that for many youngsters, they were less happy in 2023 than they'd been in previous years.
Dr James O'Donnell was the study's lead author.
“In 2023, 48% of people said they have a great sense of belonging. That's the lowest its ever been since we first started measuring this in 2007.”
Mental health has also been a particular concern for refugees and humanitarian entrants in Australia this year.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that those communities are less likely to self-report cancer and mental health conditions.
The Institute's Vanessa D'Souza says there may be cultural considerations for the under-reporting.
“There might be a reluctance or a stigma attached with talking about mental health conditions. And that may be accessing services might be difficult. So we do hope that it shines a light on some of the areas that might be improved on.”
