Latest news with #barriers
CBC
12-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Montreal health officials call for better access to tuberculosis care after sharp rise in cases
Montreal public health officials are calling for better access to tuberculosis care after a sharp rise in the number of cases reported last year. The regional health authority reported 203 cases in 2024, compared to an average of 123 cases per year over the previous decade, representing a 53 per cent increase. "This significant increase in the last year breaks with the stability observed over the previous years, which followed a downward trend observed over several decades until the early 2000s," says an annual report published online last week. While tuberculosis levels are low in Canada overall, the report authors said the illness disproportionately affects certain groups, including Indigenous people and those born in countries where the disease is endemic. About 89 per cent of Montreal's cases since 2015 involved people born outside Canada, and most contracted the disease outside the country. Some 48 per cent of last year's cases were among people who were not covered by the province's health insurance plan, up from nine per cent in 2015. While some of those patients may have private insurance, or temporary health benefits under the interim federal health program, the authors say many still face "significant barriers" to care, urging the province to develop new programs to reach them. "The growing proportion of people without [provincial health insurance] coverage is an invitation to consider the creation of strategies and programs, as other Canadian provinces have done, to reduce access barriers for the management and treatment of tuberculosis among people without adequate insurance, to facilitate the work of clinical and public health teams and, in so doing, protect the entire population," the report says. The report also found that cases of syphilis have risen about 60 per cent over the last 10 years in Montreal, from 348 cases in 2014 to 556 in 2024. While the vast majority of cases involved men, the number of women being diagnosed is growing, "suggesting an extension of the epidemic towards the heterosexual population," the report reads. Cases of syphilis have been rising all over the world in recent years, after the disease almost disappeared in the early 2000s. The report also notes that Montreal experienced outbreaks of a number of other infectious diseases in 2024, including a measles outbreak between February and June, a "cyclical" rise in whooping cough and a spate of mpox cases between August and December.
Times
11-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Businesses led by disabled people face barriers that ‘cost UK £230bn'
Businesses led by people with disabilities face significant 'financial, operational, and accessibility barriers' which are costing the economy as much as £230 billion, a government-backed report has found. The final report from the independent Lilac review, published on Monday, calls for central and local government, financial institutions and business support organisations to make changes to create what it calls a 'more inclusive economy'. The review, which began in February 2024, seeks to identify barriers faced by disabled-led businesses in the UK, and recommend ways to remove them. It says that factors such as a higher likelihood of economic disadvantage, the ongoing costs of managing a disability, fear of losing welfare or benefits, and gaps in productivity performance due to managing health conditions are contributing to
Bloomberg
08-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK-US trade pact: What we know so far
President Trump announced a trade framework with the UK, hailing it as a 'breakthrough' that will bring down barriers and expand market access for American goods. Lizzy Burden explains. (Source: Bloomberg)
ABC News
06-05-2025
- ABC News
New Port Augusta Prison unit had barrier gaps prisoners could fit through
A new section of Port Augusta Prison had to be fixed before it could open after it was discovered barriers had been constructed at a width prisoners could slip through. The Blue Bush Unit at the prison was due to receive its first high-security prisoners from Yatala Labour Prison in March, but staff raised safety concerns prior to its opening. The department ultimately agreed to fix the barriers after the Public Service Association (PSA) launched a case in the SA Employment Tribunal. PSA general secretary Natasha Brown said the issue involved a window barrier separating staff and prisoners. "Effectively what it was was a window to the officers' station that contained gaps which were large enough for a prisoner to be able to squeeze through," she said. " So that would have potentially allowed prisoners unauthorised access into what should have been a secure staff area, posing some very serious safety concerns for our members. " A problem involving barriers at a new Port Augusta prison unit has been resolved. ( Reuters: Jorge Adorno, file photo ) According to the union, workers requested that prison management acknowledge the hazard — but an email to all staff stated that the Department for Correctional Services (DCS) "don't agree that the issue identified poses an imminent risk of serious harm to staff by the meaning of the WHS legislation". After the case was launched with the tribunal, the department committed it would not open the unit until the gaps were secure. The work is now complete. Ms Brown said it was "shocking" that the department designed and installed the barrier without realising the safety implications. "But what's even more shocking is that after the risk had been identified to them, the department continued to push for the unit to be opened without fixing it first," she said. PSA general secretary Natasha Brown says the design flaw could have seen prisoners accessing a secure staff area. ( Supplied: Public Service Association of South Australia ) She said the design flaw could have had "disastrous consequences". "Prisons are dangerous environments at the best of times," she said. "That's why it's so critical that the department is doing everything possible to reduce any potential risks and provide the safety environment and the safest systems possible." In a statement, a DCS spokesperson said: "The Department worked collaboratively with WHS representatives and the matter was resolved two days after being lodged which allowed Bluebush to reopen on 28 March 2025." "The Bluebush redevelopment represents a substantial investment by the State Government to significantly improve the safety and amenity of the unit for staff and prisoners."
