Australian Medical Association

MJA release - Doctors at The Alfred in Melbourne have called for increased awareness and the identification and institution of preventative measures after one of their patients drank a large volume of antibacterial hand gel, leaving him with a blood alcohol level more than five times the legal driving limit.

The 45-year-old man, who had a history of substance abuse, had been admitted to The Alfred three days earlier with alcohol-related gastritis, Dr Michael Oldmeadow and colleagues wrote in a letter published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.

The AMA congratulated Family Services Minister Jenny Macklin and Professor Fiona Stanley, Chair of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, on the launch today of a major report that will enhance the delivery of child protection services throughout Australia.

Launched in Melbourne, the report Inverting the Pyramid, aims to both recognise the pressures on current child protection services and focus on the changes that are needed to improve those services.

AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said the report properly focuses on the fact that it is not just governments that have responsibility for child protection across the community. The non-government sector has a big role to play.

AMA Position Statement: Child Abuse and Neglect - 1996. Revised 2005

Towards a National Policy for Child Abuse and Recovery