'High chance' of Cyclone Zane forming

THE fifth cyclone of the season is highly likely to develop within the next 24 hours, forecasters say.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Lauren Murphy says there is a “high chance” the low, which is currently 940km east-north-east off Cairns, will form into a cyclone by tomorrow.

It is expected to cross the coast somewhere between Torres Strait and Cook Town on Wednesday, but should not reach a category three system.

“We are expecting it to be on the weaker scale of cyclones if it does form,” she said.

The Bureau is expecting to issue a tropical cyclone watch warning for the far north Queensland coast later today, as the system, which would be called Zane, intensifies.

“There are already strong wind warnings current for parts of the tropical Queensland coast,” she said.

“It has showed signs of development over the past 12 hours and (the system) is in a favourable environment for further development.”

The Bureau said 14 tropical cyclones have formed in the month of April since 1970, with only nine impacting the Queensland coast.

And if the cyclone crosses the coast on Wednesday, May 1, it would be the first to do so in May since Cyclone Lisa in 1991.

Meanwhile, southeast Queensland is tipped to have mostly fine conditions, with the chance of isolated showers in some areas.

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Patient had one in 10 chance of dying

JAYANT Patel's patient had a statistical "one in 10" chance of dying after major surgery that removed a part of his bowel, a court has heard.

Patel, 62, has pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to the manslaughter of Mervyn John Morris, 75, who died three weeks after a Hartmann's procedure removed part of his colon at Bundaberg Hospital on June 14, 2003.

Dr Dawid Smalberger told the jury he was unsure how much the ''significant'' weight loss experienced by Mr Morris would have increased the risk of him dying as a result of the surgery on May 23, 2003.

But he agreed the weight loss reported by Mr Morris may have increased that risk.

Mr Smalberger said Mr Morris may have had radiation proctitis - inflammation caused by radiotherapy - as well as diverticulitis - inflammation of sacs that form in the colon - which caused two different types of rectal bleeding as well as ''confusion'' for treating doctors.

He told the jury it was his opinion that Patel had ''conservatively'' treated Mr Morris' ongoing ''per rectum'' bleeding by using a ''watch and wait'' approach to try and explain ongoing blood loss.

Mr Smalberger explained how Mr Morris ''aspirated'' fluid into his lungs while doctors were trying to intubate him and said the patient's airways may have been permanently weakened as a result.

He told the jury it was his belief Mr Morris died from a bacterial infection that started in his abdominal cavity, spread into his blood and caused septicaemia and organ failure.

Patel is accused of criminal negligence for mis-diagnosing Mr Morris' rectal bleeding as diverticulitis and then operating on him despite his age and pre-existing health conditions that made surgery especially risky.

Crown prosecutor Peter Davis SC said the cause of Mr Morris' bleeding may have been radiation proctitis, but argued surgery should never have gone ahead without first finding the source of the bleeding.

Barrister Ken Fleming QC, for Patel, said his client was not negligent in treating Mr Morris, adding he ''did what he honestly thought was right'' but ''complications moved in''.

The trial continues before Justice George Fryberg.

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Fat chance of equality for obese mums

STUDY: Research has found the body weight of mums-to-be relates to their treatment by maternity care providers. Picture: Alex Coppel Source: Herald Sun

MUMS-to-be considered overweight are treated worse by maternity care providers because of their body weight, a study has found.

Research conducted by the University of Queensland’s Queensland Centre for Mothers and Babies (QCMB) investigated "weight stigma’’ from the perspectives of women receiving care and those who provide it.

It was found obese or overweight women had a fat chance of receiving the same level of treatment as those with a slimmer figure.

QCMB's Dr Yvette Miller said the study, which used state-wide data from a biannual survey of thousands of Queensland mums, as well as a survey of health professionals, found women who had a higher Body Mass Index in pregnancy reported instances of negative treatment from maternity care providers.

“These women were more likely to report negative care experiences during their pregnancy and after their birth, such as not being treated with respect, kindness and understanding, care providers not being open and honest, and not genuinely caring for their well-being,” she said.

“Professionals with training in both the medical and midwifery fields across Australia responded differently to fictional case presentations of a pregnant patient, depending on whether they had a normal-weight, overweight or obese BMI, although nothing else about the patient was different.

“Professionals held less positive attitudes towards caring for overweight or obese pregnant women, compared to normal weight pregnant women. Attitudes such as being annoyed by the patient, feeling as though seeing the patient was a waste of their time, and having less patience or a personal desire to help and support them.

“They also perceived overweight and obese pregnant women as less likely to be healthy, to take care of themselves and to be self-disciplined, even though all other health indicators for the fictional patients were exactly the same.”

Dr Miller said these results provided strong preliminary evidence that weight stigma was present in maternity care settings in Queensland, especially given the researchers investigated both women's and future care providers' perspectives.

“We need to develop strategies to recognise and combat weight stigma when we are training our maternity care professionals,” she said.

“People who are subjected to these kind of discriminatory behaviours and attitudes are more likely to delay medical appointments and preventive healthcare procedures, to binge eat and avoid exercise, and to have poorer psychological health."

The research, titled Weight stigma in maternity care: women's experiences and care providers' attitudes, has been published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.

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