{"id":32582,"date":"2025-05-06T04:08:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T04:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=32582"},"modified":"2025-05-06T04:08:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T04:08:15","slug":"2-5-million-lung-bus-in-tweed-heads-to-protect-workers-against-dust-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/2-5-million-lung-bus-in-tweed-heads-to-protect-workers-against-dust-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"$2.5 million Lung Bus in Tweed Heads to protect workers against dust diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Minns Labor Government has renewed its commitment to protect workers from dust diseases with its new $2.5 million state-of-the -art Lung Health Mobile Clinic which is providing lung health checks to thousands of people across New South Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new lung bus is currently in Tweed Heads to provide lung screening checks. These lung health checks can be lifesaving by ensuring early detection and treatment of dust diseases like asbestosis, silicosis and mesothelioma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lung bus program provides free lung screening checks to more than 5,000 workers annually in regional NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The icare Lung Bus is travelling the length and breadth of the state, including visits to Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Taree, Tuncurry, Spears Point, Gosford, Nowra, Shellharbour, Port Kembla, Bathurst, Dubbo, Broken Hill, Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Tamworth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new mobile clinic features several innovations including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Digital chest X-ray technology, providing precise and reliable first instance imaging.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhanced spirometry (lung function) testing equipment to evaluate breathing capacity and respiratory performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Digital monitoring systems to streamline diagnostics and care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A backup power supply to ensure uninterrupted operation in remote locations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Greater accessibility and comfort, with larger clinical space designed to support both staff and clients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The brand-new Lung Bus continues the legacy of the state\u2019s original mobile service which served the community for nearly 16 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That Bus travelled more than 700,000km (more than 17 times around the world), screening more than 53,000 people, and visiting over 300 destinations across NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is one of many measures to protect workers from dust diseases, including those caused by silica and asbestos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Minns Labor Government has established a new Expert Taskforce to oversee and help address silica related health risks for workers in tunnelling projects<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Minns Labor Government has established a new Expert Taskforce to help address silica related health risks in tunnelling projects, following revelations of rising silicosis cases in tunnelling leading up to 2023 and led the campaign for the national ban on engineered stone which started last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NSW Government is funding a team of dedicated silica safety inspectors to ensure businesses are complying with its strengthened laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Workers can also arrange a free lung screening at icare\u2019s Sydney CBD clinic, or with local providers regionally when the lung bus is not in that part of the state. To book a free lung health check, contact icare on 1800 550 027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst lung bus bookings are at capacity, for more information on lung health checks or to arrange a screening, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.icare.nsw.gov.au\/employers\/employer-obligations\/lung-screening-service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the icare website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More information on the full list of Lung Bus destinations can be found on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.icare.nsw.gov.au\/injured-or-ill-people\/work-related-dust-disease\/services-and-support\/lung-screening-service\/workers-mobile-clinic-lung-bus-bookings-for-workers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the icare website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Minister for Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe new Mobile Clinic underscores the Minns Labor Government\u2019s commitment to removing barriers like cost and location, ensuring workers across NSW have access to the critical support and care they need to safeguard their health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlong with enforcement of the recent ban on engineered stone, the new Lung Bus demonstrates our commitment to improve outcomes for workers exposed to hazardous dust across NSW.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI welcome the $2.5 million investment into the new icare Lung Bus which will provide thousands of health checks for people living in regional NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur regional communities remain front and centre when it comes to ensuring early detection and treatment of dust diseases like asbestosis, silicosis, and mesothelioma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Minister for the North Coast Janelle Saffin said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s great that the icare Lung Bus is a service that comes right to our doorstep here on the North Coast so people don\u2019t have to travel to see specialists in big cities if they want to get a check-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese health checks can save lives. Diagnosing and treating dust-related diseases earlier gives people the best possible chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Member for Tweed Geoff Provest said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI welcome the new Lung Health Mobile Clinic to Tweed Heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important workers who may have been exposed to dust related diseases are screened early and often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe new iCare Lung Bus helps provide important screening services directly to the areas where it is needed most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Icare Group Executive of General Insurance and Care, Britt Coombe said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA lung health check could save your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEarly detection is critical to effective treatment, and we\u2019re here to make sure every worker, no matter where they live, has access to world-class care.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Minns Labor Government has renewed its commitment to protect workers from dust diseases with its new $2.5 million state-of-the -art Lung Health Mobile Clinic which is providing lung health checks to thousands of people across New South Wales. The new lung bus is currently in Tweed Heads to provide lung screening checks. These lung &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/2-5-million-lung-bus-in-tweed-heads-to-protect-workers-against-dust-diseases\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;$2.5 million Lung Bus in Tweed Heads to protect workers against dust diseases&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32582"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32583,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32582\/revisions\/32583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}