A team at University Hospital in Ontario performed Canada's first robotic deep brain simulation surgery using the Renishaw neuromate robot, in our roundup of healthcare news from around the world.

• Australia: SA's 2023 budget pours billions into health. But will it be enough to 'fix the ramping crisis'?: The Malinauskas Government is continuing its record investment in healthcare, investing an additional $2.3 billion in new health initiatives over the forward estimates to meet demand pressures, ease pressure on hospitals, and address ramping. This funding includes an additional $1.3 billion over five years to meet activity demand pressures, and $567 million over four years to support SA Health as it transitions from the height of the pandemic response to a "living with COVID" framework. Additional investments include overtime pay for clinicians, ED alternatives, the SA virtual care service, infrastructure upgrades, an EMR, and genomics research.
• Australia: Doctors call for overhaul of 'sickcare' system: The Australian Medical Association is calling for an overhaul in how Australia invests in healthcare based on the country's performance on chronic disease prevention and access to timely care. A report outlining their future vision calls for five investment areas, each of which promises to save the economy money overall (in the report, each of the five areas comes with an overall cost-benefit analysis to the national economy). The priorities are: investing in general practice to see wound care visits and elderly wellness checks; investing in public hospitals to expand inpatient, surgical, outpatient, and post-discharge capacity; investing in private hospitals to expand ASCs and day surgery options; passing sugar taxes; and invest in telehealth access and embed TH into current workflows.  
• Canada: Centralized surgery queues cut patient wait times but surgeons slow to get on board, doctors say: The rate of adoption of centralized/single-line waitlists in Canada has been hampered by surgeons' hesitation, who have their own waitlists and are used to operating independently. Centralized referrals can reduce wait times by 20-30%, according to the OMA. The president of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons says that surgeons "are willing to get on board with centralized wait lists" but will need help from hospitals and the government to provide the necessary infrastructure and support.
• Canada: University Hospital team performs first-in-Canada robot-assisted brain surgery: A team at University Hospital in Ontario performed Canada's first robotic deep brain simulation surgery using the Renishaw neuromate robot. The use of the robot shortens the length of the procedure and enables more accuracy.
• Canada: Hamilton hospital staff deliver petition to protest healthcare privatization: Hospital staff called on leaders to oppose Bill 60, the controversial reform that will allow more private clinics to deliver publicly-funded surgeries. Staff at public hospitals are concerned that the private sector will poach workers and drain resources from the public system. More than 2,400 staff across St. Joseph's Healthcare signed the petition.
• England: Northumbria Trust uses AI to create individualized risk scores for orthopedic patients, send them to appropriate care site: Due to a major patient backlog, Northumbria Healthcare NHS FoundationTrust sought technology to triage patients to the right doctors and operating facilities. Partnering with Microsoft Azure, the trust developed an AI application with 220 different input parameters that creates tailored risk scores for orthopedic patients and uses the risk score to determine if patients can be safely scheduled at a lower specification hospital.
• England: NHS hits record elective waitlist as junior doctors strike; experts call for publication of new workforce plan: The NHS hit an all-time high of 7.42 million on its elective procedure waitlist, though the number of patients waiting 52 weeks or longer continues to fall. This came as junior doctors launched a 72-hour strike over pay and conditions — junior doctors have seen a 26 percent pay cut in real terms in the last 15 years. Experts have called on the government to release its newly costed NHS workforce plan, noting the need to address not just frontline numbers, but the 10,000 person shortfall in management.
• England: New 'teledermatology' service to roll out across all GP sites, enable sizeable boost to skin cancer patient outcomes: GPs will be equipped with a new camera-lens technology that is interoperable with NHS specialist and AI systems and can be fitted to GPs' iPhones. Taking a high-res, clinically optimized photo will enable AI algorithms to offer predictive diagnostics within seconds to GPs, helping to determine the need for specialist consults. The technology has already helped avoid 10,000 unnecessary specialist consults and doubled the number of consults dermatologists can have in a single day.
• Finland: Healthcare Robot with 'Sense of Touch' Could Reduce Infection Spread: A first-of-its-kind robot which gives clinicians the ability to "feel" patients remotely has been launched as part of a Finnish hospital pilot by deep tech robotics company Touchlab, a new tenant of the world-leading centre for robotics and AI the National Robotarium. Controlled by operators wearing an electronic haptic glove, the telerobot is equipped with the most advanced electronic e-skin technology ever developed to transfer a sense of touch from its robotic hand to users. E-skin is a material which is made up of single or multiple ultra-thin force sensors to transmit tactile sensations like pressure, vibration, or motion from one source to another in real-time. The three-month pilot at Laakso Hospital in Helsinki will see a team of nurses explore how robotics systems can help deliver care, reduce workload, and prevent the spread of infections. 
• Finland: Amnesty International report highlights health inequality and lack of access to healthcare in Finland: Amnesty International has released a new report titled "Tiedän etten saa apua" (I know I won't receive help), shedding light on the significant disparities in healthcare and the lack of equal access to healthcare services in Finland. Despite international human rights bodies criticizing Finland for deficiencies in healthcare, the country has failed to ensure sufficient funding and accessibility to primary healthcare, according to the report.
• KSA: Saudi Arabia needs an extra 175,000 healthcare workers by 2030, according to report: Saudi Arabia will need an additional 175,000 doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers by 2030 to tackle shortages and meet the healthcare requirements of its growing population, according to a new report. This includes about 69,000 extra doctors, 64,000 extra nurses, and 42,000 extra allied health professionals. Currently around 232,000 medical staff are expatriates and as a part of the Saudization drive in the healthcare sector, most of these jobs must be filled by Saudi nationals. Due to the increase in population, which is expected to reach 45 million this year, and the requirement for new healthcare facilities, an additional 26,000 to 43,000 beds will be required too.
• Singapore: MoH launches benchmarks for private health services: The Ministry of Health (MoH), Singapore, has released benchmarks for 29 different procedures and their associated doctor and hospital fees. These benchmarks are the first such private sector reference points, and offer a recommended range for costs. Private healthcare costs are rapidly rising, with private hospital fees being the main driver. This measure is designed to provide patients with greater information when choosing a provider and will help contain costs.
• Switzerland: Novartis set to eliminate many leadership positions as part of 1,400 layoffs in Switzerland: Before revealing its plan in June to cut 8,000 jobs, Novartis provided a hint of things to come two months earlier when it eliminated the positions of three of its C-suite executives. Now comes news that more leaders could face the chopping block. Of the 1,400 jobs the pharma giant plans to cut in Switzerland, up to half will be leadership positions. Two months ago, Novartis announced it was reducing its staff from 108,000 to 100,000, with the goal to save $1 billion. Novartis was already in the process of merging its oncology and pharmaceuticals departments before making the cost-cutting announcement.