After taking a dive during the pandemic, life satisfaction bounced back in Switzerland, according to a recent survey. However, among those aged 18 to 25 life satisfaction has continued to decline, falling from 43% in 2021 to 19% in 2022. The aim of the annual survey is to assess the generation gap in Switzerland. Overall, […]
iPhone bug overloads Swiss emergency services
The latest iPhones and Apple watches automatically call emergency services when triggered by movements typically associated with accidents. False alerts on these devices have been causing emergency service phones to ring unnecessarily, particularly in the canton of Valais, reported RTS. The false alerts are being caused by the devices confusing skiing with car crash movements. […]
Medicine shortage worsens in Switzerland
Switzerland is running out of a number frequently used medicines such as paracetamol, aspirin, child cough sirup, self-injecting adrenaline pens and some antibiotics, amoxicilline for example, reported RTS. Switzerland’s Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) has described the situation as problematic and is looking at measures to alleviate the problem. The situation is not […]
Record number of recreation-related accidents in Switzerland in 2022
Accident insurer Suva recorded a record number of recreation-related accidents in 2022, reported RTS. Suva, a not-for-profit insurance company in Switzerland, insures around 2 million individuals in Switzerland every year. In 2022, it recorded around 290,000 non-work related accidents, a record figure, 14% higher than in 2021 and 4% higher than before the pandemic in […]
1 in 8 young people in French-speaking Switzerland has an e-cigarette habit
In French-speaking Switzerland 1 in 8 young people aged 14-25 is a frequent e-cigarette smoker, reported RTS. The study by Unisanté shows that two thirds would like to stop the highly addictive habit. The e-cigarette of choice for most children and young people is the disposable kind shown above. They are relatively cheap, small, easy […]
Switzerland leads again on male life expectancy
Data published by the OECD show Switzerland leading on male life expectancy at birth. The latest figure (2021) is 81.9 years. Other nations with high male life expectancy include Iceland (81.8), Norway (81.7), Japan (81.6) and Sweden (81.4). The year before, male life expectancy in Switzerland was 81.0, lower than Australia (81.2), Iceland (81.6), Japan […]
Government creates plan to stem resignations in healthcare
After the heavy workload of the Covid pandemic, the backlog of operations it created and a general shortage of qualified personnel, the challenges of working in Swiss hospitals is becoming too much for some staff, leading them to resign. Aware of this, on 25 January 2023, the Federal Council presented a plan to improve working […]
Eating freshwater fish equivalent to drinking polluted water for a month
A recent US study highlights the high pollution in freshwater fish. The risks are similar in Switzerland, reports RTS. The US study, published on Science Direct, is focused on levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These substances take a very long time to breakdown and persist and accumulate in the environment. The foods […]
Firearms at home linked to Switzerland’s exceptionally high suicide rate
The male suicide rate using firearms is higher in Switzerland than the rest of Europe. According to a recently published report the higher rate could be linked to military weapons in Swiss homes, reported RTS. The report published by a researcher at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands looks at the link between firearm […]
Hospital emergency services at point of collapse in Switzerland, say doctors
Switzerland’s emergency services are at the point of collapse, according to Vincent Ribordy of the Swiss Society of Emergency and Rescue Medicine, reported RTS. The current workload is at an unprecedented level, said Ribordy. According to the newspaper SonntagsZeitung, with nearly 14,800 unfilled jobs, no sector has as many unfilled vacancies in Switzerland as healthcare. […]
