Clinic News

Listeriosis is a type of food poisoning caused by consumption of food that has been contaminated by Listeria bacteria. It is thought to cause around 150 hospitalisations and 15 deaths in Australia every year.

In recent weeks, an outbreak of Listeriosis linked to rockmelons grown in the Riverina area of New South Wales has resulted in two deaths in Victoria and two deaths in New South Wales, plus around 18 hospitalisations in the Eastern states. The contaminated melons were withdrawn from shops and news outlets were prompt to warn people not to eat product they may have at home.

Vaccinations for the 2018 influenza (flu) season will shortly be delivered to medical centres and pharmacies across Australia. There are a number of important changes this year, implemented in response to the particularly severe flu season experienced last year.

Why should I get vaccinated against influenza?

Influenza affects people of all ages and states of health.
Vaccination not only provides protection for yourself but reduces the risk that the people you come into contact with will be infected.

Oral contraceptive medication commonly referred to as the ‘Pill” works to prevent pregnancy by supplying the body with hormones that make an egg unsuitable for fertilisation. It is generally considered a very safe drug and its short term and long term use has been extensively studied.

There are a range of potential side effects linked to use of the Pill. Commonly reported side effects include breakthrough bleeding, increased blood pressure, nausea, weight gain, breast tenderness, vaginal infections (such as thrush) and headaches. These are mostly mild and transient symptoms, more common in the first few months of Pill usage.

Many people use after-hours doctor services when their usual doctor is closed. After hours doctors provide medical care either in your home or in special after-hours deputising clinics across Victoria.

They provide care strictly after hours meaning evenings, weekends and public holidays. They are not open during normal business hours when patients can access their own GP.

Effective from February 1st 2018, the Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) have ruled that all medications containing codeine will no longer be available without a prescription. This includes medicines that contain codeine in combination with other analgesics such as Panadeine, Nurofen Plus and Mersyndol as well as various generic pharmacy brands of pain relief and/or cough and cold medication.

Why have these changes occurred?

The Practice will be open from 8.30 – 12.30pm

From the 1st of December this year, significant and important changes have been made to the cervical cancer screening program.

Until now, sexually active women between the ages of 18-69 years were screened on a two yearly basis with a Pap smear test. The new program replaces the smear with a five yearly Cervical Screening Test (CST) for women between the ages of 25-74 years. Extensive studies have shown that cervical cancer is incredibly rare in women under 25 and screening women under this age (i.e. 18-25) has not reduced the number of cases of cervical cancer or deaths from cervical cancer.

The CST detects the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the cause of 99% of cervical cancers. The traditional Pap test examined cervical cells looking for abnormalities that could lead to cancer. The CST looks for HPV, which is the cause of those cellular abnormalities.

The test procedure is the same. Your Doctor will still use a vaginal speculum to take a cell sample from your cervix, however, the sample is suspended in liquid rather than smeared onto a glass slide like a traditional pap test.

Your first CST will be performed when you are due for your next (or first) pap smear, which is generally two years from your last one. From that point on, the testing becomes five yearly (dependent on results of course).

Having blood collected isn’t a pleasant experience, so proper preparation is essential to ensure a viable sample is taken the first time.

This is especially important if your Doctor is requesting tests that require fasting, such as cholesterol and blood glucose. In order to prepare for a blood test, the recommendations are:

Come well hydrated; drink plenty of water the day before and the day of your test.
Avoid smoking.

If you have recently turned 75 or will turn 75 in the coming year, you will likely be invited for an annual Health Assessment with your Doctor and Practice Nurse.

An initiative of the Department of Health and fully funded by Medicare, annual health assessments are designed to identify health issues and conditions that are potentially preventable and to reduce your risk of hospitalisation.

A broad range of questions and examinations are performed to provide your Doctor with a complete overview of your physical, mental and social health and overall quality of life.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is a condition where the airways become blocked when a person is asleep. It is a serious medical condition that affects a person’s health and quality of life.

The severity of the condition can vary between individuals, meaning there may be partial or complete restriction of the airway during sleep. The restriction may last from several seconds to up to a full minute. The lack of oxygen causes the person to ‘wake’ briefly, generally followed by a snort or loud snore and a gasp which restores airflow. They tend to fall back asleep immediately with no idea that this has occurred.