For most people, growing older means there are times you find it difficult to manage the day-to-day living activities. You may need extra help, or you may be caring for a family member or a friend who needs help, but you just don’t know where to start or what help you can get. You can find help by contacting “My Aged Care” at 1800 200 422 (free call) or reading the “My Aged Care” website https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/. It’s never too early to talk about getting help. Knowing what services are available before you need them will help you be prepared to make decisions about you future.

What services are available?

Care at home

“My aged Care” can help you access services at home, which can improve your wellbeing and help you stay independent. Receiving help with regular activities at the right time can help you manage better at home.

You may be eligible to receive services such as:

# household jobs like cleaning or gardening
# nursing, physiotherapy and other care
# meals
# personal care like help with getting dressed
# transport
# modifications to your home like hand rails or ramps
# equipment like walking frames
# social activities

Short-Term help

“My Aged Care” can also help you access short-term care services for situations such as:

# recovery from an illness, including after a hospital stay
# when you have had a setback and want to get your independence back
# when you or your carer needs a break (respite care).

Care in an aged care home

If you find you need ongoing help with day-to-day tasks or health care, a residential aged care home lets you live in a supported environment where help is available 24 hours a day.

Who pays for services?

The Australian Government contributes to the cost of aged care services. You are expected to contribute to the cost if you can afford to. How much you pay may depend on:

# your financial situation
# the umber and types of services you receive
# the service provider

Are you eligible for services?

A call to “My Aged Care” can help you understand:

# what services may be available 
# how much they cost
# how you can access then

“My Aged Care” may arrange a face-to-face assessment of your care needs.

How to access services

1) Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or apply for an assessment online

    For an online assessment click on the following link:   
    https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/assessment/apply-online
# You will be asked questions over the phone to help work out your needs and care arrangements – this takes at leas ten minutes.
# You can also apply for an assessment on the “My Aged Care” website.
# You will need your Medicare card.
# If you’re applying for someone else, they will need to give their consent.

2) Have a face-to-face assessment

# My Aged Care may arrange for a training assessor to come to your home.
# With your consent they will assess your care needs and eligibility for services. They will then work with you to develop a support plan, which addresses your needs, goals and preferences.
# Someone else can be with you during this visit.

3) Find out about costs

# My Aged Care can give you information about how you might have to pay. You may need to complete a financial assessment through the Department of Human Services.

4) Find a provider

# The My Age Care website can help you find and compare providers in your local area that meets your needs.

Some useful “My Aged Care” links:

Types of care: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/types-care
Help at home: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/help-at-home
Short-term care: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/short-term-care
Aged care homes: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/aged-care-homes 

 

The Free 2019 Seasonal Flu Vaccine Is Now Available at Our Medical Practice.

Getting an annual flu vaccine is the first and best way to protect yourself and your family from the flu. Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations. The best time to be vaccinated is as early as possible when the flu vaccine is available to ensure maximum protection. The protection develops two weeks after getting the injection and lasts up to a year. The more people who get vaccinated, the more people will be protected from flu, including older people, very young children, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions who are more vulnerable to serious flu complications.

Free seasonal influenza vaccine is funded for the following groups at higher risk of complications from influenza:

• All children aged 6 months to less than 5 years of age
• All individuals aged 5 years and over with medical risk conditions, namely:

• Cardiac disease, including cyanotic congenital heart disease, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure
• Chronic respiratory conditions, including suppurative lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and severe asthma
• Other chronic illnesses requiring regular medical follow up or hospitalisation in the previous year, including diabetes mellitus, chronic metabolic diseases, chronic renal failure, and haemoglobinopathies
• Chronic neurological conditions that impact on respiratory function, including multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and seizure disorders
• Impaired immunity, including HIV, malignancy and chronic steroid use
• Children aged 6 months to 10 years on long term aspirin therapy and all people aged 65 years and over
• All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over
• Pregnant women (influenza vaccine can be given at any stage of pregnancy)
• People aged 65 years and over (vaccine that is specifically designed to produce a higher immunise response is available for this group)

 

How often do I need to be vaccinated?

It is recommended that you be vaccinated against flu every year, as the different strains of flu virus can change from year to year. This protects you against the most recent flu virus strains that maybe around.

Even if the main flu strains do not change, yearly vaccination is still recommended as immunity from flu vaccination is not long lasting.

Is the flu vaccine safe if I’m pregnant?

The flu vaccine is recommended in all stages of pregnancy and has been given safely to millions of pregnant women across the world. Studies looking at the effects of pregnant women receiving the seasonal flu vaccination indicate no negative effects on pregnant women or their babies.

For more information about the NSW flu immunisation program go to:

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/seasonal_flu_vaccination.aspx

All children aged 6 months to less than 5 years of age are now eligible for the free flu vaccine in NSW, for more information go to:

https://youtu.be/aGsFYVNfhGk

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/kids-flu-shot.aspx#eligible

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/free-flu-vaccines-for-all-nsw-children-under-five-years-after-horror-flu-season-20180123-h0mqjn.html

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/all-children-under-5-to-get-free-flu-vaccine/news-story/de4d92262ec96bafb8c3a2295a6d337d

How a Pathology test can aid you and others:

Pathology tests can be used as a simple protocol for a general health check up. They can be used for early detection of diseases. Due to early diagnosis, this can be beneficial to you as it would prevent further possible implications and for your current condition to get worse than it is at the time.

Pathology tests can inform you weather you are infected with a possible contagious or noncontagious disease, an example of an infectious disease could be a bacterial infection and a non-infectious disease could be Kidney disease. It can also inform you a final diagnosis such as an assessment of a biopsy to check if a mole or lesion is a skin cancer. It can help control the effectiveness of treatment for a disease or condition such as assessing the average amount of glucose in the blood over a few months to monitor diabetic control. It can help prevent possible infectious diseases spreading to others from you but also preventing others from spreading those unwanted diseases to you also which is why this test can be significant to not just you but the community.

Interpretation of Results

These tests might be mandatory for you because of the following factors due to 1 or more out of the possible reasons for you are:

– Age and gender
– Current condition and physical findings
– History – Medical, family and social
– Medications
– Occupation
– Ethnicity
– Diet
– Other, diagnostic procedures

Pathology tests can assist a medical diagnosis

Pathology tests are associated with more than 70% of all diagnoses and almost all cancer diagnoses. They can:

– Provide information to confirm or exclude the presence of particular diseases, such as a wound swab to confirm or rule out a bacterial infection.
– Provide a final diagnosis such as an assessment of a biopsy to check if a mole or lesion is a skin cancer.

Facts:

– Pathology tests are associated with more than 70% of all diagnoses and almost all cancer diagnoses.
– Approximately 20% of pathology tests are requested to monitor and manage the progress of a disease or condition and proved information about how it is likely to progress (prognosis).

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/qupp-benefits-and-risks-for-consumers-of-pathology-testing~qupp-why-do-i-need-a-pathology-test

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/qupp-benefits-and-risks-for-consumers-of-pathology-testing~qupp-what-should-i-know

 

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program saves lives. If you’re aged 50-74 and eligible you’ll be sent a free bowel cancer screening kit. Around 80 Australians die of bowel cancer every week, but if detected early, up to 90% of cases can be successfully treated. The second phase of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program campaign launched on 20 March 2016. Information on the campaign, including posters and flyers, can be found at:

http://www.cancerscreening.gov.au/internet/screening/publishing.nsf/Content/bowel-campaign-home

With over half the adults in NSW overweight or obese, being unhealthy has become normal. Just a handful of belly fat increases risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes. The good news? It’s never too late to make healthy normal and we can help our patients choose a healthier normal.

https://www.makehealthynormal.nsw.gov.au/finding-new-normal