Hervey Bay Gossip

Here in Hervey Bay there must be thousands of people on anti-cholesterol drugs who think that by taking these drugs they’re prolonging their lives … but are they?

Is the risk of heart attack actually reduced by lowering a person’s cholesterol level?

Medical research now be suggesting that the benefits of anti-cholesterol drugs by be overstated. You can read the BusinessWeek report here.

The pressure is really on parents these days to take an active role in helping to keep their kids’ weight down.

Getting the right advice about nutrition for Australian kids is not all that easy but a new website has been launched today that can help parents make the right choices about the best food for their kids. Choice has launched Food for Kids and you can find it by following the link.

Who cares if it turns out to be a false alarm - if you have the symptoms call the ambulance

Health Minister Stephen Robertson today urged Queenslanders not to let pride fool them into ignoring signs they may be suffering a heart attack.

“Approximately 25,000 Australians die from coronary heart disease each year; including more than 4,500 Queenslanders,” he said.

“More than half of all heart attack deaths occur before the patient reaches hospital and a quarter die within an hour of their first symptoms.

“If people suffer symptoms like chest pain, upper body discomfort or have difficulty breathing they should immediately telephone Triple 0 for an ambulance.

“Every minute counts so don’t ignore the warning signs.

“No one is going to think you’re silly if you go to hospital only to find out you didn’t suffer a heart attack after all.

“Surviving a heart attack is much more important than preserving your pride.”

Mr Robertson said heart disease remains one of the leading causes of avoidable hospitalisation in Queensland.

“Approximately 33,000 Queenslanders are hospitalised each year for heart-related disease.

“Many of these hospitalisations are avoidable if people make simple lifestyle choices to minimise their risk of developing heart disease.

“Risk factors that contribute to heart disease include medical conditions such as high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes, and lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical inactivity and obesity.

“By changing your lifestyle and behaviours you can help reduce your risk of experiencing a cardiac event.”

Mr Robertson said to ensure good health, people should aim to:

    * Avoid smoking

    * Eat healthy foods to help lower blood cholesterol

    * Be physically active

    * Control their blood pressure

    * Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

Heart problems are not confined to adults. Many young children suffer from heart problems too. More information about Heart Kids Queensland can be found at the website http://www.health.qld.gov.au/qldheartkids

… you need to remember to have your flu shots.

Yes, it’s that time of year again - the time when we need to front up to the doctor and have our annual flu shot. It’s important to have a fresh vaccination each year because your level of immunity declines over the course of a year. Each year fresh strains of influenza appear and the vaccine is updated to cover those fresh strains.

People over the age of 65 and both adults and children with chronic diseases should be vaccinated every year.

The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends vaccination for:

·all people aged 65 years and older

·all Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and older

·adults and children with heart, lung, kidney or liver disorders or diabetes

·children with congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, or severe asthma requiring frequent hospitalisation

·adults and children on therapy which lowers their immunity

·people with HIV

·residents of nursing homes and residential care facilities plus people in close contact with them including family members, healthcare providers and staff of nursing homes.

The Minister for Health advises that the influenza vaccine is free under the National Immunisation Program for:

·all people aged 65 years and older

·all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and older and

·Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 to 49 years who have an underlying chronic illness.

These people can receive the free vaccine by visiting their local GP or health clinic.

Anyone who is not eligible for the free vaccine will need to visit their local GP or health clinic to obtain a prescription to purchase it from their local pharmacy.

Anyone who is not eligible for the free vaccine will need to visit their local GP or health clinic to obtain a prescription to purchase it from their local pharmacy.

Hervey Bay and Maryborough hospitals are on track to resume comprehensive orthopaedic services for patients early in 2007, Health Minister Stephen Robertson said today.

Mr Robertson told State Parliament that some limited primary orthopaedic trauma and outpatient services have already resumed at Hervey Bay Hospital.

“The Fraser Coast Health Service District has also recommenced accepting referrals for orthopaedic surgical services and has fracture clinics at Hervey Bay and Maryborough Hospitals.

“And, from 13 November, a limited range of elective orthopaedic surgery as well as outpatient clinical services will recommence at the two hospitals.

“I am also advised that full orthopaedic services - including elective surgery - are on track to resume at the hospitals in January 2007.

“Queensland Health has recruited four additional visiting orthopaedic specialists plus new junior medical officers to staff the service.

“And clinical rosters, on-call arrangements, theatre and outpatient clinic schedules have been finalised.”

Mr Robertson said public orthopaedic services in the Fraser Coast Health Service District were suspended in May 2005 following concerns about the delivery and quality of that care.

Hervey Bay and Maryborough hospitals are on track to resume comprehensive orthopaedic services for patients early in 2007, Health Minister Stephen Robertson said today.

Mr Robertson told State Parliament that some limited primary orthopaedic trauma and outpatient services have already resumed at Hervey Bay Hospital.

“The Fraser Coast Health Service District has also recommenced accepting referrals for orthopaedic surgical services and has fracture clinics at Hervey Bay and Maryborough Hospitals.

“And, from 13 November, a limited range of elective orthopaedic surgery as well as outpatient clinical services will recommence at the two hospitals.

“I am also advised that full orthopaedic services - including elective surgery - are on track to resume at the hospitals in January 2007.

“Queensland Health has recruited four additional visiting orthopaedic specialists plus new junior medical officers to staff the service.

“And clinical rosters, on-call arrangements, theatre and outpatient clinic schedules have been finalised.”

Mr Robertson said public orthopaedic services in the Fraser Coast Health Service District were suspended in May 2005 following concerns about the delivery and quality of that care.

The ABC is reporting that a senior Maryborough doctor is claiming that private GP services in the city are in crisis due to a severe shortage of doctors.

The Wide Bay Division of General Practice suggests that patients in Marborough will need to change their expectations of medical services until the shortage is overcome.

The Queensland government seems intent on sending out important information disguised as junk mail.l Tucked away in the middle of one of the huge bundles of junk mail that was delivered here in Hervey Bay over the weekend was an important little piece from Queensland Health.

Some time back Queensland Health opened a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week health line that anyone can call if they have a health concern. In the weekend’s junk mail was a handy fridge magnet that clearly displays the phone number you can call if you have a health concern.

It’s certainly something that can come in very handy but why deliver it in the junk mail?

Senior moments are something that we all have as we grow older - or even as we’re working under a great deal of pressure - and so many of us worry that they are heralding the onset of dementia but are they really?

An ongoing study in New South Wales suggests that we are probably the worst people to judge whether or not a senior moment is a warning of worse to come simply because we all think that it is. And maybe it isn’t - maybe it’s just a sign that we’re getting a little older.

You can ready more at ‘Senior Moments - Not Always What We Think’

Here in Hervey Bay we have a new anesthetist starting work at the hosptial tomorrow and another doctor starting in the next few weeks. It’s good to see that we’re benefiting from the Government’s recruitment programme.

Queensland public hospitals have 2,810 more doctors, nurses and allied health professionals on staff than a year ago, Health Minister Stephen Robertson said today.

“That’s more than double the target we set ourselves through the Health Action Plan to recruit an extra 300 doctors, 500 nurses and 400 allied health professionals by December 2006,” he said.

“Queensland Health clinical workforce statistics for August show our public hospitals have increased their clinical staff since June 2005 by:

·397 extra doctors (132% of 300 target)

·1,812 extra nurses (362% of 500 target)

·601 extra allied health professionals (150% of 400 target)

“These figures come from Queensland Health’s payroll database so they’re real doctors, real nurses and real allied health staff.

“That means we have 4,949 doctors working in our public hospitals today compared to 4,552 doctors in June 2005.

“We employ 23,723 nurses today compared to 21,911 in June 2005.

“And we have 6,407 allied health professionals compared to 5,806 in June last year.

“Our success to date in recruiting extra doctors, nurses and allied health staff is one indicator that we are starting to turn the corner on health.”

Now that we have all these people coming into the health system let’s see if we can keep them.

The State Government has commenced construction of a new $1.4 million hydrotherapy pool to help Fraser Coast patients with their rehabilitation and recovery.

Health Minister Stephen Robertson said today the new pool will be based at the Maryborough Base Hospital campus.

“This is a vital piece of infrastructure which will assist patients recovering after treatment at Fraser Coast health facilities.

“It will provide a supervised environment for hospital patients and residential care facility clients to access hydrotherapy or aquatic physiotherapy.

“Patients with conditions such as arthritis, back and neck pain, sports injuries, work-related injuries, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s Disease as well as people recovering from orthopaedic surgery and stroke will benefit.”

Mr Robertson said the hydrotherapy pool would be located between Community Health and the new Yaralla Place on the Maryborough Base Hospital campus,

“This new pool will be built to Australian Standards and has been designed with the assistance of a consultant engineering firm.

“The pool will be built by FK Gardner and is expected to be completed early next year.”