News

We are now able to vaccinate patients in phases 1A, 1B and 2A. This includes all patients over the age of 50, patients with eligible chronic health conditions and those who qualify based on their employment, including health care workers. You can check to see which phase you will be eligible in by using https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility.

The following links contain important information that you will need when you have your Covid-19 vaccination.

Please read through and complete the Consent form for Covid-19 vaccination and bring this to your first vaccination appointment. If you are unsure of how you should complete this form or have answered yes to any of the questions on page 2, please call and speak to our reception staff. We may need to reschedule your appointment or make an appointment for you to speak to a doctor before you can have your vaccine.

The information sheet Preparing for Covid-19 vaccination will help guide you on what you can do to be ready for your appointment.

On the day of your appointment please make sure that you wear a short, loose sleeve so that the site for vaccination is easily accessible. If it is a cooler day you can wear a jumper or jacket over the sleeve but please make sure that it is one that is easy to take off.

Please also find attached information sheet.

• COVID-19 vaccination – Consent form for COVID-19 vaccination – https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/covid-19-vaccination-consent-form-for-covid-19-vaccination

The following links are information you may find useful:

• https://www.health.gov.au/resources/videos/covid-19-vaccines-development-times-animation
• https://www.health.gov.au/resources/videos/covid-19-vaccines-tga-approval-process
• https://www.health.gov.au/resources/videos/covid-19-vaccines-priority-rollout-animation
• https://www.health.gov.au/resources/videos/covid-19-vaccines-how-vaccines-work
• COVID-19 vaccination – Easy Read resources | Australian Government Department of Health

Ontario Medical Clinic are encouraging anyone with the following symptoms to please not present to our clinic but to phone and make a telehealth consultation with your doctor. It is up to your GP to then take further actions as he or she sees fit. The symptoms to watch out for are:

• Fever
• Chills or sweats
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• Runny nose
• Loss of sense of smell

In certain circumstances headache, muscle soreness, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea may also be considered.

If you have any of the symptoms, however mild, you should seek advice and get tested. To get further advice, call the 24-hour coronavirus hotline 1800 675 398, your general practitioner or use our online self-assessment tool

When you go overseas, you may be exposed to a wide range of infectious diseases. Before you go, learn about the health risks in your destination. See your health provider early so you can get vaccinated and take other steps to reduce the risk of getting sick while you’re away. If you have recently travelled overseas and have returned to Australia feeling unwell please make an appointment to see your doctor.

A great resource to have a look at before travelling is smartraveller.gov.au

Please note we have been advised that there will be roadworks at the intersection of 13^th Street and Ontario Avenue starting from Tuesday 17^th September going through to February 2020.  There will be delays in traffic and/or road closures during this time so you may need to access Ontario Avenue via 11^th Street.  Please leave enough time to travel to your appointments to allow for these delays. 

Red Nose Day is held annually on the last Friday in June. This fundraiser is SIDS and Kids major form of raising awareness and much needed funds for the organisation. SIDS is the most common cause of death in children between one month and one year old. 

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden, unexplained death of a newborn child during sleep.

The exact cause of SIDS is unknown but theories include environmental stressors such as sleeping on the stomach or side, overheating and accidental suffocation from soft objects or during bed sharing.

Proposed methods of reducing the risks include putting the child on their back to sleep, providing a firm mattress with no loose bedding and in a relatively cool sleeping environment.

Ontario Medical Clinic will have a product box at our front desk for you to purchase Red Noses, Pens, Plush Toys and more. Please show your support by purchasing a product. Your help will be appreciated.  

For more information go the website www.rednose.org.au

Working smoke alarms provide vital early warning in the event of a fire. Smoke alarms are essential to wake people if a fire breaks out as when people are asleep they can’t smell smoke. They give occupants early warning and time to evacuate safely.

A good time to remember to change your smoke alarm batteries is when you change your clocks twice a year, being when daylight saving time begins and ends. Daylight savings ends on Sunday the 7th April 2017 this year so get up on those step ladders and change the battery in your smoke alarm.

Scalds are burns from hot liquids or steam. Everyday items used in and around the house cause the most scald injuries. Such things as hot drinks, fat and hot cooking oil, steam and vapour, water from saucepans or kettles and running hot water from taps, showers and baths. A burn is an injury to the body’s tissue resulting from heat, chemicals, electricity or sunlight. The severity of a burn depends on the amount of tissue affected and the depth of the injury.

Burns and scalds are a major cause of serious injury in children from newborn to 14 years old but especially those aged between one and two years old due to their increased mobility and natural curiosity to explore their surroundings. A child’s sensitive skin burns far more easily than adult skin.

Immediate first aid will reduce the severity of a burn. If someone has received a burn, you should apply cool running water (not ice or iced water) for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Carefully remove constrictive clothing only if the skin is not blistered or stuck to the clothing. If possible remove all jewellery and watches as burns cause swelling and it may hinder circulation. Cover the burn using a clean dressing (a clean sheet, non-fluffy towel/tea towel or glad wrap). Do not use adhesive dressings, apply fat, ointment or lotions, break a blister or touch the burn. If possible elevate the burnt limb to minimise swelling. Keep the child covered where possible so they don’t get cold and try to keep them as calm as possible.

If the burn is larger than a 20 cent coin, see your doctor or go to the emergency department of your local hospital.

Ways to help reduce the risk of children burning themselves

• Keep hot drinks out of reach and never drink a hot drink with a baby or child in your lap.
• Turn pan handles towards the back away from where a child may reach and grab. Try to use the back hot plates where possible.
• Reduce the temperature of the hot tap water at the basin, bath and shower.
• Never leave children alone in the bathroom or kitchen.
• Put cold water in the bath first and then bring up the temperature with hot water.

If a child is burned, apply immediate first aid. Dial triple zero (000) for an ambulance if the injury is severe.

Melanoma March is the perfect opportunity to help raise awareness and enable much needed research to be undertaken to move closer to a cure.

Melanoma March is in its eighth year and is now Melanoma Institute Australia’s major annual fundraising campaign to support Melanoma research. Research is making a huge difference with breakthroughs, tripling the life expectancy for advanced Melanoma patients however more needs to be done.

In Australia 1 in 14 men and 1 in 24 women will be diagnosed with melanoma sometime in their life. Melanoma is often referred to as Australia’s national cancer. Melanoma is the most common cancer in young Australians aged between 15 and 39 years old and kills more young Australians between the ages of 20 and 39 years old than any other single cancer.

With statistics like these it is so important to get on board this fund raiser and ‘March to find a cure’.

https://melanomamarch.org.au/

Monday 24th – closing at 2.00pm

Thursday 27th – closing at 3.00pm

Friday 28th – closing at 3.00pm

Monday 31st- closing at 3.00pm

We will be open Thursday 27th and Friday 28th between the hours of 8:00am-3:00pm however these will be for emergency appointments only. We will have multiple doctors away on those dates so we will not be making routine bookings unless requested by your doctor. If you know you will be needing scripts during this time please make an appointment prior to the Christmas period to make sure that you are not without medication over the break.

Saturday 29th December- 9am-11.30am *Emergencies on the day only. No pre-booking*

Monday 31st December we will be closing at 3:00pm

Tuesday 1st January-Closed

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for allowing us to provide care to you and your families throughout 2018. We wish you all a safe, happy and healthy festive season and beyond.

Decembeard is the month to raise awareness of bowel cancer in men. All you need to do is grow a beard, that simple!!

Promoting your facial hair will raise much needed awareness and funds for Australia’s second biggest cancer killer. 1 in 11 Australian men will develop bowel cancer in their lifetime and it can affect men of all ages, however risk increases every year from the age of 50.

Choices you make related to diet, lifestyle and screening can influence your bowel cancer risk.

Most men who develop bowel cancer have no family history of the disease, although having a parent, brother, sister or child with bowel cancer can increase your risk of developing it.

Screening is recommended depending on your personal level of risk. For people at average risk of bowel cancer, guidelines recommend screening using a FIT test (Fecal Immunochemical Test) every 2 years from the age of 50. However, if you have one relative diagnosed with bowel cancer at age 55 years or older, screening should be considered every 2 years from age 45.

Early detection could save your life!

No matter your age, you should never be told that you are ‘too young’ to have bowel cancer.