Welcome to our November newsletter. It has been great to see some of our wonderful patients again after a long lock down period. Your health is very important to us and it is our priority that your health needs are being met. If you are not up to date with any of your health checks, now is the time to get in touch with us. To keep our patients safe we continue to offer telehealth appointments if you have attended our practice in the last 12 months. Face to face appointments are available using our covid safe measures such as mask wearing, QR code check in and social distancing in waiting rooms. Please don’t attend our practice if you have any respiratory symptoms or have been in contact with somebody with covid – we are happy to have a telehealth consult with you first, and can arrange to safely see you if required.
In this month’s newsletter we will be updating you on COVID-19 vaccinations including the availability of 3rd booster doses if it has been 6 months since your second primary dose. Our Diabetes clinics will be rolling out again soon, our pathology room is back open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and we will be showing off our amazing reception team.
YFD COVID VACCINATION UPDATE
All three TGA approved vaccines are available to:
✅ Everyone aged 12+ for Pfizer and Moderna
✅ Everyone aged 18+ for AstraZeneca
Bookings for the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine are available online at our practice for patients over the age of 12. The TGA is still reviewing Covid-19 vaccination for children aged between 5 – 11 years and is expected to be available in early 2022.
Bookings are available ONLINE via HotDoc.
https://www.hotdoc.com.au/medical-centres/erina-NSW-2250/your-family-doctors-at-erina/doctors
The Astra Zeneca vaccine remains available for patients over the 18.
Check your eligibility and locations for the Covid-19 Vaccine through the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility checker: https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility?lang=en
To get proof of your covid vaccination follow this link….
or call the Australian Immunisation Register on 1800 653 809 Monday to Friday 8am – 5pm and they can send your immunisation statement to you. It can take up to 14 days to arrive by mail.
PFIZER COVID-19 BOOSTER VACCINATIONS
The Australian Government has announced the COVID-19 Vaccine booster program based on ATAGI advice.
This means that anyone in Australia aged 18 years and over can receive a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine if it has been 6 months since your second primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine – regardless of the initial vaccine type.
The Pfizer Booster Program will be available at Your Family Doctors on Thursdays but as demands increase we will add more clinics on other days so stay tuned.
Book online via HotDoc under ‘Covid-19 Vaccine dose 3 Pfizer’ if you are eligible.
Severely immunocompromised people should also receive a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as part of their primary course 2 – 6 months after their second dose. We recommend you speak to your GP or specialist regarding your specific recommendations prior to booking your 3rd primary dose.
DIABETES – IT’S TIME TO GET CHECKED
November 14th was World Diabetes Date and a good reminder that it’s time to get checked!
- Did you know there are 463 million adults (1-in-11) were living with diabetes in 2019. The number of people living with diabetes is expected rise to 578 million by 2030.
- 1 in 2 adults with diabetes remain undiagnosed (232 million). The majority have type 2 diabetes.
- It’s about time we took the time to better detect all types.
- For type 1 diabetes, this means taking the time to learn the 4Ts (toilet, thirsty, tired, thinner) – the early warning signs of type 1 diabetes.
- For type 2 diabetes, this means taking the time to get checked. Early diagnosis and treatment can greatly reduce your risk of developing diabetes-related complications like vision loss and blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and limb amputations.
- Take the time to see your doctor to get checked – especially if you are over 40.
- If you are a diabetic it is also time to get checked. Due to the covid-19 pandemic your diabetic health checks may not be up to date. At YFD our diabetic patients will be sent letters and pathology forms in the coming weeks inviting them to attend our diabetes clinic with ours nurses and doctors.
CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD SURCHARGE
Credit and Debit card fees have until now, been absorbed by the practice. As you know when you do your own shopping most places now pass these costs onto the consumer. We will now be applying a surcharge to all of our card transactions at standard rates. Thank you for your understanding.
PATHOLOGY ROOM OPENING HOURS
Overdue for that blood test? Our Pathology room is open again. Our initial opening hours will be Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8.30 – 12.30 pm. Don’t forget your pathology referral and mask.
MOVEMBER AND MENS HEALTH.
This November it time to focus on those important blokes out there! Men die an average six years younger than women, and for reasons that are largely preventable. Movember is about creating awareness of men’s health issues – in particular prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
Did you know testicular cancer is the second most common cancer in young men after skin cancer? Just like women should be breast aware for early detection of breast cancer – men need to ‘get to know their nuts’ also and if they notice any changes to come and see their doctor. So to all you awesome blokes out there – I’m sure your car is up to date with its regular service – what about are you? Come have a chat to your friendly GP about your physical and mental health.
https://au.movember.com/mens-health/general
IT’S IN THE BAG
ITS IN THE BAG is Share the Dignity’s annual event where we encourage everyday Australians to put together bags filled with essential items, to donate to someone in need for Christmas.
The bags are dropped off at Bunnings by generous Aussies, such as yourself, and are distributed to 3,000 Australian charities that have registered with Share the Dignity. These charities then hand out your donated bags to people in need for Christmas.
For 2021, collections points for bag donations will be open at every Bunnings store across Australia from 19 to 28 November.
Essentials for Adult bags include
* Sanitary and period products (pads, tampons, incontinence pads, reusable pads, period-proof underwear and menstrual cups). They collect this variety of period products, so everyone in need receives their preferred period product.
* Shampoo (full size preferred)
* Conditioner (full size preferred)
* Toothbrush
* Toothpaste
* Deodorant (roll-on or tins like No Pong only. no aerosols)
* Soap or body wash
For more information, including ideas on what to include in teen bags and mums and bubs bags follow the link ……
https://www.sharethedignity.org.au/itsinthebag
STAFF NEWS
THE YFD RECEPTION TEAM
We are so proud of our amazing reception team we thought we better show them off! They have truly been the unsung hero’s during the pandemic – answering your calls, finding you appointments, faxing and emailing your scripts and referrals, scanning in letters and results ….. the list is endless. An increase in telehealth appointments (and mask wearing!) means you have missed seeing those smiling faces so here they are! From top left to right we have ……..Melissa, Melissa, Kirstie, Elyse, India, Deb, Melissa and Fiona. If you don’t catch their name there is a 3 in 8 chance of it being Melissa! We are also counting down the months until the lovely Kiara comes back from maternity leave.
So that’s it for our November Newsletter, stay safe everyone, keep healthy and we will be back soon with our Christmas edition! In the meantime like us on facebook or instagram to keep up to date with the latest Covid changes, important health information and to see what the YFD team has been up to. Our website is also a great source of information, so please check out our blog for health information written by our team. Stay well.
Love Team YFD xx