Wicklow Avenue Medical Centre
Winter Newsletter
V O L U M E
Our Website
www.wickmed.com.au
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Coughs and
Colds
1
Charity
2
Patient Survey
Results
2
Our GP Staff
Dr. Paul Ambrose
Dr. Ruth Bennetts
Dr. John Easton
1
I S S U E
2
J U N E
Coughs and Colds
Colds, or upper respiratory tract infections, are
the most common cause of illness in children and
adults. Most colds are caused by a virus. There
are over 200 types of viruses that can cause the
common cold, which is why it’s not possible to be
immunised against a cold.
Colds are more common in the winter months.
Cold weather by itself does not increase the
chance of getting a cold. People may be in closer
contact with each other at this time of year, because they stay indoors, and so are more likely to
infect each other. The viruses that cause colds
are spread by sneezing, coughing and hand contact.
The symptoms of a cold include various combinations of:
•
A stuffy or runny nose
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The following treatments are usually not necessary and should be avoided.
•
Antibiotics—colds are caused by a virus
and antibiotics will not help
•
Cough medicines—these are of limited
benefit. Cough is caused by irritation of
the trachea (windpipe) or excess mucous
and cough medicine does not affect either
of these symptoms
•
Cold remedies and tablets—preparations
that can be bought over the counter are
usually not helpful and should be avoided
•
Aspirin—should not be given to children
Sneezing
Sore throat
Cough
Headache
Red eyes
Swelling of lymph glands
Fever (occasionally)
There may be loss of appetite and sometimes nausea and vomiting
Dr. Chris Green
Dr. Inam Khan
Virtually all upper respiratory tract infections will
get better without any specific treatment. See
your Doctor if the child or adult:
•
Refuses to drink fluids
•
•
•
•
•
Dr. Hannah Maskell
Dr. Margaret McNiff
Dr. Saifun Panna
Dr. Digby Park
Dr. Keith Skilbeck
Dr. Eric Soon
Dr. Meagan Worthington
2 0 1 3
Symptoms will vary and usually will last from a
few days to a week.
There is no cure for the common cold. There is
no specific treatment that will make the cold go
away more quickly. Symptoms can be relieved in
a number of ways:
•
Paracetamol can be given if fever present
•
•
•
Warm drinks will ease a sore throat
Nasal drops or spray will ease a blocked
nose
Lozenges may ease a dry throat
•
•
Vomits frequently
Complains of intense headache
Is pale and sleepy
Has difficulty sleeping
Has a high fever that does not respond to
Paracetamol
Shows no improvement in 48 hours
Shows any other signs that you are worried about
Points to Remember
•
It is virtually impossible to avoid getting
upper respiratory tract infections
•
There is no cure, but symptoms can be
relieved
•
Antibiotics and cough medicines are not
recommended
•
Most people recover within a week
(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)
Charitable Activities at Wicklow
“ Our Practice
Nurses are trained
health clinicians
who can provide
Triage services on
behalf of our
General
At Wicklow Avenue Medical
Centre, we value our role in
providing holistic health care to
our patient community. We also
participate in various charitable
activities, of which our patients
may not be aware.
As a result of sales of the 90
years commemorative booklet
on the history of WAMC, a
donation was provided to Ruach
Ministries, to help fund Nurse
Training in Kusuri, Indonesia.
A donation was provided to
Elishacare, a charitable organization assisting men and women
recovering from addiction, to
return to the workforce. Elishacare are now our contracted
garden maintenance providers.
We recently upgraded some of
our computers and donated 5
personal computer packages to
Ringwood U3A.
Living in Mooroolbark Today
magazine have also been a recipient of a donation from
WAMC in 2013.
Our practice provided a donation to Mooroolbark Baptist
Church Soccer Team in 2013 to
assist in funding uniforms.
used postage stamps as a fund
raising activity. Monies raised
are donated to Simaid, which
focuses on Human Rights activities. Donations of used stamps
are very welcome to our Reception staff.
Each year we participate in
fundraising activities for charities. These currently include:
Biggest Morning Tea for Cancer
Council, Loud Shirt Day for
childhood deafness, Daffodil
Day for Cancer Research, Pink
Ribbon Day for Breast Cancer
and Movember for men's health.
We also participate in collecting
Practitioners”
Feedback from Patient Survey
Recently, we requested input
from our patients to participate
in a Practice Accreditation and
Improvement Survey.
Survey comments
shared here
relate directly to
the feedback
topic discussed in
this issue
We are aiming to
We have received our results
and will be providing feedback
via this newsletter forum. In
general the feedback received
was positive.
However, there were some
areas where our patients may
require more information and/
or our service requires improvement.
One of the areas where patients
indicated a level of dissatisfaction was in the opportunity to
have access to a clinician on the
telephone.
In order to assist our Doctors
to keep to time in their day, it is
not our usual practice to interrupt our Doctors on the telephone during consulting sessions.
We do leave important messages for Doctors in their per-
sonal communication books,
which they access during the
day.
If there is a specific patient
concern or medical urgency,
our Practice Nurses are trained
‘clinicians’. They provide our
practice with medical Triage
performing emergency assessments on behalf of our Doctors
and will contact the Doctor
directly with the patient status.
Patient Survey Comments
link our responses
directly to the
feedback received,
to ensure
information is
relevant
“At times I have been fobbed off by a receptionist. I don’t think they should vet a request”
“I find all staff at this practice extremely understanding and they provide excellent service”
“Long waits. Reception staff unhelpful with appointments...Often unavailable in a medical
emergency”
“The staff at this practice from administration,
nurses and doctors all do a wonderful job. Nothing
is too much for these people. Everything is attended to promptly, and if there are delays, every
reasonable opportunity and explanation is extended to patients to reassure and readjust”
“Thank you. I have been coming here since I
was little, so has my extended family. I would
rate it as the best service, treatment and outcome. The Doctor and the people they refer us
to are the best possible and they follow outcomes up”
“To be given the opportunity to speak to own
doctor when needed”