Local Doctor Spotlight: Welcoming new patients

MBBS

Dr Faldt completed his medical training and internship in Sweden and started his GP training before moving to Australia in 2013. For the next two and a half years, he held postgraduate house officer positions throughout Toowoomba, Noosa and Nambour Hospitals. He enjoys all aspects of GP practice and when he isn’t working a surf never goes amiss if he isn’t already away camping.

BMBS, PhD, BSc (Hons), DipAppSci

Dr Baker completed his medical degree in 2012 at Flinders University in South Australia, before completing his intern year and the early phases of his emergency medicine training at Flinders Medical Centre in southern Adelaide. He moved to the Sunshine Coast with his family in 2017 to continue his training in emergency medicine at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

Exercise matters

Exercise is medicine and the prescription is resistance training. Regular exercise is one of the most important interventions you can make to improve your health. In fact, if all the benefits of exercise could be put into a pill it would be prescribed more than any other medication.

There are numerous forms of exercise and each type can achieve different health improvements . However one of the most underutilised and best forms of exercise is resistance training. If we look at the natural effects of ageing – which include decreases in things like muscle mass, strength, balance, posture and bone density – resistance training can improve and even reverse some of these changes.

Exercise physiologists belong to the branch of allied health professionals that specialise in prescribing exercise. No matter what area of health you would like to improve exercise has a pathway to change the body’s physiology to achieve this. Some programs include ONERO and GLA:D exercise classes.

ONERO is an evidence-based resistance training program based on research from Griffith University to reverse osteoporosis. GLA:D is an evidence-based resistance training program from Denmark to help treat hip and knee osteoarthritis.

The benefits of resistance training are many and this form of exercise should become part of your lifestyle to help facilitate healthy living. If you are unsure where to start contact your local exercise physiologist or visit: exercisematters.healthcare. Sven

Rees

No phooey to pooey in June

Bowel cancer kills 103 Australians each week. Every June we are reminded of the risk however since the last awareness campaign we have lost 5,354 people to this very treatable form of cancer. In the next year around 15,600 people will be diagnosed and if found early enough can have treatment that allows them to continue leading a normal healthy life.

So, what can we do?

1. Make sure you are clear. Free screening tests are sent every two years to those aged 50-74. That doesn’t mean younger and older people are not at risk. There are known triggers and indicators that are early warning signs. Visit: tinyurl.com/3et9x3ws.

2. When you get the test kit – use it.

3. Remind your loved ones to do 1 and 2 above.

4. Be aware of the lifestyle choices that set up the disease and address them in your life and the lives of your loved ones.

5. If you do not understand the above see your doctor and have a chat.

6. If you get the kit and lose it or mess it up don’t be too proud to ask for another kit. Those months or years between free kits could be the difference between life and death.

Overlooking changes in the way things go in and come out may also be a lethal mistake. This is not just a lot of hot air. This is serious solid stuff. Just get it into the receptacle and off for testing. Visit: bowelcanceraustralia.org/bowel-cancerawareness-month.

Numba Tu, Eumundi

I love my hybrid

My hybrid drives well, gets good fuel economy and puts out less emissions. What sold me is that it provides solutions to where we are now with fuel sources.

As we transition away from fossil fuels, hybrid vehicles have an electric motor to drive the wheels and are powered by a battery charged by the internal combustion motor for parts of the journey. When the load on the motor is low the wheels charge the battery. When I come down the range the battery charges and when I go back up I use that stored energy.

Yes, I am still using half the fossil fuel of a normal car but currently a lot of the electricity for EVs is coming from power stations that burn fossil fuels to produce electricity anyway – unless of course owners have solar systems adapted to charge EVs.

While we transition to renewables I think my Hybrid EV was a reasonable price, reduces emissions and fuel consumption and gives me torque and power for stronger acceleration and throttle response. My little car is available on demand without waiting for powering-up. The plug-in-hybrid (PHEV) was not an option at the time for my situation and price range although it is clearly another good, although interim alternative.

Engineering and technology are moving really quickly now. Many companies are throwing funding into alternative fuel sources as demand increases. Batteries are getting smaller and safer. Fuel cells – most likely to be hydrogen – are emerging as the probable longer-term solution.

I am not suggesting there are no disadvantages as anyone faced with the prospect of buying a new car should really find out all the pros and cons and consider the best fit for their situation. The biggest concern for electric vehicles is the safety risk to emergency services personnel who now need to be trained to deal with the high voltage components, potential toxic battery gases and extremely hard to extinguish fire when attending an accident involving EVs with lithium iron batteries. Soon fire-safe batteries will be readily available. It seems that the concern regarding hydrogen fuel cells lies in overcoming the risks of flammability and explosion of the gas which has an invisible flame. Fuel fires are bad too. Nothing is perfect! Janet

Millington

Doonan Planting Festival - Book now for the Doonan Planting Festival, a National Tree Day event from 9am-1pm on Sunday 30 July. Bring your family and friends to Doonan Creek Environment Reserve, Verrierdale to plant food and habitat trees for koalas, glossy black cockatoos, grey-headed flying foxes and other wildlife.

This is a free, family-friendly event with tree planting, wildlife displays, craft activities, stalls, live music, face painting, coffee, a sausage sizzle and a free shuttle bus. Get advice and buy native plants for your backyard from our local community native nurseries. Bookings: sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.

Grants for rural property owners - Rural landowners can apply for financial assistance to complete on-ground environment projects on their private property with SCC's Landholder Environment Grants now open. Grants of up to $15,000 are available for projects such as bush regeneration, reducing sediment loss on farms, control of environmental weeds, modifying nonboundary fencing to make it wildlife friendly, revegetation of degraded areas and to establish vegetation corridors and buffer zones. Visit: sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/grants to submit your expression of interest before 14 August.

Contact council directly for service requests including road hazards, graffiti, dumped rubbish, parking, parks, potholes, roads, tree and waste collections. For contact details and service request forms visit: sunshinecoast.qld. gov.au.

I regularly share my community chat days, local events, new development applications and other messages on my Facebook page: facebook.com/MariaSuarezDivision9.

Eumundi placemaking - The final placemaking design is complete after a key stakeholder workshop on 21 April. Passionate community groups and businesses joined council to deliver a shared outcome and this final step of exploring the project gave community representatives a stronger sense of connection with the design.

Representatives at the workshop had the opportunity to share their perspectives and clarify priorities and technical aspects including heritage, pedestrian movement, traffic and parking. Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with council and attended this final session to shape the future of Eumundi’s main street. The detailed design is now complete and construction of the Eumundi streetscape upgrade will commence in late 2023. For more information visit council’s Have Your Say website.

Get warm this winter with Healthy Sunshine Coast - Forget the cold snap, a range of low- cost holistic activities are in full swing this winter thanks to council’s popular health and wellbeing program. A new Healthy Sunshine Coast activity on offer in Eumundi is Yoga to Connect with Maria LimNadiraschwili from Beautiful Self Yoga at 7am on Wednesdays at the Eumundi School of Arts Hall.

The program is all about creating a happier, healthier, more connected and resilient Sunshine Coast community. Visit council’s website and search Healthy Sunshine Coast to register for free and find out more. All activities cost $10 or $5 with a healthcare or pensioner's card.

If you have any questions email: david.law@ sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au and follow my Facebook page for regular updates: @DavidLawDivision10.

Home Care Packages funding increase

Older Australians in receipt of a Home Care Package (HCP) should receive a letter from the Australian Government Dept of Health and Aged Care advising of an increase in the subsidy rate for HCP from 1 July 2023. The increase covers the cost of increased wages following the Fair Work Commission’s decision to raise award wages for care workers.

While the wage increase was 15%, the increased subsidy to those receiving HCP will be 11.9%. This is because many care recipients use some of their HCP funding to access goods, equipment, home modifications and allied health which are not impacted by the wage increase. The services impacted are likely to be nursing, personal care, cleaning and in-home respite.

HCP providers, for example BlueCare, are required to let their care recipients know if they need to adjust their pricing models and increase charges for care and services. Visit: tinyurl. com/5n7d3mvk.

Fijian carers

Mala Shiteshwari is one of five carers who arrived from Fiji in December 2022 to work at NoosaCare in response to staffing shortages at Carramar and Kabara. Five months on I spoke to Mala to find out how she has settled in.

Mala is very positive about her new life here and said the staff at NoosaCare have been very supportive, from the CEO to her team leaders and work colleagues. She loves her work and connecting with the residents.

Mala said it is part of her cultural DNA to care for the elderly. In Fiji aids such as beds that can be raised and lowered, hoists and shower chairs are scarce making caring tasks more difficult for both carers and the elderly. She is impressed that this is not the case for NoosaCare residents.

Mala and her Fijian colleagues are living in Cooroy and she is enjoying exploring the town including the op shops. She loves the local bushland and being so close to the coast –Noosa Main Beach is her favourite. She’s an avid follower of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers so she can learn what to watch out for. Mala recently walked to the Tinbeerwah lookout and said the views were fantastic. She finds it heartwarming that Australians care for the environment and wildlife so much and considers herself very lucky to be working at NoosaCare and living in this part of Australia.

The family’s decision that Mala work in Australia was a difficult one but made with a view to improving her family’s economic future. The only downside for Mala is that she misses her husband and three sons aged 7, 14 and 18. She talks to them daily, will see them in Fiji next month and is hoping they will be able to visit her later this year.

Rhonda Piggott

Seniors – did you know?

Pension age will increase on 1 July from 66.5 to 67 yrs. If you reach pension age in the next few months and intend to apply for a pension start now so you have the paperwork done by your birthday.

Did you know that thresholds for eligibility for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CHSC) are based on income not assets? You can’t be a pensioner as they already receive healthcare concessions but you must be of pension age. Current thresholds are $90,000 for a single person and $144,000 for couples.

A CHSC allows you to get cheaper medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). CHSC card holders also receive other federal, state and territory and local council concessions. For example the last Federal Budget provided $500 energy relief for CHSC holders and pensioners. You need to apply for a CHSC as it is not given automatically. Visit: servicesaustralia. gov.au/how-to-claim-commonwealth-seniorshealth-card?context=21966.

Foggy glasses and French letters

“Wear your glasses and if they get foggedup come home immediately,” was Granddad’s advice to 16-year-old me. Dating in the 60s was risky business for women. Reputations and future lives depended on being 'good girls'.

Most of us were very ignorant compared to today’s youngsters. My ignorance about contraception was exposed when a fellow student in my Hall of Residence announced there was a French letter – for the uninitiated a 'condom' – in the bathroom. “Which part of France is it from?” I asked. The girls thought my humour was hysterical.

Ancient Egyptian papyri from 1850 BC mention birth control using honey and acacia leaves on lint covering the mouth of the womb. Acacia gum is still used in contraceptive jellies. Other suggestions included honey mixed with sodium carbonate or crocodile dung.

The Greeks and Romans put their faith in plants. A species of fennel called Silphum was in such demand it became extinct. Queen Anne’s Lace, Daucus carota, is still used in India and pomegranate, willow and rue have scientifically- proven birth control properties. Throughout the Middle Ages in Europe herbs were used by desperate women for prevention and abortion. The 19th century saw birth control become a political and moral issue. Chastity and later marriages were promoted to control population growth. In the UK birth rates declined from almost 35.5 births/1,000 in the 1870s to around 29/1,000 by 1900 showing that the approaches were effective.

In 1877 Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh were prosecuted for publishing Charles Knowlton's, Fruits of Philosophy on various birth control methods. They stated it is: "… more moral to prevent the conception of children, than, after they are born, to murder them by want of food, air and clothing".

Various American states outlawed information and the use of contraceptives. In 1916 Margaret Sanger’s birth control clinic was shut down after just nine days.

Married Love by Marie Stopes appeared in Britain in 1918 followed by her birth control clinic in 1921. In 1930 local authorities were permitted to give birth control advice at their welfare clinics. That women should practice abstinence, having sex only for procreation, saw the emergence of feminist groups advocating birth control and allowing women to enjoy sex without the fear of pregnancy.

The first birth control pills developed by Gregory Pincus and John Rock became publicly available in the 1960s. Women finally had the power to practice 'safe sex' – even wearing glasses.

Eileen Walder

ISSUE 72 DATES:

Advertising booking deadline: WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023

22 Caxton Street Jazz Band, Pomona, �� noosajazzclub.com

Copy & advert artwork deadline: THURSDAY 29 JUNE 2023

Available from: THURSDAY 6 JULY 2023

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All advertisements and submissions will be published at the discretion of Eumundi Voice and may be subject to editorial changes. Eumundi Voice does not accept responsibility for claims published in Eumundi Voice. Factual errors in material submitted are the responsibility of the contributor. All submissions received, including photographs, are deemed to be authorised for publication by the contributor who has gained any required permissions to publish. All editorial and advertising in Eumundi Voice is published in good faith based on material provided by contributors and advertisers. All care is taken by the publisher Eumundi Voice however responsibility is not accepted for errors or omissions and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher of Eumundi Voice.

23 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow, The J, Noosa, �� thej.com.au

24 The Hinterland Craft Beer Festival, Eumundi, �� imperialhoteleumundi.com.au

24-30 Floating Land: Us and Them, July Various locations, �� noosaregionalgallery.com.au

24 Sunny Coast Showdown Showcase Festival, �� sunnycoastshowdown.com.au

24 Noosa Country Polo Charity Cup, Cooroy, �� tinyurl.com/2p9xcxwd

26-30 Old MacDonald Farm, Yandina, �� gingerfactory.com.au

30 Night at the Original, Eumundi, �� facebook.com/originaleumundimarkets

30-2 Senior Audition Workshop for students grades 7-12, Sunshine Beach, �� little-seed.com.au

JULY 2023

1 Frozen Jr, The J, Noosa, �� thej.com.au

1-2 Makers Fair - Heritage Trades, Quilt and Craft Spectacular, Gympie

1-30 NAIDOC Exhibition, Cooroy, �� sondergallery.com

2 Cooroy Mountain Park Fun Run, �� cooroy-mountainrun.wordpress.com

4 Graduation Morning Tea for PTSD dogs, Cooroy RSL, �� events.humantix.com

6 Eumundi Voice, Issue 72

Wanted: F1 Trucks and other cars

Ring for parts requirements

Open Mon - Fri, 9am-1pm

723 080

To book, please scan here: 17 Whalley Creek

8 Wan’diny Sunshine Coast NAIDOC Family Fun Day, Cotton Tree, �� facebook.com/sunshinecoastnaidoc

7-8

8 Tijuana Cartel, Eumundi, �� imperialhoteleumundi.com.au

Pride Month

June is Pride Month around the world, celebrating and supporting the LGBTQI+ community and the value to everyone of a more inclusive society.

Pride Month has its roots in the Stonewall Riots that began in the early hours of 23/24 June 1969 when New York City police raided a gay club, The Stonewall Inn. Such raids were commonplace but this time the bar patrons retaliated with the raid sparking a riot as police roughly hauled people onto the street. Protests and clashes with police continued for six days. The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement across the US and around the world.

Australia’s first Mardi Gras was held on 24 June 1978 with the date chosen to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Around 500 people moved down Oxford St in Sydney calling for an end to discrimination against homosexuals in employment and housing, an end to police harassment and the repeal of anti-homosexual laws. Organisers obtained permission to march but it was revoked by police during the event and 53 marchers were arrested. The Sydney Morning Herald published all 53 names and many lost their jobs because homosexuality was a crime in NSW until 1984 and in Qld until 1991.

Australia’s LGBTQI+ community celebrated its 45th Mardi Gras parade earlier this year in Sydney and hosted World Pride for the first time. Around 50,000 people marched in the Pride Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge, those numbers unheard of back in 1978. Pride Month in June allows for a wide range of events, parades, marches and discussions to take place around the world. The third Sunshine Coast Mardi Gras was held at Palmview on 10 June as part of Pride Month. Visit: sunshinecoastpride.org.