Medical Forum: 2017 Christmas Feature

2017 Christmas Feature

Season’s greetings from WA Health Professionals Medical Forum wishes all our readers and supporters a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

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Christmas Greetings Feature

Professor John Yovich and the team at PIVET wish all our colleagues and friends a very happy festive season.

We thank you sincerely for your continued support and look forward to working together again in 2018.

There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.

08 9422 5400 | www.pivet.com.au

Erma Bombeck

Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous 2018.

We thank you for your support this year and look forward to continue delivering high quality service to you and your patients in 2018.

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Christmas Greetings Feature

My Christmas wish . . .

It is no secret that Australians enjoy a glass of beer or wine from time to time, especially at this time of year. The vast majority of us enjoy alcohol in moderation and we do so safely. I wish you the happiest of festive seasons and encourage you to celebrate appropriately.

However, I remain concerned about the public health risks associated with excessive consumption of alcohol, and I’d like to see debate about reducing alcohol-related harm in our community.

In 2014, one person was hospitalised for an alcohol-attributable condition every 27 minutes, leading to the use of 113,500 hospital bed days.

Earlier this year, I asked the Mental Health Commission and the Department of Health to do some work on the possibility of setting a minimum floor price for alcohol. Bottles of wine are being sold for less than $3, and you can get a standard drink for less than 40c. The time has come for us to take a look at the impact cheap alcohol is having on our community.

A minimum price on alcohol has been long debated elsewhere – and regardless of outcome – I believe it’s a debate we need to have.

Roger Cook

Thanks for being part of the team in 2017.

See you on the road next year.

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Christmas Greetings Feature

My Christmas wish . . .

Wouldn’t it be great if allied health was empowered to truly manage chronic disease in the community? Then patients could truly have a ‘Health Care’ home. At the recent announcement of yet another regionally based chronic disease program – diabetes this time, but it could just as easily have been COPD, heart failure or asthma – I reflected on the numerous previous programs that have fallen over at the end of their funding cycle.

How many physios, dietitians, exercise physiologists will my patients have to negotiate to avail themselves of a new service that doesn’t know them from a bar of soap?

I’d restrict funding for the delivery of chronic disease allied health services to true, local community-based services. Local allied health providers have proven their sustainability in a largely non-subsidised environment and our patients develop close relationships with the entire local health team.

Thankyou for your continued support throughout 2017. We wish you all a very joyful festive season.

The only role for centralised bodies should be developing, publishing and overseeing chronic disease programs that are delivered at a local level.

Warmest wishes Dr Peter Hugo, Dr Aparna Baruah & staff

Dr Rohan Gay, GP, Bayswater

heartcarewa.com.au The Cardiologists and Staff would like to wish you and your family a safe, joyous festive season and a very happy new year.

We thank you for your continued support throughout the year and look forward to working with you and continuing to provide high quality care to your patients in 2018.

Dr Stefan Buchholz Dr Randall Hendriks Dr Mark Ireland Dr Ben King

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Dr Donald Latchem Dr Allison Morton Dr Mark Nidorf Dr Vince Paul

Dr Peter Purnell Dr Pradyot Saklani Dr Nigel Sinclair Dr Isabel Tan

Dr Angus Thompson Dr Peter Thompson Dr Alan Whelan Dr Xiao-Fang Xu

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Christmas Greetings Feature

My Christmas wish . . .

In the words of Whitney Houston “I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way”.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if this year Santa Claus brought two things for WA children that would lead to their better health as children and adults? så h.OåDROPåOFFvåZONESåAROUNDåSCHOOLSåTOåENSUREåEVERYåABLEå bodied child must walk at least 500m to and from the school gates every day så #OMPULSORYåFOODåSHOPPINGåANDåFOODåPREPARATIONåCOURSESå designed at teaching children to buy and prepare simple, healthy, flavourful and inexpensive food using basic ingredients Two great ways to help prevent obesity in later life.

Dr Mini Zachariah To all my referring doctors and colleagues, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to working with you in 2018.

Warmest wishes Mini

And, if I could get a third wish, I’d wish that the State Government went back to the excellent Reid Report and moved more funding for hospital care out of old, tired institutions in the city and out to bright new institutions in the suburbs, where the people live.

The Government required bidders for the Midland Public Hospital contract to show how by 2020 (only two years from now!) they would grow public services on site from 307 beds to 460 beds so as to increase to 75% the proportion of patients in the catchment who could be treated locally.

Come on Santa, bring us the final implementation of the Reid Report!

Dr Michael Stanford Group CEO, SJGHC

Seasons greetings and a warm thank you to all for your support throughout 2017, from Mark Hamlin, Joel Scaddan, Arun Abraham, Rachit Harjai, Victor Wang and associates.

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Christmas Greetings Feature

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.

Clinic will be closed from 23/12/2017 to 02/01/2018

Shirley Temple

On behalf of WA Country Health Service, I would like to extend my thanks to all country doctors and staff working in our facilities across the State. Together you are part of a highly skilled workforce committed to providing our communities with the best possible healthcare.

It is the season to reflect on our success.

With approximately 972,000 outpatient appointments and more than 139,000 acute hospital admissions this year, it’s been a particularly busy year for our country hospitals and health services.

In 2016/17, there were 4692 births in country hospitals, which is almost 80 per cent as many as the State’s major maternity centre, King Edward Memorial Hospital.

Overall, WACHS sees around 30 per cent of WA’s emergency presentations and on any given day, more than 1050 people are treated by our dedicated staff in major country emergency departments.

None of this would have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our doctors and staff. Despite the challenges of vast distances, our staff excel in providing healthcare to the communities we live and work in.

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you for your contribution this year. May you and your families have a safe and happy Christmas.

WACHS Chief Executive, Jeff Moffet

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Christmas Greetings Feature

My Christmas wish . . .

I’d really hope to change the health inequity in our remote Aboriginal communities where chronic health conditions occur at levels equal to the most deprived Third World countries.

Overcrowded housing and linked social issues cause skin and throat infections in children that predispose them to rheumatic fever and the potential development of rheumatic heart disease. Sufferers carry this disease burden into their adult lives, which jeopardises pregnancy and many other health issues. And it doesn’t stop there, either. Secondary prevention involves painful penicillin injections delivered every month

by IMI injection.

Vaccination against Group A Streptococcus and more acceptable secondary prevention options have been flagged, which is encouraging.

But, at its core, prevention of a disease largely caused by overcrowding and poverty could be achieved by educating affected communities and by implementing innovative housing solutions.

Dr Clare Willix, GP, South West Aboriginal Medical Service Coordinator, Bunbury

A warm and sincere thank you to all our referring GP and Specialist colleagues.

It has been a pleasure working with you this year.

We look forward to continuing to work with you during 2018. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Christmas and safe and joyous New Year.

Prof Luc Delriviere & staff at The Liver Centre WA

Dr Phil Daborn A special thank you to all my referring colleagues for your continued support throughout 2017.

Wishing you & your families a joyful festive season, and all the very best for 2018.

P (08) 6163 2800 F (08) 6163 2809 www.thelivercentrewa.com.au

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Christmas Greetings Feature

My Christmas wish . . .

I would encourage people in the Western Australian community to ‘start moving more’ as regular exercise is essential to maintaining good physical and mental health.

We know greater numbers of individuals are riding bikes to and from work or for enjoyment. Cycling is a great way of exercising while decreasing congestion on our roads and benefiting the environment. To encourage this growing community interest I’d further enhance Western Australia’s cycling infrastructure in metropolitan and regional areas, and encourage organisations to introduce end-of-trip facilities for their employees.

We need to make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to make the switch from the car to the bike. I would also introduce school programs aimed at encouraging children to ride their bikes to school safely.

In addition, I’d create incentives which motivate people to catch public transport.

Walking from your house to the bus, train, or ferry, is an easy way to get some incidental exercise and is another initiative we should promote among children and adults.

Kevin Cass-Ryall, Operations Executive Manager – WA and SA Hospitals, Ramsay Health Care

Dr John Teasdale and the Team at WA Vascular Centre would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Santa offers free Arterial Blood Flow Doppler and Duplex Tests for diagnosis of Leg Pain & Ulcers (with doctor’s referral) for all Dec 2017 & Jan 2018 We all look forward to working with you in 2018.

Perth (Bassendean), Fremantle, Joondalup, Mandurah & Northam.

Appointments: Tel: 9279 4333 www.wavascularcentre.com.au

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Christmas Greetings Feature

Perth Breast and Thyroid Multidisciplinary Care

Dr Corinne Jones Specialist Breast and Endocrine Surgeon Thank you to friends and colleagues for your support throughout the year.

Wishing you all a Christmas of good food and good cheer, and a busy and prosperous 2018.

My family know not to get me any tech for Christmas.

I can never get it to work, and it all becomes very tearful and pressurised.

Dr Who (Peter Capaldi)

Dr Arun and his team wish you a very Happy Holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Thank you to all our referring GPs and specialist colleagues for your continued support in 2017 and look forward to providing Gynaecological services to your patients in 2018.

Waikiki Specialist Centre 221 Wilmott Drive, Waikiki 6169 T 9550 0300 F 9592 9830 E specialists@waikikiprivatehospital.com www.doctorarun.com.au

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