News : Media

Up to two-thirds of emergency room patients presenting at night and on weekends could have been treated at an after hours GP service, according to local data.

In an effort to reduce the burden on emergency departments, a new campaign is being launched to help people find what local after hours medical services are available.

Marathon Health and Wentworth Healthcare, provider of the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network, are excited to announce that the headspace Lithgow satellite is close to fruition, with a site locked in at 23 Main Street.

With more than 460,000 people expected to receive a disability support package from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) by 2020, the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (NBMPHN) has developed an online calculator to help people understand the costs of support services that someone may be eligible for under the NDIS.

At this weekend’s Nepean Disability Expo, carers will have the opportunity to learn more about My Health Record and how it can assist them in caring for loved ones.

Following a successful trial in 2016 that included the Nepean area, a My Health Record is being given to every person in Australia by the end of this year. My Health Record is an individual’s online summary of key health information which is easily accessible by doctors, specialists, and hospitals. With shared health summaries, hospital discharge summaries, prescribed and dispensed medicines digitally accessible to authorised health practitioners, there is no need to worry about forgetting important information, like medication names and dosages – it is in My Health Record.

Residents and healthcare providers in the Nepean and Blue Mountains region are actively using My Health Record, showing the benefits for all Australians. New data shows 203 healthcare provider organisations are now connected to My Health Record in the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (NBMPHN). This includes all of the major healthcare providers including General Practices, pharmacies, private hospitals and clinics, and public hospitals and health services.

For the rest of Australia, 16 July marks the launch of the three month opt-out period for the Federal Government’s My Health Record expansion program. In the Nepean Blue Mountains region, most people already have a My Health Record that was created as part of the 2016 Opt-Out Trial.

In the Nepean Blue Mountains Region, suicide rates have risen since 2013 and continue to be higher than the NSW average. The region is the second highest in NSW for reporting high or very high psychological distress, and there has been a significant increase in the levels of psychological distress in people 16 years and older. These levels are even higher for the Aboriginal community.

Last winter over 90,000 people in NSW were struck down by flu making it the worst flu season since the 2009 pandemic.

Most cases occurred in Sydney with over 42,500 people affected last year. The worst hit areas were Western Sydney, Nepean-Blue Mountains and South West Sydney local health districts, where more than a third of the state's flu-ridden people were treated.

A report into End-of-Life Care has revealed that despite most people’s wish to die at home, the majority end up dying in hospital, emergency rooms or ambulances because they do not have an Advance Care Plan. Making an Advance Care Plan lets you say what you would want, if you are ever unable to communicate for yourself.

The Hawkesbury is a bowel cancer hot spot, according to recent data projections by Cancer Institute NSW, which found that this year the area will have the highest rate of bowel cancer in the Sydney region.

Interim mental health support is being made available for young people in Lithgow in response to the high rates of psychological distress among youth in the area, ahead of the launch of the new headspace outreach service due later this year.

Wentworth Healthcare welcomes the announcement made by the Federal Government today of additional funding to help support youth anxiety and depression.

A report into the health needs of Syrian and Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers has highlighted that primary healthcare professionals have an important role in improving refugees access and utilisation of health services.

Following an open tender process, a local healthcare service provider has been appointed to manage and operate an after hours clinic in the Penrith region to replace the current Nepean After Hours GP Clinic located at Nepean Hospital.

Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (NBMPHN) has contracted Nepean Community & Neighbourhood Services (NCNS) to operate the Closing the Gap program in the Nepean Blue Mountains (NBM) region.