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February 24, 2020 In Eleanor Clinic

An update: We’re growing, joining a national research project and training medical students.

As our Eleanor Clinic family is growing it was time for a new team photo.

Our focus has not changed: we provide high quality medical care in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Eleanor Clinic TeamTo grow while keeping our focus on the best medical care for you requires the right professionals to join our team. So we are once again looking to extend our clinic family. Keep an eye out over the next few month: you may spot the odd new face!

In keeping with striving for clinical excellence we have agreed to take part in the General Practice National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey. This impressive sounding title translates to something very important to all our patients: finding out if doctors are using antibiotics appropriately and are following the latest treatment guidelines.

Don’t worry: No patient data is shared here – we never share any of your information unless you explicitly ask us to. Much rather, this survey studies how the doctors in our practice use antibiotics to make sure your treatment is in line with national recommendations. Something else to make sure our patients receive the best medical care? A no-brainer for us: we were only too happy to agree to be part of this laudable project!

Very much in keeping with this we are delighted to have been accredited by the University of Melbourne to help train medical students here at Eleanor Clinic. We will have a student spending time with one of our doctors each Thursday. We feel strongly about helping to shape the next generation of doctors. What better way to introduce them to the complex and wonderful world of General Practice than right here at Eleanor Clinic!

We understand if you may not wish to have a student present for any or all of your visits with us – this is perfectly fine. We will always ask for your consent to have a student present during a consultation beforehand and we will be just as pleased if you’d rather see your doctor without a student present.

To sum it up: Eleanor Clinic’s very own kind of gentle clinical excellence is thriving and we are carefully growing our family. We have entered research and training collaborations to ensure highest medical standards while helping to train the GPs of tomorrow. Exciting times for all of us!

January 6, 2020 In Eleanor Clinic

The Australian bushfires.

This summer’s bushfires are a disaster on a global scale. There are many layers to this tragedy and how to address these in the future. At the moment, the biggest concern is what we can do here and now.

How can I help others?

Victoria’s Premier, Daniel Andrews, has made it clear that Victoria no longer requires food or clothes donations. In fact, there’s so many of these that they’re now causing logistical issues and hindering emergency services in doing their job effectively.
 
You can donate to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal (a Victorian Government Initiative) at any Bendigo Bank or online. Any donation over $2 is tax deductible and 100% of donations will go towards the bush fire relief.
 
News.com.au provides a good overview of other organisations accepting donations that go towards those affected by the fires.
 
If this an option for you, you might want to consider offering free accommodation to families affected by the fires. The East Gippsland Council co-ordinates these offers. Email feedback@egipps.vic.gov.au, with details of the accommodation you can provide (location, number of bedrooms, dates available), and your contact details. Online accommodation rental giant AirBnB is also offering their platform for free to families affected by the fires and those offering to host them.
 

What can I do for myself and my family?

 
A good start is to realise that we are all experiencing a disaster. We have now lost a land area to bush fires the size of Ireland. Dozens of people have died, thousands have been displaced. An estimated 500,000,000 native animals have perished. Over a thousand homes have been destroyed. And there is currently no end in sight.
 

Stay informed

Here’s a short list on where to get quality, up to date information:

What can I do to lessen the impact of smoke and pollution on myself and my family?

 
This is difficult to assess and there’s not a lot of research to guide us on this issue. During times of significant smoke pollution the best course of action is to stay home and keep the windows closed. If you do use air-conditioners, make sure you set them to re-circulate the air – otherwise you are going to end up with environmental smoke in your home. Standard air conditioners can’t filter out smoke particles as these are so small they do not get held back by the filters.
 
Masks are very unlikely to help children, as they won’t seal tight to the face and the children will just breath contaminated air through the gaps. For adults, special P2 masks from hardware stores may be an option but they have sold out in many places. This is probably just as well as, again, they are unlikely to help much unless you manage to achieve an excellent seal to the face. Medical supply stores may also still have some stock of ’N95’ surgical type masks which achieve similar filtration. They will likely reduce the amount of particles you’re exposed to but by no means filter all of them.
 
Naaman Zhou from The Guardian has written an excellent overview on our current levels of environmental smoke and masks that might be helpful to you.
 
As always, care for yourself and look out for others that may need your help. Particularly younger family members may pickup on the tension and apprehension that may build up without being able to put this into words. Sitting down, explaining that there are fires happening that send smoke across the country might give meaning to those fears. Letting your children know that they and their family are safe will also help alleviate fears. If you do decide to donate maybe do this together with your children to show them that fears and even big challenges like the one we are facing right now can be addressed and, eventually, overcome.
 
Lastly, if you experience a medical emergency dial 000 for urgent help. If your medical issue is not life-threatening but you do see your health impacted, our team at Eleanor Clinic are available as always.
 
 
 
Take care!
December 29, 2019 In Eleanor Clinic

Importance of self care

Well, it’s that crazy time of year. Lots of social events and a big lead up to the New Year. It can also be a tough time of year for many other reasons. So, take a moment or two and think about yourself and how you can fit in some self care for yourself. We at Eleanor Clinic encourage and support it……you don’t need to make an appointment for this but maybe just a little reminder from our team!

To make sure, our team members have time to rest and re energise, we are all taking some holidays.

Our team is now big enough, to cover for our members on holidays so that we will stay open during the summer Holiday.

Take care!

October 24, 2019 In Eleanor Clinic

Are you considering starting a family?

By Dr. Sarah Metcalfe

It’s well worth dropping in with us before you stop contraception.

At Eleanor Clinic our experienced female GPs can help maximise your chances of a healthy pregnancy by:

  • assessing your general health and fitness for pregnancy through a medical history and examination
  • considering the potential impact of any medications you or your partner may be taking
  • discussing lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking that may affect your chances of conception or a healthy pregnancy
  • discussing strategies for monitoring your cycle and maximising chances of conception
  • advising commencement of both folate and iodine supplements before trying to conceive
  • discussing available genetic carrier screening tests for common heriditary conditions
  • guiding you through available options for antenatal care in Victoria
  • performing blood tests to check your immunity to infection that can have negative consequences if contracted during a pregnancy and advising of booster vaccination if required

Sounds too technical? So let us worry about that side of it so you can focus on the joyous side. We here at Eleanor Clinic are an experienced team to help you through all the question of prenatal conception and pregnancy care.

Looking forward to see you here at Eleanor Clinic!