In light of Sydney’s latest COVID-19 outbreak, Hunters Hill Medical Practice has been ramping up our COVID-19 vaccination program to meet recent patient demand for vaccination. Practice doctors, nurses and staff are working extra hard to deliver as many vaccines to as many people as quickly and safely as possible.

Before the recent outbreak in Sydney, HHMP nurses were delivering about 30 COVID-19 vaccines per day. This has been able to be ramped up to about 120 vaccines per day in the last few weeks. During the last week we delivered 527 COVID-19 vaccines and the week before that 517 vaccines. This is an amazing effort of which the whole team is very proud. Our aim now is to further increase the number of vaccines delivered week on week to help do our part in tackling Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak.

Latest advice

The latest ATAGI advice indicates that vaccination, with any vaccine is recommended unless contraindications exist. This means that those who are as yet unvaccinated, are recommended to get vaccinated with the vaccine available to them (usually AstraZeneca) rather than waiting for another vaccine (eg: Pfizer or Moderna).

Information about preparing for your COIV-19 vaccine is available here, and the latest clinical guidelines, here.

HHMP COVID-19 vaccine Clinic

The HHMP vaccine clinic is the mainstay of the HHMP COVID-19 vaccine program. The clinic operates 5 days per week, Monday to Friday and will soon be running some Saturday sessions. Usually AstraZeneca vaccines are delivered 3 days per week and Pfizer vaccines 2 days per week. This is based on vaccine availability.

AstraZeneca vaccines can be booked online via the Book-Now button on our webpage. Pfizer vaccines need to be delivered to those who meet the eligibility criteria and can be booked on 9817 2080. If you do not meet the current Pfizer eligibility criteria we can add your name to our waiting list and inform you when you become eligible.

Please be patient with our staff as we are experiencing very high call volumes and are simply trying to follow government set eligibility criteria.

The staff, nurses and doctors at HHMP are very excited to welcome a new addition to the team – Dr Ujvala Rao. Ujvala is an accomplished and hard working doctor that we think will fit in well with our team and be very popular with patients.

Dr Ujvala Rao

BSc MB BS (UNSW) MMed (USyd) FRANZCOG

Ujvala has worked in multiple hospitals and general practices across NSW. She is currently in her final GP Registrar term with GP Synergy.

Having completed training as a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, she has a strong background and interest in women’s health. She has since decided to pursue further training in General Practice in order to provide care for the whole family. This is one of her greatest interests in medicine. She is looking forward to treating patients throughout their lifecycle from just after birth until old age.

Ujvala will be working at Hunters Hill Medical Practice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She will also visit local nursing homes on Tuesdays.

When not working, Ujvala loves getting out and about in nature and spending time with family and friends. Cooking, reading and travelling are other passions.

Ujvala looks forward to caring for patients from all walks of life and helping them achieve their health goals.

Clinical Interests

Women’s health, paediatrics, men’s health, mental health, minor surgical procedures.

After seeing 100 patients per day and delivering over 100 COVID-19 vaccines the HHMP doctors, nurses and staff can be a little tired! However, today we received a lovely letter and drawings from 8 year old Bella which cheered us all up.

Bella’s 6 star review and letter

Bella drew 6 stars around her very kind letter that she wrote for us… which we think is fantastic 6 star review and is the highest review we have ever got! This is even higher than all the 5-star Google reviews. Thank you Bella.

We hope all the lovely young patients and their families are coping with home schooling as well as possible. Keep up the good work and stay safe.

The HHMP team.

Below is a copy of an article written by Jen Fraser (speech pathologist) and recently published on Ryde District Mums. It is reproduced here with her permission. Jen works from the allied health rooms at Hunters Hill Medical Practice.

Your son is two years old and still isn’t talking. He says a few words but compared to the other children in Mother’s Group you think he is way behind. You remember that his sister could say whole sentences at the same age. Will he catch up? Should you be worried? Should you seek advice? Who should you talk to?

This scenario is common among parents of children who are slow to speak and often parents hesitate to seek advice, assuming that they will “catch up” or “talk in their own time”. Knowing what is “normal” and what is not in speech and language development can help you decide whether you should seek advice or not.

The following information is a guide to typical development. It should, be noted that developmental norms apply equally to boys and girls as well as for bilingual children.

By the age of one, your baby should be able to:

• respond to familiar sounds
• understand simple commands, such as “no”
• recognise their own name
• understand the names of familiar objects or people
• babble e.g., mumma, bubba
• say their first word around 12 months of age
• enjoy songs, music and books
• try to make familiar sounds, such as car and animal noises

By the age of two, your toddler should be able to:

• say 200 – 300 words
• say the names of simple body parts, such as nose or tummy
• listen to short simple stories and say the names of pictures
• understand simple sentences, such as “where’s your shoe?”
• talk to themselves or their toys during play
• sing simple songs, such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”, or “Baa baa black sheep”
• use some pronouns instead of names, such as “he”, “it”
• try simple sentences, such as “milk all gone”

By the age of three, your child should be able to:

• say 900 -1,000 words
• understand how objects are used – a crayon is something to draw with
• follow directions with two or more parts
• use five -word sentences
• begin to use basic grammar
• enjoy telling stories and asking questions
• have favourite books and television programs
• be understood by familiar adults

By the age of four, your child should be able to:

• understand shape and colour names
• understand some “time” words, such as lunch time, today, winter
• ask who, what and why questions
• use correct grammar with occasional mistakes, such as “I falled down”
• use language when playing with other children
• speak clearly enough to be understood by most people

By the age of five, your child should be able to:

• understand opposites, such as high and low, wet and dry, big and little
• use sentences of about six words with correct grammar
• talk about events which are happening, have happened or might happen
• explain why something happens, such as “Mum’s car stopped because the petrol ran out”
• explain the function of objects, for example, “This scrunchie keeps my hair away”
• follow three directions, for example, “Stand up, get you shoes on and wait by the door”
• say how they feel and tell you their ideas
• become interested in writing, numbers and reading things
• speak clearly enough to be understood by anyone

Speech Pathologists help your child if they are struggling with communication such as expressing themselves, understanding instructions, pronunciation, literacy development or stuttering. Speech therapy can build the confidence children need to reach their potential.

Jen Fraser is an experienced Speech Pathologist based at Hunters Hill Medical Practice in Hunters Hill. Phone 0409 766 075 for a chat about your specific situation or to make an appointment. Otherwise visit www.speechpathologysolutions.com.au for more information.

on the 20th of October, Boston Scientific held a national webinar about the impacts of COVIOD-19 and ways to best engage with GPs. Dr Badr was asked to present of the effects of COVID-19 on general practice, the benefits of moving early leading to the successful HHMP response and ways for specialists to better engage with GPs during this time.

Dr Badr covered some simple yet essential points

1.     The impact of the situation and the lack of a recent similar disruption

2.     The importance of early planning and preparation 

3.     The importance of doing the right thing and not following the herd into panic

4.     The need for frequent communication and engagement between, GPs, specialists, allied health and patients.

5.     The benefits of a personal touch be it in person, by phone or teleconference

6.     The focus on the patient and delivering them a quality and ethical experience. 

Dr Badr concluded by reminding the attendees that “what we do / what we need to do” has not changed. We still need to deliver excellent healthcare in an ethical and patient centred way. What has changed as a result of COVID-19 is the “how we do it”, “where we do it from” etc… by looking at it this way, the change is not so huge as to be scary, it is simply a change in the method. Dr Badr encouraged specialists to focus on working together with GPs and allied health for the best possible patient outcomes.

A June 2020 CSIRO survey showed that almost 40% of Australians said they felt like they had gained weight during the COVID-19 restrictions. Weight gain is a major health issue with physical, psychological and psycho-social effects.

Dietitian Aimee Boidin from Body Fusion attends Hunters Hill Medical Practice on a weekly basis. She recently wrote a blog about ways to lose those kilos on the Body Fusion website and has kindly authorised the use of her article here. If you prefer the information presented visually, please view our summary video.

1.     Reduce temptation in your home environment:

For those who had gained COVID kilos, they reported an increase in junk food intake. To state the obvious, when the food isn’t there, you just can’t eat it. Stacking your home pantry and fridge with nutritious foods and a variety of different options is a better way to go.

2.     Plan or diarise your work breaks:

When working from home, food consumption can be an easy distraction and product of boredom. Setting a phone alarm or dedicating proper morning, lunch and afternoon breaks draws a clear line of when it is and isn’t appropriate to eat and will stop you grazing all day. Decreasing incidental snaking decreases the chance of COVID kilos.

3.     Manage stress:

We aren’t all superhero’s and its OK to admit you are struggling. Emotional eating is a consequence of seeking dopamine and serotonin rushes via food reward systems. Chocolate unfortunately won’t solve your problems (Although many will argue it does!), but a psychologist or stress management strategies might. 

4.     Continue to celebrate special events:

People’s top negative reported impact of COVID was its influence on special events. Yes its changed our lives, but perhaps we can become a little more savvy or problem solve other ways to celebrate. A birthday could still go ahead as a socially distanced picnic rather than a whole week of eating ice cream after dinner every night to compensate.

5.     Move:

Exercise moves and shifts energy. Having a hard day? You can’t tell me a swim in the ocean, a thirty minute run or a game of tennis won’t help you feel better. From our experience in clinic, when our clients feel good, they make better food choices. With 40-50% of people reporting more screen time during the pandemic, I would say this is very relevant.

6.     Get individualised nutrition advice:

If you need some help, Dietitian’s are always available to help guide you. Every human being is unique in their genetic makeup, physical activity levels, food preferences and lifestyle. If you need some structure or education without judgement – we get it.  A Dietitian can help you start to work on behaviours that support not only the loss of your COVID kilos but also best health and longevity.

For more information about Aimee, her days in Hunters Hill and her contact details, please click here.

Audiologist, Damien O’Connor from WHAT, The Hearing Center will now be consulting from the upstairs Allied Health rooms on a weekly basis. Damien is a very experienced local audiologist who has collaborated with the doctors from Hunters Hill Medical Practice for over 10 years. We are excited to have him onsite on a weekly basis to improve access to our patients and enhance our multidisciplinary team.

Damien provides a range of audiology and hearing services which include:

• Hearing checks
• Battery replacements
• Complex hearing aids
• Fitting Cochlea implants.

To find out more about Damien and how he may be able to help you, please click here T or visit the WHAT website.

To contact WHAT and book an appointment with Damien please call 02 9420 2300