Health & Wellbeing

A new community-based support program has been introduced to assist people suffering from mental health issues across South Eastern NSW. Funded by Coordinare, the South Eastern NSW Primary Health Network, the new Commonwealth Psychosocial Support (CPS) program is designed to support people in regional communities dealing with mental health issues. "We are delighted to have partnered with four local organisations...

Long-awaited new apartments that have just opened in Bega are designed to provide independent living for people with a disability. The community has warmly welcomed it, including one family who said it helped end a long-term "nightmare" search. Tulgeen's Elliot Lane Apartments officially opened in early April 2022. Tulgeen CEO Duane Kelly said they would give people with a disability...

A combination of workforce shortages, furloughed staff and the impact of COVID-19 are causing temporary cutbacks to health services in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD). The MLHD said three of the District’s health facilities were particularly affected by the staffing issues and unplanned leave caused by rising levels of COVID-19 transmission in the community. From Monday 11 April, overnight emergency...

Less than a year after Sally Lloyd Stolzenhein had a brain tumour removed, her long-time partner and father to their five children Tom McLeod also needed urgent brain surgery - but his resulted in an unexpected side effect. "He and I were overwhelmed before any of this," Ms Lloyd Stolzenhein said. "Now it's like, what just happened? "He was my...

Mask mandates weren't necessarily welcomed by anyone, but for deaf or hearing-impaired people, they added an extra layer of isolation, according to Mary-Clare Smith. As the Murrumbidgee Local Health District’s (MLHD) district infection prevention and control clinical nurse consultant (CNC), these considerations falls under her remit. “We are currently working with a staff member who is deaf and, as you can...

Let's be honest, is the recently launched NSW Health 'Get the Facts' vaping toolkit and awareness campaign really going to make the so-called 'cool' kids think twice about vaping? Probably not. But, it will educate parents, teachers and carers about the hidden dangers of e-cigarettes and hopefully kick-start conversations in the home and classroom about the harmful, long-term effects vaping can have...

Hospitality businesses typically throw out about 30 per cent of their purchased food. Now eateries, schools and community groups on the South Coast, now have an opportunity to do their bit to reduce the amount of food waste going into landfill. Free on-site composting, worm farms, bokashi fermentation or bucket collection food waste recycling schemes are on offer for businesses,...

Investigations are continuing into the source of a Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) case in the Goulburn area. Confirmed as the fifth case of JEV in New South Wales, the Goulburn man aged in his 60s was treated in hospital before being discharged and is continuing recovery in a rehabilitation facility. NSW Health is urging the community - particularly those working with pigs or horses...

A woman who has faced mental health challenges for most of her adult life has been recognised as the 2022 Cootamundra Electorate Woman of the Year for her outstanding work in suicide prevention. Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) employee and Young resident Seryn Adams said her lived experience charted her calling into the mental health arena, where she now works...

Keith 'Keeto' Muscat is preparing to run an ultra-marathon around the picturesque town of Crookwell in the Southern Tablelands to raise money for Police Legacy's Run4Blue and the Crookwell Community Trust charities. On 28 May the 46-year old amateur runner will test his endurance over 80 km traversing the local area, which takes in parts of Laggan to Roslyn, Woodhouselee...

When the Southern NSW Local Health District closed the Cooma Hospital maternity ward due to staff shortages, staff were bewildered. They didn't think a staff shortage existed and believed their maternity ward provided a vital service for both the Cooma community and its surrounds. Then a labouring Cooma mum was rushed to Canberra in an ambulance at 4 am with...

A Wagga Wagga politician is calling for the creation of a new government department designed to tackle the unique medical challenges faced by people living in remote, rural and regional areas. Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr started the e-petition as he believes a rural health department could meet the health challenges faced by those living outside the major...

The Young Local Health Advisory Committee (LHAC) has taken the unprecedented step of asking local residents to use the local hospital emergency department (ED) for emergencies only. LHAC Chair Fiona Douglass said in January the ED had been inundated by individuals who had presented with a range of non-urgent symptoms from colds, sore throats, headache, congestion and sore backs. “January has been...