Nursing Services
Our nurses provide the best care for you and your family. Our friendly and professional nursing staff are able to help you and your family through your times of unwellness.
Our nurses can assist you with injections, vaccines, surgical procedures, health assessments, examinations and can perform certain procedures to ensure that you are maintain or return to good health. They also can do ECG’s (Electrocardiography) on site.
It is important that you are honest and open with the nursing staff so that we can provide the best possible care for you and your family. Whilst you attend your health service provider the nursing staff can assist you with after care and medication administration and management.
If you wish to talk with a nurse or to discuss your health, please contact us.
INR Management
INR (International Normalised Ratio) is the laboratory measurement of how long it takes the patient’s blood to clot. This test is performed to determine the affects of oral anticoagulants, such as- Warfarin, on the patient’s clotting system.
INR management is important, as, it allows for the health providers to regularly monitor the affects of the oral anticoagulants upon the patient. This is done using portable devices or laboratory tests to check the patient’s blood. You may also be eligible to self-test in some cases.
The INR test is typically performed daily until the INR target has been reached and maintained for at least 2 days consecutively. When the INR target has maintained for two days, the testing is then performed each 2-3 days over the following weeks and then decreased depending upon the stability of the patient’s results. If the testing appears to be stable, the testing process may be apart as much as each four weeks. To ensure the patient’s INR stays within the therapeutic range, it is important that the testing is frequent, so that the health provider can assess the dosage of the oral anticoagulants, the patient’s level of reaction to these coagulates and the affects that these have upon the patient’s blood.
It is important for patients to be aware that many different types of food, concurrent illnesses and medications can have an effect upon Warfarin and other oral anticoagulants and therefore interfere with the INR Management process.
Please contact us if you:
Decide to change your diet or undergo sudden changes to your eating habits
Begin or continue to use diet supplements
Feel sick or have bouts of unwellness
Begin or change dosages of medications or start taking over the counter medicines
Spirometry
Spirometry is a the most common lung function test performed by health care providers. The test is performed to assess how well your lung capacity is by measuring how you inhale and exhale, how much you can exhale, the fastness of the exhale and how effective air flow can move within your lungs.
Spirometry is the test that is predominately used to diagnose conditions, such as
Asthma
Bronchitis
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Other breathing and lung conditions
The spirometry is typically performed to aid the diagnosis of various lung conditions and to assess or monitor lung disease severity, medication checks, occupation health impacts, interventional outcomes, diagnosis or management plans for symptoms and to check for scuba diving eligibility.
During the procedure, patients are seated, the doctor or nurse will then instruct the patient to take a deep breath in and then exhale the breath as hard as possible into the spirette.
This test will be repeated at least three times or until the results of the tests are consistent. The highest value of these readings will then be used for your final result. It is important to note that many patients can become light headed during these tests, this is normal as many people are not used to breathing in and out like they are being instructed.
It is recommended that patients wear unrestricted clothing, avoid smoking for at least one hour before the test, no alcohol and avoidance of some lung medications, as, these factors can impact your ability to breathe or to provide a reliable sample.
If you are having breathing difficulties or require emergency assistance, please call 000 immediately. If you have questions regarding the spirometry testing or about your health, please contact your health service provider.
Wound Management
Wounds consist of abrasions, lacerations, avulsions and punctures to the internal or external tissue of the patient. Wounds are typically painful and vary in pain depending on the degree of the wound and location of the wound on the patient.
When you have a wound there are numerous treatment options available. After cleaning the wound with antiseptics and numbing the wound with anaesthetic, your health care provider may close the wound with stitches, glue or sutures. If the wound is minimal or in a certain area of the body, the doctor may elect to not close the wound and to allow it to heal naturally. This process may require the doctor or nurse to pack the wound with gauze to stop the spread of infection.
The wound may also require the patient to get a tetanus shot and to take other treatments, like penicillin, antibiotics and pain medications. Your doctor will discuss the best methods of wound care and medications for the decrease of infection during your consultation.
If the wound is severe or a part of the patient’s body is severed or crushed, the patient should seek medical help by dialling 000 or by going to the hospital, where possible reattachment and after care are provided.
After your wound is seen to by the doctor, you will most likely be made wear a bandage or dressing to ensure that the wound can properly heal.
It is important to remember that hand washing, clean surfaces and cleanliness are to be ensured when changing dressings or bandages and that you do not touch the wound without proper hand hygiene. It is also important to ensure that you disinfect and dry the wound properly to ensure that you do not infect the wound.