Welcome Dr Robert Money

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Dr Robert Money to the Mead Medical team. 

Dr Robert Money trained in WA at the University of WA as a graduate student, graduating in 2012. Before going to medicine he had been a registered nurse working in areas such as emergency, coronary care and general medicine and surgery. He also dabbled in the world of prehospital medicine gaining a diploma in paramedical science.

Since moving into medicine Rob has worked in various areas and has continued his interest in emergency medicine working for the last 6 months at the Midland Hospital Emergency Department, and gaining a post-graduate certificate in Emergency Medicine. Rob also enjoys providing care across the lifespan to patients and their families.

As a local of the area for the last 10 years, he and his wife enjoy the hospitality of local restaurants and all that the beautiful Perth hills have to offer. 

Welcome Dr Anna Dillon

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Dr Anna Dillon to the Mead Medical team. 

Anna initially qualified as a Physiotherapist in 2002 and worked in NZ, the UK and Australia before deciding to study medicine at Notre Dame in Fremantle. She graduated in 2012 and worked at Fremantle Hospital. While doing a GP term in Carnarvon she discovered her passion for general practice and womens health and she has subsequently undertaken 2 years of womens health training and is part of the Mead team who provide obstetric care at Bentley Hospital. Anna is passionate about all aspects of general practice with a particular interest in women’s health, sexual health, paediatrics, sports medicine and preventative health.

Outside of work Anna and her partner are kept busy with their gorgeous infant son. She also enjoys running and mountain biking and exploring WA. 

The New National Cervical Cancer Screening Program – how does it affect you?

Written by Dr Chieh Cheng

The new National cervical screening program commenced on 1st Dec 2017. If you are due or overdue for your pap smear, please make an appointment to see your GP as soon as possible to get the new cervical screening test. One of the best ways to avoid getting cervical cancer is to have regular screening, which is now every 5 years instead of every 2 years. 

The new screening program has increased accuracy, which can detect the disease earlier, treat earlier, and achieve a further reduction in the new cases of cervical cancer in Australia. However, this requires the active participation of all eligible women to come in for screening. Unfortunately, 80% of new cases of cervical cancer occur in women who have never been screened or have been overdue for some time.

The major changes to the new screening program include:

• Starting age of screening  – now from 25yrs old, instead of 18yrs old;
• Finishing age of screening – now finish at 75yrs old, instead of 70yrs old; and
• If results are normal, screening test is every 5 years instead of every 2 years.

Therefore, if you are under 25yrs old, and your last pap smear result was normal, you do not need to have another cervical screening test until you turn 25.

If you are between the age of 70-74yrs, you will be invited to return to your GP to have one more cervical screening test.  If the result of that test is normal, you may exit the screening program.

If your last pap smear was an abnormal result, then you need to follow the treatment protocol according to your doctor, including those under the age of 25. (For example, if you were 21yrs old when you had an abnormal result for your pap smear, and you were advised to return in 12 months for a repeat pap smear, then you do need to return in 12 months when you are 22yrs old to have a cervical screening test, not wait until you are 25yrs old.) 

It is important to remember that the screening test is only for women who do not have the following symptoms (which are suggestive of possible cervical cancer or other diseases):

• abnormal vaginal bleeding;
• abnormal vaginal discharge; or
• vaginal or pelvic pain.

If you suffer from these symptoms, please see your GP as soon as possible for an assessment, as these symptoms may warrant different investigations.

If you have any more queries regarding the new screening program, please make an appointment to discuss with your doctor or go online for more information – http://www.cancerscreening.gov.au/

Australia Day Weekend Opening Hours

Please be advised of our opening hours over the Australia Day long weekend. 

We hope you have a happy and healthy long weekend!

Welcome Dr Taryn Oates

We are thrilled to announce that Dr Taryn Oates will be starting with us on Monday 15th January. 

After an early career in finance, Taryn decided to follow her passion to study medicine and has not looked back. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame Fremantle in 2013 and after working across a variety of medical and surgical specialties and locations including 12 months at Albany Hospital, she commenced work in general practice and enjoys it immensely.

Her clinical interests are varied and range from women’s health, sexual health, sports medicine, palliative care and paediatrics, completing the Diploma of Child Health in 2017.

Outside of medicine, Taryn enjoys playing basketball, attending live music events and travelling at any opportunity. 

Taryn will work at both of our surgeries and appointments can be made either via the booking link on the website or by phoning 9293 4455 (Kalamunda) or 9453 6566 (Forrestfield).

Increase in Consultation Fees

We wish to advise our fantastic loyal patients that as of 2^nd January we have increased our consultation fees slightly to offset some of the increased costs that general practice continues to face in light of the continued Medicare freeze.

We didn’t take this decision lightly, but haven’t increased our fees since August 2016. From today standard consultations have increased between $3.00-$5.00 (depending on consult length). Specific fees can be discussed with our friendly staff or with your Doctor.

Thank you for your understanding and as always, we look forward to delivering high quality healthcare to you and your family throughout 2018.

Christmas Opening Hours

Please see below the list of opening hours for both clinics over the Christmas period. 

Goodbye Dr Vinith Menezes

Unfortunately for Mead Medical, our loss is Ireland’s gain as Dr Vinith Menezes has decided to move to Ireland for family reasons. We know that many of you will be extremely disappointed to hear the news, as are all the staff and Doctors at Mead! Vin has been a much loved and respected member of the Mead team since joining in January 2016 as a new Registrar. Since that time he has completed his training, been admitted as a Fellow of the RACGP and delivered countless babies at Bentley Hospital. We hope Vin finds his way back to Mead at some point in the future but in the meantime we wish him well in his new surroundings and thank him for his fantastic contribution during his time with us.
 
Our three remaining Obstetric GPs (Dr Greg Caddy, Dr Ann Lewis and Dr Chieh Cheng) continue to see ante natal patients (in addition to general consulting) and in January we will welcome Dr Anna Dillon as a fourth Obstetric GP.

Welcome Dr Lucy Barling

Mead Medical are pleased to advise that Dr Lucy Barling has commenced consulting at both of our surgeries.

Lucy qualified as a Doctor in 2003 at Manchester University in the UK. Her career comprises experience in a breath of specialties across the UK and in Australia. She has worked in most of Perth’s hospitals over the last 6 years and her areas of interest are care of the elderly, palliative care, internal medicine, chronic disease and diabetes. She is passionate about the development of health care services to better assist the elderly, their families and to promote the elderly’s place in society.

Lucy is married to a Doctor and has two young children. She enjoys running and walking, particularly in the Perth Hills. She frequently takes up new hobbies such as crochet, woodwork and growing vegetables and loves to involve her children in these. We are thrilled that we have been able to secure Lucy and have no doubt she will be an asset to the residents of the Kalamunda Shire.

Kalamunda Phone Lines Working Again

We are very pleased to advise that the phone lines to our Kalamunda surgery are operational once again.

Thank you for your patience and understanding on a matter that was completely out of our hands. We will be taking the matter up with Optus management and the telecommunications ombudsman. In the meantime, we must extend a huge thank you to our wonderful reception team at Forrestfield who fielded such a high level of calls this week.