Parkes Phoenix Editor

HOW TO VOTE FOR TRADIE OF THE YEAR AND MOST POPULAR BUSINESS

The closing date for award entries is over but voting for Tradie of the Year and Most Popular Business is underway. There are two ways to nominate your favourite tradie and/or business. The voting box is conveniently located at News On Rankin. You can pick up a voting form from there and complete it on the spot, or cut a form from the Forbes Phoenix newspaper. If you need help with voting, the staff at News On Rankin will be at your service!

Alternatively, enter the following link in your internet browser and follow the prompts. http://www.inxcess.com.au/peoples-choice/ Please encourage your staff, family and friends to vote for their Tradie of the Year and Most Popular Business.

Around Australia, about 20 per cent of onfarm injury fatalities are to children under 15 years of age. There are many more injuries to children each year, some with lifelong consequences. The biggest risk is drowning, especially for children under five years old. Other major dangers include machinery and vehicles, particularly quad bikes.

National Farm Safety week runs from 17 to 23 July, and chairman of Farmsafe Australia, Charles Amstrong, is encouraging people on properties to take extra care, especially with kids. “Too many children are injured, or worse, killed on our farms each year,” said Charles.
“We recommend all farms have a secure safe play area for children under 5 years. Whether you are parents of young children, a grandparent, or simply have kids visiting on your property every now and then, a secure play area is a must.

“As an industry, we have reduced the number of farm injury deaths by almost 60% over the past two decades, but we need to do more,” he said. He adds that there are two things people can do right now to provide a safer environment for children who live on or visit their property. “Make sure you have a secure safe play area and not to allow children on quad bikes. In 2016, three children were killed
riding quads. The risk is not worth it. Kids don’t have the physical size, strength, coordination and emotional maturity to safely operate such a dangerous piece of equipment.

“It’s not about wrapping them up in cotton wool, it is about taking sensible steps to reduce the chance of things going wrong”. Further information can be found at: www.farmsafe.org.au or by contacting Farmsafe Australia on (02) 6269 5622 or your state Farmsafe group.

Forbes Medical Centre has welcomed three new medical students to their practice. Bradley Spackman, Laura Sunderland and Charne Quayle started their 12-month placement last Monday. The third-year medical students from the University of Wollongong (UOW) are here as part of a five-year partnership between the UOW and the Forbes Medical Centre.

“This is the fourth year of our agreement with UOW. Due to the success of our teaching program and the positive feedback from students
placed at our practice, we now have three students undertaking their placement with us each year,” said Dr Neale Somes. Brad and Laura were drawn to medicine by a desire to combine their interests in science and helping others, and are excited to be here.

“Past practical placements have been in acute settings, where we only tend to see patients once. It will be great to get to know patients over the next 12 months as we work with their regular doctors,” said Laura. During their placement in Forbes the students will spend time learning about general practice and working in the emergency department at the Forbes Hospital. They will also undertake placements in the community and with allied health professionals and visiting specialists.

“In the city medicine can be very specialised but here the students are exposed to general medicine, from the cradle to the grave, from obstetrics to palliative care and everything in between,” said Dr Somes. Dr Somes is hopeful that after spending a year in Forbes, the UOW students will be more likely to return to the country to work. “I’m optimistic that exposing students to the life of a rural generalist means they will be more likely to come back to the country to practice when they have completed their training,” he said.