Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) is urging parents and carers to keep young children at home if they are sick amid a rise in viral gastroenteritis cases in childcare centres.

WNSWLHD Director of Public Health, Priscilla Stanley, said gastroenteritis is highly infectious and may spread rapidly in childcare centres.

“The best defence is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and running water for at least 10 seconds before handling and eating food, and always wash your hands after using the toilet, changing nappies or assisting someone who has diarrhoea or vomiting.”

“Infants or children in childcare or school who develop vomiting or diarrhoea should stay at home for at least 48 hours after their symptoms have stopped, as should staff members and anyone whose work involves handling food or looking after children, the elderly or patients,” said Priscilla.

The Director of one Forbes Early Learning Care Service wanted to ensure families that they are taking appropriate measures given the heightened risk, “Our service has strict health and safety policy and procedures in place for illnesses like this, these policies and procedures keeps our children, families, and staff who utilise our service, safe. COVID-19 has brought about increased awareness, and this has led to families being advised to stay home if sick,” she said.

Anyone recovering from gastroenteritis should avoid visiting hospitals and aged care facilities to avoid spreading the infection to those most vulnerable. Any person living in a household affected by gastroenteritis should refrain from visiting these high-risk areas until at least 48 hours after the last person in the household has recovered.

All are invited to join in celebrating the achievements, commitment and skills of nurses and midwives at this year’s virtual NSW Health Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards.

This is the eighth Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards event, and the first time they have been presented virtually, allowing the community to take part in a COVID safe way.

NSW Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Jacqui Cross, said the Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards will be a little different in 2020, but will still be an opportunity to acknowledge nurses and midwives for outstanding clinical practice, leadership, and dedication to their profession and the people they care for.

“Judging the finalists and winners of this key nursing and midwifery event is always a challenging task. There is so much to be proud of and celebrate and 2020 is no exception,” Jacqui said.

“This is the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. It has been a year like no other where the contribution of nurses and midwives has been highlighted during our response to COVID-19. If there was ever a time to pause and celebrate the 53,000 nurses and midwives of NSW, who make up more than 50 per cent of the State’s public health workforce, it is now.”

“We invite everyone to join the celebration and watch the show in recognition of the exceptional care of the nurses and midwives of NSW,” Western NSW Local Health District Executive Director Quality, Clinical Safety and Nursing, Adrian Fahy said.

The Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards will be streamed at 2pm on 26 November 2020 on the NSW Health website www.health.nsw.gov.au/nursing/enma. To share photos and messages of congratulations and acknowledgment through the show, tweet or post using the hashtags #ExceptionalCare and #EINMA2020.

NSW Health is contacting people who have recently arrived on flights from South Australia following the emergence of the Parafield COVID-19 cluster in Adelaide.

Passengers on recent flights to both Sydney and Broken Hill are being contacted with NSW Health advice and are being alerted to a number of venues of concern in Adelaide.

NSW Health is screening passengers arriving on flights and trains from South Australia, including asking if people have attended any of the venues of concern.

Anyone who is travelling to NSW from South Australia, or has recently done so, regardless of their mode of transport, is asked to check if they have attended any of the venues of concern.

The details of locations and times of concern, and associated health advice, are available from www.sahealth.sa.gov.au

Please contact NSW Health on 1300 066 055 if you have any queries or would like assistance in accessing testing if you have been at any venues or sites identified by SA Health.

All people travelling from South Australia, particularly Adelaide, to NSW, including recent arrivals, are asked to monitor for even the mildest of symptoms and get tested and isolate if they appear. They must remain in isolation until a negative result is received, in line with routine advice for all people in NSW.

The NSW Government has introduced the state’s first ever Suicide Monitoring System, which will provide up-to-date data for health and support services about the number of suicide deaths across the state.

NSW Nationals Upper House MP, Sam Farraway said the Suicide Monitoring System will inform critical decisions about services and local health responses in communities impacted by suicide.

“Instead of relying on two-year-old data released by the ABS, we now have near real-time data that means we can be more responsive and target services to current community needs,” Sam said.

Earlier this year, community support organisations, residents of Forbes, and farmers from across the region attended the Get Up and Go Garema gathering which was held at the Livestock Exchange.

The gathering, organised by Tom Norris, and featuring many inspiring guest speakers, including Sam Bailey, shed light on the challenges of rural life and its impacts on the mental health of those living on the land.

Accessing support out west is both a mental and practical challenge. However, with the Government using technology to better understand this challenging, tragic and often overlooked issue in the region, funding can be better distributed to where it is needed the most in order to help support those who need it.

Towards Zero Suicides is a NSW Premier’s priority and the NSW Government is investing $87 million over three years in new suicide prevention initiatives.

If you, or someone you know, is thinking about suicide or experiencing a personal crisis or distress, please seek help immediately by calling 000 or one of these services:

• Lifeline 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
• NSW Mental Health Line 1800 011 511

As New South Wales marks three million COVID-19 tests since January, the NSW Government is calling on the community to continue to work together to fight the deadly virus.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard warned that while recent easing of restrictions is very welcome, it comes with risks and it is critical everyone keeps getting tested.

“This is a stealthy virus and if we give it an inch, it will take a mile and undo a lot of good work,” Brad said, “I thank the people of NSW for their efforts and sacrifices during the past nine months, which have put us in a position where we have been able to ease restrictions.”

The NSW Government aims to be able to continue to ease restrictions in the weeks and months ahead, but this depends on us being successful in minimising community transmission.

As of 8pm on 26 October 2020, 3,000,641 COVID-19 tests had been performed on 2,247,101 people in NSW. Of those people tested, 63.7 per cent had a single test and 36.3 per cent had more than one test. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said it was critical that people continue to come forward for testing and practice COVID-safe behaviours when out and about.

“When we have high numbers of people continuing to get tested, that allows us to detect cases in the community earlier and prevent onward transmission,” Kerry said.

“Get tested at the first sign of even the mildest of symptoms, wash your hands regularly, physically distance and wear a mask when using public transport and in places where you can’t physically distance.”

BreastScreen NSW is encouraging women aged 50 to 74 to make their health a priority by booking a free life-saving mammogram this Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Meg O’Brien of BreastScreen NSW Western Region said: “This Breast Cancer Awareness Month we want women in Western NSW Local Health District to make booking a breast screen a priority.”

“BreastScreen NSW has implemented a range of hygiene and social-distancing measures to ensure clinics and mobile screening vans are COVID-19 safe, to protect women, staff and the wider community.”

Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, Professor David Currow said early detection is key to giving women the best chance of survival and reduces the likelihood of needing invasive treatment, such as mastectomy or chemotherapy.

An appointment with BreastScreen NSW is free, takes about 20 minutes in total and no doctor’s referral is needed. In addition to 46 BreastScreen NSW clinics, Breast-Screen NSW has 16 mobile vans that provide services to about 180 locations across NSW, including in rural and remote areas.

If you are aged 50 to 74 book your free mammogram today with BreastScreen NSW online at www.book.breastscreen.nsw.gov.au or by calling 13 20 50.

It has been a most challenging year, with bushfires and a pandemic topping off years of extreme drought and financial hardship for many across Central Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD).

WNSWLHD Director of Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol, Jason Crisp said, “Now more than ever it is extremely important to be talking and thinking about our mental health.”

“For the first time the WNSWLHD Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Services team have developed a calendar full of activities to celebrate Mental Health Month, during the month of October, the calendar has been especially put together for both carers and consumers,” Jason said.

“This awareness month encourages all of us to think about our mental health and wellbeing, regardless of whether we may have a lived experience of mental illness or not.” Jason urges everyone to seek support early for their mental health and hopes that these programs are able to increase awareness about mental health and how to best obtain support.

Because of the current Public Health Orders, and government restrictions the activities will be offered through virtual services, including video conferences and teleconferences.

“Some of the events include hearing about the peer workforce, being a young carer, older people’s mental health, and yarning with aboriginal carers just to name a few.”

“We hope you enjoy what is on offer for the month, it is an excellent line up of educational opportunities with some great presenters who are experts in their fields and very interesting guest speakers.”

“I encourage everyone to join us and share with your family and friends,” Jason said.

Early to bed, early to rise, while the old saying promises health, wealth and wisdom, new research confirms part of the adage holds true, as a world first study shows that people who go to bed early are more likely to be in better health and more physically active compared to night owls.

Conducted by the University of Leicester and the University of South Australia, the study assessed the bedtime preferences of people with Type Two Diabetes, identifying a connection between bedtimes and healthy, active lifestyles.

It found that night owls have an excessively sedentary lifestyle, characterised by low levels and low intensities of physical activity which puts their health at greater risk.

Lead researcher, Dr Joseph Henson from the University of Leicester, says understanding how people’s sleep time preferences can impact their level of physical activity, could help people with Type Two Diabetes better manage their health.

“There is a massive need for large-scale interventions to help people with diabetes initiate, maintain and achieve the benefits of an active lifestyle,” Joseph says. “For people who prefer to go to bed later and get up later, this is even more important, with our research showing that night owls exercise 56% less than their early bird counterparts.”

The University of South Australia’s Dr Alex Rowlands says the study provides a unique insight into behaviours of people with Type Two Diabetes. “The links between later sleep times and physical activity is clear: go to bed late and you’re less likely to be active,” Alex says. “For someone with diabetes, this is valuable information that could help get them back on a path to good health.”