EUROBODALLA residents will no longer have to travel away for nuclear medical services such as bone, renal, lung and thyroid scans with the opening of the region’s first nuclear medicine clinic in Queen Street, Moruya.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Whereas previously patients were forced to travel to Nowra or Canberra for these services - or perhaps chose not to have scans - the new clinic will provide a range of nuclear medicine tests locally.
Physician Dr Surit-Singh Wadhwa and nuclear medicine technologist Gavin Robinson are aiming to open their doors on November 3 and the good news is there will be no out-of-pocket costs for services.
“Because we knew that some people may not have testing due to the cost, and we wanted to improve the quality of services and people’s health, we decided to bulk bill,” Mr Robinson said. “There will only be a small number of patients, about two per cent, who will not fall into categories for bulk billing and will have to pay a fee.”
A gap in services and the demography of the area - with a large number of ageing residents requiring scans and testing - was a major reason for setting up this service but a lifestyle change for Mr Robinson also provided the opportunity for expanding
medical services in the area.
While he will be on site full time, Dr Singh will report on some images remotely and visit the clinic on a part-time basis.
About $300,000 in equipment was required to provide bone density scans, myocardial perfusion studies and scans of the lungs, kidneys and thyroid as well as other nuclear medicines services.
“Nuclear imaging is functional imaging - it shows how the body is actually working and performing rather than indicating its shape or structure,” Mr Robinson explained.
Some of the services are also preventative. The early stages of osteoporosis, for example, can be identified in a bone density scan and the patients can be advised to change their lifestyle and prevent falls, which cause fractures.
“The cost of surgery, the subsequent lack of movement and all the associated
problems and costs of a fracture can be avoided,” Mr Robinson said.
Sports injuries, such as shin splints, stress fractures and other trauma injuries can also be diagnosed, he said.
Patients will be referred to the clinic
by specialists or GPs in order to diagnose ailments or determine treatments.