BENDIGO residents have been urged to keep seeing their doctor when needed, despite the COVID-19 crisis.
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Health workers say people should keep their regular checks, but make an initial telehealth appointment if they are uncomfortable going to a clinic.
It comes as some doctors surgeries report a drop in patient numbers.
Community members were also urged to keep a close eye on the mental health of themselves and others, as stage three lockdowns continue.
Strathfieldsaye Primary Health clinical director Ewa Piejko said the practice patient numbers had fallen as the COVID-19 crisis worsened, especially for routine health management.
Dr Piejko people should continue preventative health measures where possible, such as pap smears, mole checks and breast screening.
If this wasn't possible they should at least make a future appointment, she said.
Dr Piejko said people should also contact their doctor if anything abnormal or new showed up, such as changes in skin lesions or a new bump.
She said some doctors were avoiding routine skin checks, but any changes to skin marks should be checked.
Putting off checks for a change in moles or the like meant it could get forgotten, and any cancer could get worse in the interim, Dr Piejko said.
For those with chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes it was important to get any issues sorted out, Dr Piejko said.
She said people with diabetes and heart disease were particularly at risk, as lockdown meant most people were at home more, eating more and exercising less.
Dr Piejko urged people to maintain health habits, such as exercise and avoiding fatty, salty foods.
"You still need to really look after your health. Cardio heart diseases is still one of our biggest reasons for people dying in the community," she said.
"Despite the fact that there are all these restrictions and things going on it's still really important to maintain your physical health.
"Continue to look after your health and wellbeing, because the long term consequence of that could be quite disastrous."
OTHER NEWS:
Bendigo Community Health Services director of Primary Health Care Services Graem Kelly said the clinic hadn't seen a significant drop in patient numbers.
But Mr Kelly said some vulnerable people needed reminding to see their GP, especially those with multiple chronic diseases, such as diabetes.
Mr Kelly said if concerned people should make telehealth appointments, because they often did not have enough information to assess the relative risks of their condition against COVID-19.
He said a health professional would be able to make a judgement about whether the person needed a face to face consult.
"We're encouraging people to continue with management of health conditions with their local doctor and their local health professionals, so nothing gets out of control," Mr Kelly said.
"To ignore issues often leads to long term poorer outcomes for the patient if they don't manage them appropriately.
"If we keep things table and mange them appropriately we lead to better health outcomes."
Mr Kelly said people should know they could talk to their doctor about mental health if they had any concerns.
"All of us can suffer some stress in terms of mental health, and far better that we address that early as concerns arise so that we can head off more serious issues later on," he said.
"Not only among our patients, but our staff, there's a lot of increased pressure due to restrictions put in place by COVID, which is nobody's fault.
"But we need to be aware we need to support each other as human beings, we're active social contacts."
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