Health and Wellness Check – What Can You Do?

When was the last time you saw your GP for a health and wellness check? While some people only attend a medical clinic when they’re feeling ill, more and more people recognise the importance of regular health checks. If you want to stay healthy and active at every stage of your life, it’s essential to have regular health and wellness checks with your GP. A regular health check can detect early signs of health issues and examines your current health status. Your GP will also discuss your physical activity, diet, alcohol and tobacco use, weight and family history of diseases.

Throughout your life, there is a range of screening tests that we recommend that examine your medical and family history and lifestyle. Access Health and Community has highly trained and experienced GPs who conduct regular health and wellness checks with their patients. During your health and wellness check your GP will:

• Update your medical history
• Examine any health issues and perform tests if required
• Follow up any issues identified
• Give you information and advice on how to improve your health and wellbeing
• Recommend preventative health activities, including screening tests, that are appropriate for your age and medical conditions
• Discuss lifestyle factors contributing to health, including discussion of diet and physical activity.

Access Health and Community offer health and wellness checks for patients at all stages of their life, including children, men, women and the elderly.

Health Checks for Children

Access Health and Community GPs provide health checks for children in a supportive and friendly atmosphere. Our GPs understand that for some children, visiting the GP can be a stressful and anxious experience. We work hard to ensure health checks for children are a pleasant experience for the child and the parents. From newborn babies and toddlers to tweens and teenagers, our health checks for children focus on your child’s current health status, including their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. We assess the following when checking your child’s health:

• Height
• Weight
• Hearing
• Sight
• General wellbeing and mood
• Social, behavioural and physical development

Access Health and Community participate in the Australian Government’s Get Set 4 Life 4-Year-Old Healthy Kids Check. This health check occurs when your child has their 4-year-old immunisations and includes:

• Medical, social and family history
• Lifestyle factors including eating habits and physical activity
• Assessment of speech and language development
• Evaluation of fine and gross motor skills, e.g. walking, riding a tricycle, climbing stairs, drawing without scribbling
• Assessment of mood and behaviour including sleeping and energy levels.

Get peace of mind that your child is progressing well physically, mentally and emotionally. Book your child’s health and wellness check today.

Health Checks for Women

Access Health and Community have excellent GPs who focus on women’s health. For women to stay healthy, they need regular health checks which can identify any possible health issues at an early stage.

If you are thinking about starting a family, we recommend you have a preconception health test. The three months before your planned pregnancy is a good time to visit your GP. As well as a general health check you’ll also get blood tests, a Cervical Screening Test (formally Pap Test) if appropriate, and an immunisation status check.

Other health checks for women at Access Health and Community include:

• Cervical Screening Tests and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) screening
• Pregnancy check-ups and antenatal screening
• Diabetes health checks, which may include a fasting blood sugar test
• Heart health checks including checking blood pressure, weight check and blood tests
• Breast health checks including mammogram every two years for women between 50 and 74 years of age
• Bowel cancer health checks under the National Bowel Cancer Screening program for women over 50 years of age
• Skin checks, including looking for changes in the size, colour or shape of any moles, freckles or spots
• Discussion of diet and physical activity habits

Access Health and Community understand that many women are busy, and find it hard to take the time to look after their health and wellbeing. A health and wellness check can ensure early detection of disease and can uncover underlying health issues you may not have known about, setting you up for a healthier future.

Health Checks for Men

Having regular health and wellness checks is essential for men as they can detect any warning signs of illness or disease. Access Health and Community highly trained GPs screen all types of men’s health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, stroke risk and diabetes.
Regular health checks can pick up diseases in early stages so they can get treated. During your health check, the GP will talk to you about your family’s history of the disease, your lifestyle and your medical history. They’ll also check your weight, ask about your diet, drinking and smoking habits and find out what your exercise routine is.

Other health checks for men at Access Health and Community include:

• STI screening
• Skin checks, including looking for changes in the size, colour or shape of any moles, freckles or spots
• Heart health checks including checking blood pressure, weight check and blood tests
• Diabetes health checks, which may include a fasting blood sugar test
• Bowel cancer health checks under the National Bowel Cancer Screening program for men over 50 years of age
• Discussion of prostate cancer risk and prostate cancer screening if appropriate

We know that some men find it challenging and confronting to look after their health. A health and wellness check at Access Health and Community ensures early detection of disease and can reveal underlying health issues you’ve not been aware of.

Health Checks for Older Adults

According to the Victorian Health Department “older people accessing the healthcare system increasingly have a high level of medical and social complexity with associated ongoing and increasing care needs.” At Access Health and Community, we offer all our patients over 75 years of age a comprehensive health check assessment. Our elderly health checks are designed to identify any preventable health conditions or issues.

Access Health and Community elderly health and wellness checks include:

• Assessment of physical, psychological and social functioning including activity levels and any history of falls
• Collecting information including medical history and a list of medications you are taking
• Medication rationalisation, where we make sure you are on the right medications for your age and health
• Assessment of immunisation status including tetanus, influenza, shingles and pneumococcus
• Evaluation of cognition, particularly early signs of dementia
• Checking to see if community services are required
• Assessment of nutrition and oral health
• Checking for social isolation and social function
• Screening for low mood and depression.

The standard medical checks that our GPs and nursing staff recommend to our elderly patients include:
Blood pressure check

• Cholesterol and diabetes check
• Kidney check
• Bone density screening, looking for osteoporosis
• Eye Test
• Hearing Test
• Skin check.

Regular comprehensive health checks for elderly patients is key to ageing healthily and staying active. Our health and wellness checks for patients over 75 years old are an essential preventative health tool as they can help identify medical issues early and help you maintain a healthy and active lifestyle for longer.

Book Your Health and Wellness Check Today

It’s easy to get a health and wellness check today at Access Health and Community two conveniently located medical clinics in Hawthorn and Richmond. Our team of GPs and nurses can perform health checks for children, women, men and the elderly. Call our Intake Team on (03) 9810 3000 today for an appointment.