As the second location for House Call Doctor to begin operations, Hervey Bay has been instrumental in our growth as a home doctor service. With what started as just one car in the area, our team at Hervey Bay now treats thousands of patients each year.
Over the past three years, our home doctors have helped residents in the region through many diseases, ailments, and illnesses – not to mention outbreaks.
Hervey Bay, here’s how we’ve helped you.
Gastro outbreak – 2016
The first outbreak we faced was a violent stomach bug that infected dozens of people, which resulted in our home doctors being inundated with cases.
During the outbreak, approximately 20 percent of cases seen by our practitioners were gastro-related and more than 30 percent presented with severe symptoms.
Influenza outbreak – 2016
The second outbreak our doctors faced was influenza, where there was an average of 35 reported cases of influenza across the Wide Bay region each week.
During the outbreak, Fraser Coast Area Manager Alex Haynes said patients used House Call Doctor when they couldn’t wait until the morning to see their doctor but didn’t want to overrun the hospital.
Norovirus outbreak – 2017
In 2017, a Hervey Bay aged care centre was locked down for several days due to an outbreak of gastro. About 20 staff and 30 residents were affected by the outbreak, while the rest of the Fraser Coast was impacted by the contagious disease.
According to Dr Thanusan Sivapalan, who was in Hervey Bay during the outbreak, the illness was more common in the elderly and that’s why we see it more so in nursing homes, but also in younger children as well.
Dr Sivapalan also claimed half of our calls were related to gastrointestinal vomiting and diarrhoea.
Year to date – 2018
This year we’ve treated over 5,000 patients in the Hervey Bay area, with numbers growing each week.
House Call Doctor’s State Manager Keith Jennings said the home doctor service in Hervey Bay has proven to be incredibly helpful for those who otherwise would have no alternative than to go to the local emergency department.
“Not only are people happier because doctors are coming to them when they can’t wait to see their GP, but House Call Doctor visits are taking the pressure off our hospital emergency wards,” Mr Jennings said.
