ALLIED health professionals in the region are urging people to re-think a perceived urgent need for hospital care on muscle tears and most sporting injuries.
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Many clinics are wanting to make clear they have trained professionals to assess musculoskeletal injuries in a bid to help ease rising pressure on Ballarat's hospital emergency departments.
Grampians Health Ballarat Base Hospital and St John of God Ballarat Hospital issued a joint statement last weekend calling on people to avoid the emergency departments unless in need of the most critical care.
This came amid ongoing struggles to meet increased demand and high levels of people with respiratory illness, including COVID-19, in critical care presentations.
Lake Health Group senior physiotherapist Michael Pierce said it was also not ideal for people with sporting or similar injuries to spend a long time sitting and waiting in emergency departments - and most musculoskeletal injuries were often triaged as less urgent in critical care.
Mr Pierce said lots of allied health professionals, including physiotherapists, could directly refer people for X-rays, scans and ultrasounds if needed.
His clinic has been faced a string of football injury presentations this month and diagnosed some minor fractures, a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and other muscle tears. Some have been able to start rehabilitation while others have needed further medical attention or referral for surgery.
"Physios are experts in dealing with musculoskeletal injuries whereas in an ED, doctors have to cover every facet of the body. Sports physios have an even higher degree in detecting injuries that are pretty serious," Mr Pierce said.
"Obviously in COVID times, we're trying not to clog EDs with non life-threatening injuries and want to help take the pressure off. [Allied health] can treat all sorts of different ailments from back pains to leg pains."
Mr Pierce said private clinics offered a good screening or triage process and people with serious conditions could often get in within a day or two to be assessed.
IN OTHER NEWS
Ballarat Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine practice manager Adrian Warmington said most of his clinic's patients came from referrals but staff also wanted to raise awareness other medical help was available.
Mr Warmington said people could look to general practitioners or other specialist clinics. Both he and Mr Pierce said sports club trainers and medicos were often a good first contact.
"We want to raise awareness that emergency is not everyone's first reaction," Mr Warmington. "An injury might be critical but for a lot of cases, it's not something that needs to be addressed straight away, particularly sports ligament damage."
Grampians Health was forced to call an internal code yellow three weeks ago. The code redirected Ballarat Base Hospital staffing to focus on high patient numbers in the emergency department.
People are encouraged to seek health advice from GPs, pharmacists and NURSE-ON-CALL (1300 60 60 24).
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