News Archives - Surgical Weight Loss Solutions

COVID 19 AND ELECTIVE SURGERY

You may have heard that ELECTIVE SURGERY IN AUSTRALIA IS BEING POSTPONED except for the most urgent of cases. There are some procedures such as gastroscopy which are quite high risk for spreading the virus and need to be avoided in all but the most urgent situations. The majority of weight loss surgery should be deferred for patient safety as well as the capacity of the hospitals to cope with acute admissions.

At SURGICAL WEIGHT LOSS SOLUTIONS we have had to cancel some of our upcoming bookings. If that is the case, we are contacting our patients directly to discuss options. While we do not know how long this isolation will last we are also making plans for the restart and how we might catch up on things then.

URGENT SURGERY IS STILL GOING AHEAD and sometimes weight loss surgical patients have urgent conditions. So if you are feeling unwell please call us and we will help address the problem.

THE SITUATION IS CHANGING SO RAPIDLY that we haven’t created plans for our longer term future theatre dates because we’re not sure what will be happening.

BE REASSURED THAT WE WILL STILL BE WORKING, and are continuing our consultations, in Richmond and Niddrie. So while our preferred option is telehealth, we can make face to face appointments if that is what is necessary.

If you have concerns, don’t hesitate to call Robyn or Jenn and we will work it out!

WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT COVID-19

WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT COVID-19?

We are in difficult and rapidly changing times with this Coronavirus epidemic. Each State and each Country is at a different stage. New Zealand might be able to keep it at bay by quarantining everybody who enters the country. Lucky them. It’s past that stage in Australia but not at the point of USA or Europe where it is barely under control. So the reports from overseas do not apply to us.

At the moment (15th March) there are virtually no people in the community in Melbourne spreading the virus, but that will change - it’s the nature of viral infection.

SURGICAL WEIGHT LOSS SOLUTIONS HAVE PLANS FOR THIS.
We are a medical practice and we need to continue to provide care for our patients.
We are changing how we do our appointments. It is important for care to go on.

IF YOU ARE IN ISOLATION BECAUSE OF INFECTION, OR QUARANTINED because you have had contact with a known case, then you should not come to our office. Don’t hesitate to call us. If you have a priority problem, eg: your band is too tight, and you are in isolation, we will make special arrangements.

IF YOU ARE WELL AND HAVE AN APPOINTMENT please look out for the SMS reminder, and make sure you confirm. If we don’t need to meet face to face then we will try to have a telehealth appointment.
That means for regular review appointments we can talk, record your weight, send out blood requests or scripts etc.

IF YOU NEED A FACE TO FACE APPOINTMENT, eg band adjustment, then make sure we know you are coming.

WE ARE REDUCING THE NUMBER OF CHAIRS IN OUR WAITING AREAS, so please do not arrive more than 15 minutes before your appointment. Please choose a seat at least 1 metre away from others if you can. We will try to make hand sanitizer available. Please use that when you arrive and before you leave. It’s hard to find - please don’t take it away for your personal use!.

WE WILL TRY TO RUN TO TIME, so as to minimize your time in the waiting room. We will endeavour to contact you if we are running late..
If there are too many in our waiting area we may ask you to wait outside or in your car for a short period of time.

IF YOU ARE OVER 15 MINUTES LATE for an appointment do not just come anyway - please contact us by phone and we will reschedule.

PLEASE DO NOT FEEL FRIGHTENED BY THIS - we need to be alert but not alarmed, and these are some strategies that will help to protect us all and minimise our risk of the virus spreading.

ANZGOSA ANZMOSS 2019

ANZGOSA ANZMOSS 2019 - JOINT SCIENTIFIC MEETING

As part of our continued commitment to learning and seeking opportunities to improve patient care, our Dietitian Krystal Murphy, Practice Nurse Wendy Reid and Surgeon Mr. Chek Tog recently attended the ANZGOA and ANZMOSS 2019 Conference in Brisbane.

The event is a world renown conference bringing together bariatric surgeons, bariatric physicians, bariatric nurses, dietitians and endocrinologists from all over the world.

Dr Renato Vecchies – OAM

Back in June we reported how proud we were of our very own Dr Renato Vecchies on being awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2018 Queen's Birthday honours list.

He had to wait a little while to receive the actual medal, but he recently attended an official presentation held in Victoria's Government House ballroom. He can be seen here receiving the the medal, presented by Victoria's Governor, the Honourable Linda Dessau AC.

In addition to receiving the medal, the presentation offered a chance to enjoy an afternoon tea and a glass of champagne at Government House. We are so pleased and proud of this wonderful achievement by Dr Vecchies. Congratulations!

You can watch the full ceremony at: https://governor.vic.gov.au/events/australian-honours-and-awards