Allied Health Services
Good nutrition is essential in enhancing your overall health and well-being throughout all stages of life.
Our dietitians have specialist knowledge across many areas and services may include:
- Assessment
- Education
- Dietary counselling
- Oral nutritional supplementation
- Enteral nutrition (tube feeding)
Our dietitians also support people living with:
- Chronic disease (including diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol)
- Weight management issues
- Malnutrition
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Food allergies
- Eating disorders
- Nutrition for pregnancy and lactation
- Sports performance goals
- Paediatrics (including fussy eating and other feeding difficulties, obesity, allergies and intolerances)
Our dietitians also work across the following:
- Dietetic management of residents in low and high residential aged care, for those in respite or the transitional care program (TCP)
- Outreach to residential care
- Leading nutrition sessions for cardiac rehabilitation, better balance and pain management groups
- Regular nutrition analysis and review of the menu and meals to ensure they meet the recommended nutrition standards.
Physiotherapy
Our physiotherapists can provide you with a personalised program to achieve maximum comfort, mobility and independence that may have originated due to a range of movement disorders.
Physiotherapists can assist you with any condition that affects muscles, joints or nerves. Physiotherapists play an important role in rehabilitation and use various techniques to help muscles and joints work to their full potential. They also offer advice to prevent problems from returning or from happening in the first place.
Specialist programs such as hand therapy, continence physiotherapy and dry needling are also available. Our physiotherapists also run hydrotherapy at one of the regional pools when there is sufficient demand.
Contact us to learn more about this service.
Podiatry
Healthy feet are an essential part of overall wellbeing, and problems with your feet can significantly impact your quality of life. Our Podiatry Services can help you to stay mobile by keeping your feet healthy.
A Podiatrist is a registered healthcare professional who deals with preventing, diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating foot and leg conditions. They can help to prevent, diagnose and treat a wide range of disorders for people of all ages.
Podiatry treatment varies depending on your needs but may include treatment such as:
- General foot care, including corns, callous and skin conditions
- Ingrown toenails and nail surgery
- Ulcer management
- Orthotic therapy
- Treatment of foot injuries
- Footwear advice
- Diabetes footcare/assessments
- Education sessions
If you cannot leave your home, we also offer home visits, and our podiatry service is also available as an outreach service from Maldon Hospital.
If you are over 65 or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander over 50, you can access podiatry and any of our other services through My Aged Care. If you are under 65 or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander under 50, you will need a referral from a GP, other health service provider, or family member, or you can self-refer.
If you have a Chronic Disease Management Plan that includes a referral to podiatry, you can access this Podiatry Service. We are a Registered NDIS Provider.
Contact us to learn more about this service.Â
Speech pathology
Speech Pathologists work with people with acute or chronic acquired communication or swallowing problems to improve quality of life, health and ability to function within the community.
They can help with specific issues such as:
- Speech and communication difficulties.
- Difficulty pronouncing sounds, slurred imprecise speech (usually following a stroke), dysfluent speech (stuttering).
- Difficulty understanding and/or using spoken or written language (known as ‘Aphasia’).
- Voice conditions such as hoarse voice, losing your voice, a chronic cough, or managing structural vocal issues such as vocal nodules.
- Difficulty swallowing food, fluids or medications, for example, coughing after swallowing food or fluids, sensation of food sticking in the throat.
Contact us to learn more about this service.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapists can assist you in taking part in activities that make up everyday life. They are specialists in helping develop independent living skills, and our occupational therapists can work with you to discover what skills you need to learn.
They also work with other specialists such as physiotherapists, speech therapists, dietitians and welfare staff to ensure they achieve the best result.
Our therapists can help with movement, social, personal or education skills or help with overcoming difficulties caused by injury, illness or aging. Our goal is to ensure you are as independent as possible.
Occupational therapy is suitable for people of all ages. We also work with children and young people who are experiencing difficulties. We understand that everyone is different, so that needs may differ too.
Assistance can be provided for help with everyday activities, such as:
- Shopping or driving
- Showering, dressing, grooming
- Eating
- Interacting with others and making friends
Our occupational therapists deliver their services in different ways:
- one-to-one
- in groups
- to people in the hospital
- to people in aged care
- in the community.
At the start of your treatment, you will undergo an assessment from one of our occupational therapists so that they can understand what they can do to help you. During the assessment, we’ll look at areas like memory loss, safety at home and mobility.
Assessments take place at more than just the hospital. They can happen at home, at school or in the community where you live.
After your assessment, a rehabilitation or treatment program will be developed just for you. This program may include:
- Skills for coping with memory loss
- Treatment to restore or improve hand function
- Back care education
- Relaxation training
- Falls education
- Special programs for children aged 0-6 years with a disability
- Driver assessment and rehabilitation
Our treatment program will consider if equipment or changes at home would help. These might include:
- Aids to help you be more independent
- Wheelchairs and scooters
- Small home modifications like rails or handheld showers
- Larger home modifications like step-free showers and ramps
Our team can also assist with making applications on your behalf to organisations such as the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Victorian WorkCover Authority.
Contact us to learn more about this service.Â
Social Work
Social Workers are qualified professionals dedicated to assisting people to improve their personal and social wellbeing. Principles of the inherent dignity of humanity, human rights and social justice inform their work. They work alongside medical, nursing and other allied health staff as part of a multidisciplinary treating team.
Our social workers are available to help any resident in Mount Alexander Shire, Goldfields Shire and Macedon Ranges Shire who would benefit from help to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing.
Social Work services can provide support for:
· Situations involving family violence, which may include child abuse, elder abuse or violence between family members
Social work can be provided onsite at Dhelkaya Health through inpatient and outpatient services in your home or other residential settings.
Sometimes, exchanging information with other service providers is necessary to coordinate the best care. Please let the social workers know if you are concerned about sharing your information.
Contact us to learn more about this service.Â