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Western Sydney Health Check
Hear from leading healthcare experts in Western Sydney and the patients they're treating. Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) provides healthcare to the people of western Sydney at Westmead, Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Auburn and Cumberland hospitals.Proudly produced by WSLHD.
Episodes
35 episodes
Voices of courage: The resilient women changing the landscape of multicultural health in western Sydney
In this powerful episode, we are joined by Dipti Zachariah from Western Sydney Local Health District’s Multicultural Health Services and Nat, a member of her team. Dipti and Nat provide extensive support to help culturally and lingu...
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13:35
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Unleashing the power of the mind to overcome lockdown stress
With the COVID-19 lockdown extended through August, many causes of stress and anxiety in our lives right now are beyond our control.But there is a tool within your control that anyone can harness: mindfulness meditation.David Jo...
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Episode 34
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19:43
Surviving lockdown: Survivor uses his mental health experience to help others
Mitch first experienced anxiety and depression as a high school student, and in the years that followed he struggled with suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder.He is now a lived experience peer worker with the Towards Zer...
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Episode 33
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31:25
Auburn Hospital emergency doctor becomes Australian Ninja Warrior
We're mad about sport in western Sydney but it still might come as a surprise that there are some extremely talented athletes who work for Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD).Alvina Ng always loved the Ninja Warrior franchise b...
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Episode 32
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30:29
Emma Watkins- the beloved Yellow Wiggle- and her silent struggle with endometriosis
Emma Watkins is best known as the girl with the bow in hair. The singing, dancing, drumming, Yellow Wiggle delights audiences across the globe with her dazzling warmth and energy.But what people didn’t realise was behind the scenes, Emm...
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Episode 31
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20:20
Motorcycle crash survivor's road to recovery
Julia can remember looking down at her broken arm, the bone through the skin, as the propeller of the helicopter that carried her to Westmead Hospital for lifesaving surgery whirred to life.She was riding her motorcycle on Valentine’s Da...
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Episode 30
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26:18
Sharks player Fine Kula on beating brain cancer
From training with the Cronulla Sharks to lying in a hospital bed, Fine Kula’s heroic battle with brain cancer captured hearts across western Sydney, the Shire, and Australia last year.The rising NRL star was diagnosed with medulloblasto...
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Episode 29
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21:16
How to talk about mental health- Youth Week 2021
One in four young people in Australia will suffer from some kind of mental health issue. But how do you bring up the topic with them?It’s a question many parents agonise over, and one that we tackle in our latest podcast episode of Weste...
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Episode 28
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24:11
Westmead's $1 billion future: Inside the Central Acute Services Building
Western Sydney is home to Australia’s tallest health building – the Central Acute Services Building at Westmead Hospital – and we’re celebrating its official opening in this week’s Western Sydney Health Check podcast.NSW Premier Gladys B...
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Episode 27
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26:28
Spotting the signs, treating, and surviving breast cancer
Associate Professor Nirmala Pathmanathan - the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute Executive Director - delves into spotting the signs and treating breast cancer and Carol Boulous s...
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Episode 26
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25:11
Expert and patient talk heart health
It was a typically busy day in Westmead Hospital’s emergency department when administration officer Elizabeth Rasmussen suddenly felt severely unwell.“It was like an atomic bomb was going to go off in my head, there was just nothing like...
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Episode 25
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23:10
At the bedside with 76-year-old heart patient
Despite having two heart procedures in one week, Gloria Ring is counting her blessings.We took our microphone to the bedside of the 76-year-old Northmead resident for a special podcast episode to capture the reality of a hospital ...
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Episode 24
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14:17
Toxicologist sheds light on Sydney's snakes and spiders
Mention Australia to people overseas and one of the first things that comes up is our array of deadly snakes and giant spiders. But how worried should we actually be?Clinical and forensic toxicologist Professor Naren Gunja joins us on t...
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Episode 23
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19:29
Mrs Claus gives Santa a kidney for Christmas
Carol Wilson never has to buy her husband Ian another Christmas gift.The doting wife gave her partner of more than 40 years the incredible gift of a kidney — just in time for Christmas for Ian, a local shopping centre Santa.Caro...
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Episode 22
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13:00
What is a nurse practitioner?
December 12 marked 20 years since the first nurse practitioners (NPs) were endorsed in Australia. There are now over 2,000 around the country, including more than 30 in Western Sydney Local Health District — but what exactly is an NP?Jo...
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Episode 21
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26:03
How Western Sydney is improving Aboriginal health
A landmark report in 2005 revealed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have shorter life expecta...
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Episode 20
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22:22
Suicide prevention is everyone's business
Eight Australians die by suicide every day. More than twice as many Australians die by suicide each year than in car crashes. For every person who dies by suicide an additional 30 will try to take their life.Thi...
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Episode 19
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22:50
Father of organ donor shares his story
When seven-year-old Deyaan Udani learned about organ donation at school, he was excited to share the news with his father Rupesh.None of them could have imagined that just months later a sudden tragedy would claim the young boy's life —...
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Episode 18
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20:15
Mozzie mythbusting with Dr Cameron Webb
Do mozzies like sweeter blood? Do they transmit COVID-19? Is it only female mosquitoes that bite?These are the kinds of questions ‘Mosquito Man’ Dr Cameron Webb gets regularly, and breaks down for us on the latest episode of Western Sydn...
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Episode 17
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17:58
Loving someone with dementia
Dementia affects close to half a million Australians. Yet despite the stigma, it is possible to enjoy a rich and active lifestyle for years after diagnosis.In this episode we speak to Geetika Dayal, whose mother has early onset dementia...
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Episode 16
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15:40
Behind the lines with disease detective Dr Shopna Bag
We welcome our first return guest this episode in Dr Shopna Bag, director of the Public Health Unit in Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD).Dr Bag and her team have led the incredible contact tracing efforts in Western Sydney, i...
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Episode 15
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23:41
Vision to create a healthier Western Sydney
It covers 23 different, highly specialised roles - but what exactly is 'allied health'?WSLHD Allied Health director Jacqueline Dominish joins us to explain her portfolio and outline the three-year strategic vision that was recently laun...
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Episode 14
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20:27
The softer side of hospital security
Westmead Hospital security officer Fred Nachar thinks he should have a new job title: "customer service officer".The beloved member of the security team clocks tens of thousands of steps each shift as he makes his away around the vast c...
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Episode 13
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16:24
Domestic violence expert encourages people to act
Blacktown Hospital’s Dr Maria Nittis speaks candidly about domestic violence (DV) and the support available in this episode of Western Sydney Health Check.Maria is the department head of the forensic medical unit, a service that...
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Episode 12
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15:24
Physios: The only people telling COVID patients to cough
From helping patients learning to walk again to helping them talk, Westmead Hospital physiotherapist Hariette Esterman says working on the frontline of COVID-19 is no easy task.Hariette works in Westmead Hospital’s ICU as an acute physio...
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Episode 11
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18:17