Allied health in Murrumbidgee

Occupational therapists (OTs) help people to develop, recover or maintain a person's ability to complete daily life routines and roles.

Occupational therapy can help people of all ages with:

• professional help to complete everyday activities with increased ease, independence and safety
• overcoming physical, mental, developmental, social and/or emotional challenges and disabilities
• reaching their goals in many areas, including helping you to stay in your home or leave hospital as soon as possible
• assessments and assistance with work, place and/or school skills
• completing necessary interventions, assessing daily activities and developing a plan to make these tasks easier. 

Our occupational therapy services will help you:

• get back to everyday activities after an injury or illness or assist you in completing desired tasks
• prescribe equipment aids and therapy tools to help with everyday tasks, for example, mobilise in a wheelchair, showering, and getting dressed
• modify your home and/or work environment to assist with your daily tasks. For example, adding ramps and/or rails, work ergonomics, or adapting living spaces
• develop strategies to enhance memory, schedule your day, reduce fatigue and precent injury or illness
• improve find motor skills to assist in areas like eating and writing, and upper limb rehabilitation
• link with other services that works well with occupational therapy.  

Related information

• Use the service finder to find an occupational therapist near you. 
• For general information on occupational therapy go to healthdirect and Occupational Therapy Australia.  

Physiotherapy uses physical techniques to improve movement, reduce pain and stiffness. It helps speed up the healing process and increase quality of life.

Our physiotherapy services can help you:

• recover more quickly from injury or surgery
• prevent future injuries
• maintain or improve your mobility
• with improved health outcomes. 

Murrumbidgee LHD offers:

• inpatient and outpatient physiotherapy
• aged care physiotherapy
• hydrotherapy.  

Depending on the location, we also assist with rehabilitation for people with: 

• lung conditions
• heart conditions
• musculoskeletal injuries
• incontinence (losing partial or complete control over your bladder or bowel)
• osteoarthritis (gradual deterioration of muscle tissue or parts of the joints)
• lymphoedema (swelling of upper/lower limbs due to blocks in the lymphatic system)
• deconditioning (decline in physical health, strength and fitness due to being inactive). 

Related information

• Use the service finder to find a physiotherapist near you. 
• For more general information on physiotherapy, visit healthdirect and the Australian Physiotherapy Association.  

Dieticians help people understand the relationship between food and health. They also help people change their diet to become healthier and stay healthy. 

Our nutrition and dietetic services can:

• provide nutrition advice to groups or health programs
• work with you and other members of your health care team
• help with accessing special nutrition formula and NDIS planning 
• provide nutritional care to people in hospitals and multipurpose residential care
• explore your and/or your family's food, nutrition and health goals, provide information, and coaching to achieve them.
• support people with complex needs like tube feeding, kidney disease and/or for people receiving cancer treatment or diagnosed with an eating disorder.

Related information

• Eat for Health Australia - resources and information about dietary guidelines in Australia
• Get Healthy Coaching Service (GHCS)- free program to help you reach your health goals. You do it from home, at a time that suits you
• Make Healthy Normal - free NSW Health service to support the GHCS, it includes other programs that support health and wellbeing.

Speech pathology or therapy diagnoses and treats communication disorders.

This includes problems with speaking, listening, reading, social skills, stuttering, understanding language, using your voice and writing.

These difficulties are often a result of change in your brain from an injury or stroke. Dementia can cause these changes as well.

Sometimes, people can be born with these difficulties (congenital), including children having difficulties breastfeeding, drinking from a bottle, or eating solids.  

Murrumbidgee LHD offers hospital-based and community speech pathology services for children and adults.

In some cases, you may need a referral from your GP, doctor or health care provider when accessing this service. 

Our speech therapy services can help with:

• speech difficulties - with how your speech sounds or how clearly you say sounds
• stuttering - speaking with a stammer or faltering speech (also known as dysfluency)
• voice difficulties - with how your voice sounds. For example: hoarseness, running out of voice
• language difficulties - in understanding what people are saying (receptive language) and in letting people know what you need, want or feel (expressive language)
• thinking difficulties - with thinking skills (cognition), including being organised, paying attention or concentrating, and remembering things like appointments, jobs to do, and so on
• difficulty swallowing, eating and/or drinking - also known as dysphagia. 

Related information

• For referrals, use the 

  File

  MLHD - Community Care Intake Service Referral Form (PDF 230.19KB)
• For general information on speech pathology go to healthdirect, Speech Pathology Australia, or American Speech and Hearing Association.

Our service focuses on preventing, managing and reducing the impact of foot complications linked with disorders or diseases such as diabetes and peripheral arterial disease. 

Our team has podiatrists, a wound nurse practitioner, a diabetes nurse practitioner, allied health assistant, a vascular surgeon, a rehabilitation consultant, and an infectious disease consultant.

Murrumbidgee LHD's high risk foot service supports people with suspected or confirmed:

• Acute Charcot Foot
• active foot wounds or ulcers
• foot infections, including cellulitis and/or osteomyelitis (below the ankle).

The service is available from Monday to Friday between 9am - 4pm. 

You can email the service at MLHD-highriskfootservice@health.nsw.gov.au, or visit:

19 Peter Street
Wagga Wagga
NSW 2650

For referrals, use the

File

For any urgent issues outside of working hours, call 000 (triple zero) or go to the nearest Emergency Department.

Aged care podiatry manages foot skin and nail care to prevent complications for anyone unable to apply self-care.

The service is available for people aged 65 years and over, and 50 years and over for Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people requiring general nail and skin care.

The service operates from Monday to Friday between 9am - 4pm, and is located at:

19 Peter Street
Wagga Wagga
NSW 2650

For referrals, call My Aged Care at 1800 200 422 or complete the online referral form.