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Media

The Far West LHD Media Unit is responsible for all media inquiries and interviews with Far West LHD staff members. The Unit regularly advises on major public health issues and disease outbreaks, through media releases, media conferences and, sometimes, special telephone hotlines.

Contact us

The Media Officer for Far West LHD is Branko Licul on 0411 119 592 or email branko.licul@health.nsw.gov.au

The Media Unit is the primary point of contact for news organisations. All media enquiries must come through the Media Unit in the first instance. This includes:

  • Requests for interviews
  • Photo requests of staff, patients or our facilities
  • General enquiries about health issues
  • Any condition updates on patients who have been injured in an accident or are otherwise of interest to the media

Please do not call our hospitals directly as they are not allowed to provide this information.

Staff are not permitted to speak to journalists or representatives of media organisations without the knowledge or permission of the Media Officer.

An On-Call Media Officer is available after normal business hours to assist media with urgent enquiries. This is organised on a roster basis and the correct person to contact is available via a voicemail message on 0411 119 592.

 

 

 

 




View Far West LHD Media Releases for

<< The archived Media Releases from the Greater Western AHS can be accessed here >>





12 November 2017

Far West Lhd Encourages Orange Nails For Cervical Screening


This year the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation (ACCF) is encouraging women to make a commitment to getting up-to-date with their cervical screening and to paint their nails orange in support of cervical health awareness.

Thanks to vaccination and screening, cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers.

However, of big concern is that 80% of cervical cancer eventuates in women who have never had a cervical screening test or who under-screen, said Far West LHD Women’s Health Nurse, Jane Davies.

“It means they have not had a cervical screening test at least every 2 years,” said Mrs Davies.

“The current cervical screening test (the Pap smear) has always looked at cells taken from the cervix and observed them for variations that may be indicative of changes that could eventually, after many years, lead to cancer. So it is important to have screening at the recommended interval.”

Another concern is that only 58% of all women undertake cervical screening regularly. “Health professionals understand that the procedure for cervical screening can be one of the reasons that women don’t screen, so research conducted by the ACCF this year suggested that a woman-focused “comfort checklist” would be useful to address the anxiety and vulnerability felt by some women,” said Mrs Davies.

The “comfort checklist” is available at https://accf.org.au/cervical-health/prevention/comfort-checklist

Mrs Davies said the “comfort checklist” aims to increase the likelihood of cervical screening being perceived as a comfortable procedure and a positive experience, and includes ways to overcome barriers to improve screening adherence.

Mrs Davies is encouraging women, during National Cervical Cancer Awareness Week, to book their cervical screening test with a Women’s Health Nurse or their GP.


Women’s Health Nurses and GPs will also be able to discuss the new Cervical Screening Program changes, set to become effective on 1st December 2017, with women.