A.I.R.

Sydney - St. George Branch

- Working for Australians in Retirement -

NEWSLETTER- OCTOBER 2016

Meetings - 9.45 am, Grandviews Bowling Club, 821 Forest Road, Peakhurst
3rd Friday of each month, except December
New Members & Visitors - Welcome
__________________________________________________________________

You are invited to attend the October CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON

meeting of the St George Branch of
NOVEMBER MEETING
A.I.R. on Friday 21 October, starting at
9.45 am.
_______________________________________________________
BUSINESS MEETING Following the November meeting
members are invited to attend the
COMMENCING 10 AM Christmas luncheon in the Grandview
Welcome: To new members & visitors Bowling Club's dining room,
commencing at 1 pm. This is a popular
Apologies:
annual event and the Committee looks
Confirmation of Previous Minutes: forward to seeing you there.
Business Arising from the Minutes:
Correspondence:
Secretary to report
Reports:
Treasurer
ASSOCIATION of INDEPENDENT
Membership RETIREES [ACN -102 164 38]
Welfare Sydney - St George Branch
Future Speakers PO Box 377 - Riverwood 2210
Newsletter Secretary - Pat Hinson:
President's report Ph 9554 4113
______________________________________________________ airstgeorgesec@yahoo.com.au
Membership - Christine Gash:
airstgeorgebmo@yahoo.com.au
GUEST SPEAKER Treasurer - Syd Dickinson:
Basil La Brooy airstgeorgebmo@yahoo.com.au
National Seniors Australia Welfare - Rod Lynch: Ph 9546 4888
Newsletter Editor - John Palmer:
palmer1@tpg.com.au

1
 CIRCLE OF SILENCE SURROUNDS A
SLEEPING TABLET PRESCRIPTION
A new medical study has found some doctors may
be overprescribing the sleeping tablet benzo-
diazepine, commonly prescribed for senior
patients, because they falsely believe the patient
wants to continue its use. The study also reported
that patients were often unaware of the side
effects of benzodiazepine. which can include an
increased risk of falls and cognitive decline, nor
were patients aware of the drugs addictive traits.
The study was headed by Dr Fiona Williams, a
practicing GP in Thirroul and a lecturer at the
University of Wollongong. It was recently pub-
lished in the journal, 'Australian Family Physician'.
Dr Williams has estimated that 15% of Australians
aged 65 and older are using benzodiazepines for
long periods despite the Therapeutic Goods
Administration advising the medical profession
they should be prescribed for short-term use only,
to manage anxiety and insomnia.
Her survey of older patients living in the Illawarra
region, found long-term use was not uncommon,
and that some patients had been taking
benzodiazepines for more than 20 years. She
said, Our study found that benzodiazepine use
often started at a time of stress for the patient and
then continued into long-term use with patients
having poor awareness of the side effects and
addictive potential.
The survey also found that when told about the
long term risks of using benzodiazepine, many
patients said they assumed that if their GP was not
challenging their benzodiazepine use, it was OK to
continue.
Benzodiazepines slow down the workings of the
brain and the central nervous system. They are
used medically to reduce anxiety, to help people
sleep and to relax the body. They should only be
prescribed for short periods of time. This is
because it is possible to become dependent on
them after as little as four weeks.
There are about 30 different types (generic
names) of benzodiazepines. Each one of these
generic name drugs may be sold under several
different brand names - all the same drug, but
made by different companies. The brand names of
benzodiazepine include; -
i) Diazepam- Valium;
ii) Oxazepam- Serepax, Murelax;
iii) Nitrazepam- Mogadon, Alodorm.
DEMENTIA SET TO BECOME
THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH
Dementia is currently the second leading cause of
death in Australia, but the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) predicts that if current trends
continue, dementia will overtake heart disease to
become the leading cause of death within a few
years.
The recently released ABS figures show there
were 159,052 deaths in Australia in 2015. For the
nine year period, 2006 to 2015, the number of
deaths due to dementia almost doubled from
6,550 to 12,625. Over the same period, the
number of deaths from heart disease decreased
from 23,132 to 19,777 and deaths from strokes
decreased from 11,479 to 10,869.
With this massive increase in people dying from
dementia, Alzheimers Australia is calling on the
Government to start action now. Alzheimers
Australia CEO Maree McCabe, said, As
Australians adopt healthier lifestyle choices the
incidence of some chronic conditions such as
heart disease and stroke have been declining, but
the greatest risk factor for dementia is a person's
age. While it is not a normal part of ageing, the
fact remains that the risk of dementia does
increase with age.
Ms McCabe pointed out that while the Federal
Government has elevated dementia to become a
National Health Priority, Australia still does not
have a National Dementia Strategy to tackle
dementia. She said, "There are now 353,800
Australians living with dementia and we cant
ignore the rising dementia figures. The time to act
is now.
Around 25,000 Australians are living with 'younger
onset dementia' (a diagnosis under the age of 65),
and one in ten people over 65, and one in three
over 85, now have dementia.
As well as a National Dementia Strategy,
Alzheimers Australia, believes Australians should
be encouraged to learn more about dementia and
it would like to see an increased awareness of
dementia risk reduction programs such as Your
Brain Matters, to improve or maintain brain health
as we get older.
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SEPTEMBER GUEST SPEAKER
Hon Chris Minns
Labor MP for Kogarah
In opening his talk to members, Chris Minns, who
is the Shadow Water Minister in the NSW
Parliament, said he wished to remind members
that there is much bi-partisan interaction in the
Government at Macquarie Street. He felt the
media attempts to over-emphasise the negative
2
things that happen in the NSW Parliament, rather
than drawing attention to the many issues where
there is a consensus of opinion.
Chris said he often consults with NSW Govern-
ment ministers. As an example, he recently spoke
to Duncan Gay about the West Connect Highway,
pointing out the need to give back some of the
land that had been taken away and use it for
parks. He thought his comment was taken on
board by the Minister.
Chris then drew attention to the waste of public
money by Sydney Water, which is committed to
pay $200m a year to the 'Ontario Teachers Fund'
for the next 50 years to maintain the NSW
Desalination Plant in mothballs for the same
period.
On the subject of Council amalgamations, Chris
said that he was in favour of a St George amal-
gamation which includes Rockdale in the mix.
Joining Rockdale and Botany Councils is not right,
as there is no common community interest,
whereas Rockdale, Kogarah and Hurstville
Councils all have an interest in the same parks,
rivers and transport etc. He felt that there had not
been enough public consultation in the process.
On this same topic, Neil Birdsall pointed out that
the new name of 'Georges River Council' was
unfortunate. It should have been named 'St
George Council' because residents all see our
local area as being the St George area. For
example, in the phone directory there are 97 com-
panies and organisations using the name 'St
George' in their title including our own St George
A.I.R. However there are only 7organisations listed
that use the title 'Georges River' and of those 4 are
in the East Hills Liverpool area". Chris agreed and
said that he would be prepared to lobby to have
the Council's name changed to "St George
Council".
Regarding the public debate about the Govern-
ment's decision to close down the greyhound
industry in New South Wales, Chris was very
direct in saying that there is undoubtedly cruelty in
the industry. He said that the greyhound debate in
Parliament went from 2 pm until 4 am. The
Greyhound Report was 800 pages long and
contained 80 recommendations, but it did not insist
on the greyhound industry closing. Again there
was no consultation! Chris told members that for
every 1,000 dogs bred to produce 100 extremely
fast racing dogs, 900 young dogs are destroyed.
He said, "Lets investigate the industry with a two to
three year trial". Chris said Mike Bairds political
mistakes are often due to his not explaining the
issues. He felt the Premier needs to be more open
with his constituents.
On the subject of NSW prisons, Chris said Labor
had privatized the Park Lee and Junee prisons
and the Labor party is opposed to the sacking of
125 prison teachers, as they are doing a very good
job in preparing inmates for work, after their
release. To replace them with untrained personnel,
to save an estimated $500m, is a recipe for
disaster. Its all about money.
Finally, Chris said he has put on notice that he will
investigate progress with the $16.5 million upgrade
of the overhead rail bridge at Lily Street, Allawah,
which is scheduled to be completed in 2017. The
upgrade will comprise one northbound lane and
three southbound lanes, including a left-turn lane,
right-turn lane and another for through traffic.
In conclusion, Chis said he felt the social news
media is good but not as effective as one on one
interaction which is why he still has a mobile van
for travelling around his electorate
On behalf of the members, Paul Flynn moved a
vote of thanks to MP Chris Minns for taking time to
visit the St George Branch and give a very
interesting and informative talk.
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WHITECOAT
Whitecoat (email: www.whitecoat.com.au) is a
comprehensive online health care provider
directory and customer service website, aimed
at giving Australians better control over their
health care.
Since it was launched in 2013, over two
million Australians have taken advantage of
Whitecoats services. Its a comprehensive
network of over 210,000 health care
professionals, listed across 25 different
provider types. So whether youre looking for a
dentist in Dandenong or a Chiropractor in
Cootamundra, you can easily find one using
the Whitecoat web site.
By using Whitecoat, you can search and
compare health care providers, to make a
better and more informed choice, when
selecting a health care provider. Whitecoat is
particularly useful for people who have moved
to a new area or need treatment for a
specialist service for the first time. But note
only medical providers who have signed up to
Whitecoat are listed.
Whitecoat will also assist those seeking to
read a report from patients who have already
visited a particular health care provider.
Whitecoat users also have access to an ever-
growing list of 250,000 medical reviews from
real users to help you pick the right provider.
_______________________________________
GUEST SPEAKER
Commencing at 11 am -
3
 NEW MEDICINE LABELS
TO PROMOTE SAFER USE
New consumer labels on medicines have been
introduced to provide simpler instructions and
address safety concerns for people with allergies
and also reduce accidental overdose.
Heath Minister Sussan Ley said, Under the
changes consumers will be able to easily identify
the active ingredients in medicines, because they
will be more prominent and will also be placed in a
consistent location on the label. In addition, to
protecting people with serious allergies, sub-
stances from crustaceans, fish, eggs, soya, milk
and tree nuts, must now be declared for all types
of medicines. The changes will require that a
space must be included for pharmacists to apply
dispensing labels to prescription medicines.
Many higher risk, over the counter medicines, will
also be required to include a health information
panel with details of active ingredients, uses,
warnings and directions for use. This is intended to
provide consistency so that consumers will be able
to easily find important information about their
medicines. Ms Ley said these changes were
initiated following extensive industry, health care
professional and public consultations over the past
five years.
The new medicine labels will gradually appear on
prescription medicines, as well as on medicines
bought at pharmacists, or in other retail outlets.
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LIVING ALONE
According to Australian census data, almost 1 in
10 Australians now live alone, and this number is
predicted to rise as apartment living becomes
increasingly accessible. While for some living,
alone might sound like a dream come true, some
studies have linked isolation to poor health
outcomes, and interestingly, new data from the
Medibank Better Health Index has revealed the
incidence of common diseases such as cancer,
arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure were all
higher amongst those residing alone, compared
with the general population. So why should this
be? Commenting on these findings, the Medibank
Medical Director, Dr Kevin Cheng said: "It may be
that these findings have been influenced by
sampling older populations, containing more
people living alone."
While there can be some negative effects of living
alone, these can be reduced by making good
health and lifestyle choices. Here are some tips on
how to thrive while living alone:
i) Don't skip meals. Its tempting to skip meals or
eat takeaway when youre living alone. The
Harvard Medical School suggests routinely eating
three meals a day, and having fresh foods daily.
ii) Drink less alcohol. According to the Australian
Institute of Family studies, men who live alone are
more likely to drink to excess, but this is not the
case for women.
iii) Maintain social relationships with family and
friends. Research psychologist, John Cacioppo,
reported that loneliness can impact on a range of
health indicators, including blood pressure,
immune responses, sleep patterns, stress
hormones and overall well being.
Source: Medibank Private.
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The Association of Independent
Retirees (A.I.R.) Ltd takes no
responsibility for the views expressed in
articles, extracts thereof or advertise-
ments.
Branch newsletters are intended to
relay information only, not give specific
advice, or make recommendations.