Providing vital services in the community

HEALTHCARE workers provide a vital service to our community, helping to care for the sick, those in need and in pain, babies and the elderly however the title healthcare worker is an umbrella term taking in a huge variety of professions and occupations providing services including such direct care practitioners as physicians, nurses, surgeons, dentists, opticians, audiologists, physical and behavior therapists, as well as phlebotomists, laboratory scientists, dieticians and social workers.

They often work in hospitals, in the community carrying out home visits, in healthcare centres and in training, research and administration. Some of the areas in which healthcare professionals provide much needed support and care including surgery, dentistry, midwifery, pharmacy, psychology and nursing. Some provide care and treatment services for patients in their private residents. Health professionals are highly skilled individuals providing specialised services across many disciplines. A geriatric care practitioner plans and coordinates the care of the elderly and/ or disabled to promote their health, improve their quality of life, and maintain their independence for as long as possible.

Nurses specialising in neonatal and midwifery deals with the care of women and their children before, during and after pregnancy and childbirth. Such health practitioners include obstetricians, midwives, obstetrical nurses and many others. Public Health Nurses, meanwhile, is a community based service aimed at promoting and protecting the health of the population. The service provided aims to be quality service, which is responsive to consumer/patients needs, placing community based services as the central focus of patient and consumer needs.