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What is the Purpose of Enteral Feeding in Geelong?

Enteral feeding is life-changing for people with a health condition that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to swallow food by mouth. Also known as tube feeding, enteral feeding is an important source of nutrition for people with special needs, and Fair Go Access is here to help with this process. Let’s take a closer look at the purpose of enteral feeding and how tube feeding works. 

Tube Feeding Support for Children with Disabilities

There are many different reasons why tube feeding is required, including disability, illness and injury. Enteral feeding uses a tube system to deliver food to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, made up of the mouth, oesophagus, stomach and intestines. Tube feeding formulas provide adequate nutrition and promote a healthy GI tract, whether used as the entire diet or as a supplementary source of nutrients.

Meeting Nutritional Needs Through Tube Feeding Formulas

Some health conditions require enteral feeding from birth, while others develop over time. When someone cannot physically consume enough calories to meet their dietary requirements, they will need enteral feeding. Developmental disabilities and physical conditions make it challenging for many people to safely swallow food, putting them at risk of malnourishment if they can’t eat. Enteral feeding offers a safe, effective alternative to support healthy nutrition for people of all ages.

Common Reasons Why Enteral Feeding is Needed

Tube feeding may be required either temporarily or permanently due to a variety of health-related reasons. Here are some of the most common health conditions requiring enteral feeding:

  • Stroke, which often leads to impaired swallowing
  • Cancer, as common side effects like nausea, vomiting and fatigue make it harder to eat
  • Developmental delays in infants or young children, including babies who don’t thrive after birth
  • Serious illness that causes a state of stress, impeding the body’s ability to absorb nutrients
  • Movement disorders or neurological conditions that require higher calories and make it more difficult to eat
  • Critical injury or illness, such as GI dysfunction or disease that may need IV nutrition 

Access Support for Children with Disabilities in Geelong

Fair Go Access has qualified service providers to help with tube feeding and special needs resources across Geelong. Get in touch with us today to discuss support for children with disabilities.

Geelong Enteral Tube Feeding: Understanding the Basics

Enteral feeding, often referred to as tube feeding, is a form of nutrition where food is delivered directly to the stomach or small intestine. As a leader in Geelong disability equipment and support services, Fair Go Access has extensive knowledge of enteral feeding, and we can help you through this process. Keep reading to learn more about enteral tube feeding.

What is Enteral Feeding?

Enteral tube feeding is food intake through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which includes the mouth, oesophagus, stomach and small/large intestines. Tube feeding is used to deliver nutrition straight to the GI tract when someone cannot consume regular food by mouth due to a health condition or injury. Often, those with neurological or movement disorders receive their full caloric intake by enteral feeding, although it may also be used as a supplement in some cases.

What Are Different Types of Enteral Feeding?

There are six main types of tube feeding to keep in mind for effective nutrition, and medical professionals will select the best option based on individual needs. Digestive abilities, tube size and length of enteral feeding all play a role in setting up a safe and effective tube feeding system.

  • Orogastric tubes (OGT) send food through the mouth to the stomach.
  • Nasogastric tubes (NGT) begin in the nose and end in the stomach.
  • Nasoentric tubes run from the nose to the intestines and include nasoduodenal and nasojejunal tubes.
  • Oroenteric tubes deliver nutrition from the mouth to the intestines.
  • Gastrostomy tubes are placed through the abdomen skin to the stomach, including PRG, PEG and button tubes.
  • Jejunostomy tubes, such as PRJ and PEJ tubes, deliver food via the skin of the abdomen to the intestines.

Why is Enteral Feeding Used?

Tube feeding resources can help loved ones and carers better understand different enteral feeding options and why they may be necessary. Enteral feeding is important for people with movement disorders or neurological conditions that make it difficult to eat via the mouth. Those with serious illnesses such as cancer or impaired swallowing from stroke or injury may require enteral feeding, too.

Access Trusted Tube Feeding Resources in Geelong

Fair Go Access is here to help with special needs support services across Geelong. Please contact us for more information on tube feeding and disability equipment.

Chronic Injury Management and Going Back to Work in Geelong

After car accident and rehabilitation, a businessman can return to work again.The company which employing disable people will receive tax deductions benefits.

About half a million Australians are injured in the workplace every year. While the old saying, ‘prevention is better than cure’ befits this situation more than any other, workplace injuries are simply a fact of life. While Fair Go Access asserts that both employers and employees should be prepared for such incidents, the employee has the most to lose by not getting back to work soon enough.

Why Mental Health Matters

Aside from cancer and heart disease, mental health issues are the most expensive health challenges in Australia, accounting for one-third of all disability claims. 

For the employer, this means facing challenges such as drops in productivity and absenteeism. For the employee, some mental health concerns can stem from workplace situations. Workplace injury is one of the leading causes. 

Acute vs. Chronic Injuries

Upon injury assessment, you may identify a serious acute injury. Acute injuries are those which happen abruptly, such as a fall or a sudden blow in the workplace. Chronic injuries typically evolve from incorrect or overuse of a certain part of the body but may also result because of not adequately treating an acute injury. Acute injuries can be fractures, sprains and dislocations, among others, while some common chronic injury examples are shin splints and stress fractures. Both acute injury assessment and chronic injury management are essential.

What Might Stop You from Getting Back to Work

We at Fair Go Access believe that it is important to get back to work as soon as possible. For this reason, if you experience a workplace injury, you should seek help and advice in the form of chronic injury management when completing the injury assessment. 

Upon completing an injury assessment, seek professional help from Fair Go Access. We provide physical therapy and physiotherapy products to complement any medication prescribed by your doctor. 

What Can We Do to Help You Get Back to Work?

Fair Go Access can provide access to the services of a multi-disciplinary team of trained and experienced professionals. We know how to properly provide acute injury assessment and advise on your best course of action to get back to work sooner. We understand that injuries affect both the body and mind, and we will monitor both your physical and mental condition at your appointments with us. 

To learn more about injury assessment and how Fair Go Access can help you get back to work after a serious injury, call 03 5298 2746 today.

Supporting Someone Who Uses a Feeding Tube in Geelong

Liquid food that consists of Pumpkin, carrots, bananas, eggs. Sugar. And rice bran oil For patients who cannot eat by mouth and take care at home with special care

Caring for someone with a serious health condition may seem overwhelming and difficult at first. When enteral feeding, commonly known as tube feeding is introduced, it can make the task appear more complicated. Fair Go Access has tube feeding support available to help. Here, we provide a few pointers to help you feel more confident.

Learn How to Use the Necessary Equipment

Learning how to use the equipment correctly will enable you to administer tube feeding formulas with ease. Given that there are a variety of ways to provide tube feeding, it’s integral that you understand the equipment involved and what needs to be done with it. Enlisting the support of a care service like Fair Go Access will take away a lot of that initial stress, allowing you to provide the support your loved one needs. 

Tube Feeding Meals

Tube feeding meals contain a specific blend of macronutrients in the form of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, as well as micronutrients of minerals and vitamins. Before administering enteral feeding, you’ll need to consult with your loved one’s doctor to learn which tube feeding meals to use and how much of it is needed. 

Each person is different and has different nutritional requirements. As such, the doctor will be able to tell you exactly how much you should administer to provide the right balance of nutrients. Self-made tube feeding meals are not always suitable and consulting the doctor is extremely important. 

Learn How to Maintain Hygiene 

Hygiene is one of the most important elements of enteral feeding. Syringes need to be washed and dried properly after every use and changed every two or three days. You should also be very careful to wash your hands both before and after feeding. It is also recommended to clean the area around the entrance of the feeding tube. 

The important ways to support someone tube feeding mentioned above, along with other considerations, are best learnt under the guidance of a professional. Fair Go Access staff are trained and qualified to help with all aspects and available to make things easier for you to provide care. 

To learn more about supporting someone using a feeding tube, call Fair Go Access on 03 5298 2746.

Parental Support for Children Living with Disabilities in Geelong

Special needs carer making contact with a disabled child in a wheelchair / Disabled person in a wheelchair having fun with a care assistant

Parents of a child living with a disability sometimes report it can feel like an overwhelming experience at first. But many parents of special needs children and those with disabilities will tell you it’s overcoming these challenges which invoke happiness, they had otherwise not considered possible. Fair Go Access is here to help parents along their way.

Embrace Optimism

The unique challenges you face as the parent of a child living with additional needs will offer you the chance to deal with negative situations and stress in a much healthier way, beneficial not only to your child but to you and your life in general. As your child’s most important influence, they will learn from the way you handle potentially adverse situations. Remaining optimistic and maintaining a sense of calm will ensure you’re both in the best position to overcome issues together. Fair Go Access has the tools and resources to help you with this.

Educate Yourself

It’s very important to understand the specific situation of your child. That’s why learning about their unique needs is imperative. You can engage the help of disability services like Fair Go Access, join forums full of others in your situation or similar, consult child psychologists, teachers and therapists, along with many other online tools. One thing to remember, however, is that there is nobody who knows your child better than you, so it helps to pay attention and learn from them.

Express Your Emotions

Realise that the emotional roller coaster you may find yourself on at times is perfectly normal, especially if you are still getting used to the idea of being a parent to a child with additional needs or a child with a disability. Lean on your support network of family and friends and, if necessary, seek professional help of your own. Your mental well-being is every bit as important as that of your child, not least of all because they need you at your best.

Enlist Professional Help

There are people trained and qualified to help you. Fair Go Access disability services provide an array of different ways of helping. Professional help not only lightens your load but affords your child a better chance for a fulfilling life.

To find out more about our disability services and how we can provide you with support for your child, call Fair Go Access on 03 5298 2746.

Disability Services Building a Better Geelong Community

Female legs in wheelchair close up. Help for people with physical disabilities. Man drive wheelchair and stand at pedestrian crossing. Social services for population.

In the past, people living with disabilities may not have felt as though they were a part of the community in which they lived. Thankfully, disability care services like Fair Go Access are helping instil change by way of a community-building approach.

What Does a Community Approach Provide?

An inclusive community approach means those living with support from disability care services are seen as citizens rather than patients. This goes beyond ensuring their basic needs are met; they are included as an active member of the community in which they live. 

Who Should be Involved?

There are many groups of people who are all necessary parts of an inclusive community. They might be disability services such as disability home services, they could be local government, volunteers, family and friends of those with a disability, local businesses, and both other services. 

Who Benefits from a Community Approach?

The short answer is everybody. Living in a community that embraces diversity allows people with a disability to feel valued and empowered. It also helps facilitate change in negative social beliefs about those with disabilities, as well as increasing social connections. Overall, this creates a more positive and more accessible community for everyone.

The Online Community

A community of people doesn’t have to be physical. Despite its negative press, we sometimes forget that the internet provides the modern world with amazing opportunities to connect in forums to meet people in similar circumstances, as well as places to share their story or discuss different disability care services. Finding that other people have similar stories can make one feel less alone and foster a greater feeling of belonging.

Disability Home Services

While helping engage with both the physical and online communities mentioned above, disability services like those offered by Fair Go Access also begin the community engagement process from home. Our staff assist clients in accessing their communities should they find it difficult to do so independently. This may be done via private vehicles or public transport.

Personal Mobility Equipment

One of the most tangible efforts made to assist clients in engaging with their community is through personal mobility equipment. Support workers are experienced and knowledgeable about what is on offer and the equipment which may suit individual needs. Our staff are happy to research and advise on products that will benefit and enable increased mobility, thereby providing increased means to get about in the community. 

To learn more about disability home services provided by Fair Go Access, call us today on 03 5298 2746.

Learn What to do Following Injury Assessment in Geelong

Osteopath assessing the scapula, shoulder blade, wing bone or blade bone of a young man in his clinic in a close up high key view

If you’ve injured yourself and completed an injury assessment, the team at Fair Go Access advises you to get the ball rolling on treatment as soon as possible. Far too often, we see people who try to deal with injuries in the hope they’ll simply disappear but, unsurprisingly, they don’t. The hard truth, frequently realised too late, is that if you ensure adequate treatment following the injury and assessment, you’re less likely to require chronic injury management in the future. 

Acute Injury Assessment 

If you’ve performed an acute injury assessment and discovered any of the following signs; swelling, deformity, pain even without bearing any weight, or wounds around the site of the injury without any obvious bleeding, it’s time to deal with it. 

Take note of the location and intensity of the pain, if you heard anything crack or snap, and if you have pain from movement. This is the information you can give to your doctor or another medical health professional following the incident. 

What to do Next

Stop whatever you were doing. Sometimes we want or are encouraged to keep persevering through the pain but, while sometimes we consider ourselves brave, often we’re only working our way towards further injury and the potential need for chronic injury management.

R.I.C.E. is nice. Rest is best. Ice will help with both pain and swelling. Compressing the area with a bandage will also assist against swelling as well as provide support. Elevating the injured part of your body above your heart will again help limit further swelling.

Call in the Professionals

Having identified one of the signs of a fracture, dislocation, head injury, or any other issue you can’t treat yourself, it’s time to enlist the help of someone who can. Arrange for someone to get you to see a medical health professional, or when the situation requires it, an ambulance. From here, it is only through the help of x-rays and other diagnostic tools used by health professionals that adequate and effective treatment may begin.

In cases where injuries develop and require chronic injury management, services and support provided by Fair Go Access will be of integral benefit. Our professionals can provide physical therapy alongside ensuring any medication prescribed is taken at the right frequency.

To learn more about acute injury assessment and chronic injury management at home, contact Fair Go Access on 03 5298 2746.

Learn How to Do In-Home Injury Assessment in Geelong

Bone fracture foot and leg on male patient with splint cast and crutches during surgery rehabilitation and orthopaedic recovery lying on couch staying at home

When an injury occurs, it’s necessary to assess it as this informs what you need to do next. To be able to do so on the spot allows you to act sooner, meaning you have the best chance of healing faster or preventing further injury. Depending upon the specifics, different parts of the musculoskeletal system may be damaged. Fair Go Access is here to assist.

Acute Injury Assessment

An acute injury happens suddenly caused by an unexpected impact or movement. The most common acute injuries include broken bones, concussion, dislocation of joints, fractures, knee injuries like ACL tears, muscle sprains and others. 

Identifying or ruling out a fracture is perhaps the most important thing to do when beginning an acute injury assessment. This is because dealing with this issue first can prevent further damage. 

It may seem obvious when put into context, but it is good to know the signs of a fracture. These include swelling, deformity, pain even without bearing any weight, or wounds around the site of the injury without any obvious bleeding.

Acute Injury: Not a Fracture. Now What?

Of course, there are many other types of acute injuries. In terms of the basic principles of injury assessment, you should consider the location and intensity of the pain, whether there were any audible signs, any pain or instability when you move that body part, and if you can bear weight on it. All of these will help you determine what to do next and what to tell medical health professionals should you require their assistance.

Chronic Injury Management 

As opposed to acute injury assessment, chronic injury management is a little more complex. The concerns here include the duration of symptoms, identifying both aggravating and alleviating factors, reductions in function, weakness and instability. 

Where any of the concerns mentioned regarding either acute or chronic injury assessments raise anxieties over being able to deal with it on your own, it is always best to call for professional help. 

This is especially the case when certain red flags are raised. These may include disorientation following a head knock, inability to move extremities, inability to move normally and/or bear weight, numbness or a dislocation. In these cases, emergency help should be sought.

To learn more about taking care of injuries and managing disabilities at home, reach out to Fair Go Access on 03 5298 2746.

Home Services for People with Disability in Geelong

Silhouette of joyful disabled man in wheelchair raised hands with friend at sunset

The lives of people living with disability may be profoundly enhanced via a wide array of assistance provided by disability home services such as Fair Go Access. Of course, this stretches far beyond medical care and into the little things that need to be done during an individual’s day-to-day, as well as providing disability equipment. Here, we explore a few of the ways Fair Go Access provides disability home services in the Geelong area.

High-Intensity Daily Personal Activities

Staff members at Fair Go Access are trained and qualified to assist with both everyday activities and high-intensity personal activities. These may include in-home personal care or high-intensity care for children, teens or adults. These individuals may require assistance with tube feeding, complex wounds or pressure injuries, or one of many other requirements. We can provide an experienced in-home support worker to clients who have additional needs.

Daily Personal Activities

Aside from the high-intensity daily personal activities, individuals may need help with the smaller but no less important aspects of everyday life. We can arrange assistance with all sorts of tasks including cooking, shopping, attending appointments, lawn and garden maintenance, and community access through either public transportation or private vehicles.

Community Nursing Care

We are readily available to take care of clients with high care needs. Our team of support workers undertake extensive training before moving on to a 1-on-1 caring situation. Our staff have been trained thoroughly on how to use medical and disability equipment such as tube feeding, administering medication and managing personal hygiene routines. Our personal support staff love what they do and are skilled, possessing natural empathy and understanding of client needs. 

Household Tasks

One of the simplest ways to maintain a positive outlook on life is to have your house in order. We can help with the seemingly simple stuff when it becomes too hard. It doesn’t necessarily have to be tasks that need to be done every single day. Perhaps you’d like us to prepare and deliver meals every week, have house and yard maintenance taken care of once a month, or have your laundry done regularly. Fair Go Access provides it all, including disability home services, disability equipment, and tube feeding equipment.

To discover the wide range of disability services and disability equipment we provide at Fair Go Access, call 03 5298 2746 today.

Avoiding the Risks of Tube Feeding at Home in Geelong

Parenteral nutrition in the ward at the hospital

At Fair Go Access, we provide both quality disability care services and tube feeding resources. Below you’ll find a few simple tips to help first timers gain a bit more confidence.

A nasogastric tube, or “feeding tube” is commonly required for patients who have difficulty swallowing. The tube allows the person to receive the necessary nutrients their body needs, including carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water, in a safer way. While it is a substantial change for the person in need, it can be equally challenging for the support worker or family member tasked with feeding tube management. 

Hygiene is Number One

Hygiene should always be on the top a support worker or family member’s checklist when it comes to preparing for tube feeding. Syringes should be washed and dried properly after every use. They should then be changed completely every two to three days, or perhaps sooner if you can see marks on the syringe. 

Is the Tube Still in Place?

Make sure that the micropore holding the tube is in place and hasn’t moved. Measure the length of the exposed tube and make sure that it is the same as when it was first inserted. If it has been displaced, it is best to call us to arrange for a nurse to assess the situation. 

Check the pH Level of the Gastric Content 

Measuring the pH level of the gastric aspirates from a nasogastric tube will help inform you as to whether the tube is in the right place. This is a very important part of the tube feeding process and, while it may seem a little complicated at first, it will become much simpler with the correct instruction. The team at Fair Go Access can show you how to do this safely. 

Where Can I Get Help? 

You’ll find all the assistance and resources you need to care for someone using a feeding tube through disability care services from Fair Go Access. In addition to providing professional tube feeding services, we can also provide you with any tube feeding supplies you may need such as tube feeding formulas. We can also help you access supplemental products. 

To learn more about safe tube feeding at home and tube feeding formulas, call Fair Go Access on 03 5298 2746.

  • 03 5298 2746
  • info@fairgoaccess.com
  • 2/84 Shannon Ave, Geelong West, VIC 3218, Australia

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