All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
Smoke seasons and dust are part of life in the Upper Hunter. Who feels it most, what actually helps indoors, and when a cough has gone past waiting it out.
Living in the Upper Hunter means living with air that is not always clear. Bushfire smoke can settle in the valley for days and sit there; hazard reduction burns arrive with less warning than people expect; and dust is a routine part of both agriculture and mining. On the worst days you can taste it.
The health concern is not the visible haze so much as the fine particles suspended in it. The smallest fraction is small enough to travel past the body's usual defences and deep into the lungs, and some of it crosses into the bloodstream.
That is why the effects are not confined to the chest. Poor air quality irritates eyes, nose and throat, triggers asthma and COPD flare-ups, and also places strain on the heart — which is why people with existing heart disease are on the list of those who need to take it seriously.
Healthy adults will generally get a sore throat, itchy eyes and a cough on a bad day and be fine afterwards. The groups above can move from uncomfortable to unwell considerably faster.
Staying inside is the single most effective thing, provided the inside air is better than the outside air — which requires a bit of effort.
Cloth and surgical masks are designed for droplets, not fine particles, and they do very little here. A P2 or N95 respirator filters fine particles — but only if it seals against your face, which means no beard in the seal area and a proper fit.
P2 and N95 respirators are not manufactured to fit children, and a mask that does not seal does very little — for children, reducing time outdoors and cleaning the indoor air are the levers that work.
They also make breathing harder. If you have heart or lung disease, ask before relying on one, and if you feel dizzy or breathless in it, take it off and get out of the smoke instead.
Severe breathlessness, difficulty speaking in full sentences, blue lips, chest pain, or an asthma attack that is not responding to your reliever — call 000.
On bad days, checking the air quality forecast before planning outdoor work is a reasonable habit, particularly if someone in the house is on the list above.
If you can smell smoke indoors, the particles are indoors too.
Smell is a reasonable rough guide to whether your house is actually sealed.General information only. This article is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call us on (02) 6530 7404. Last reviewed 30 June 2026.
If a cough has lasted more than three weeks, or your usual reliever is not holding, book an appointment. Spirometry is done here, so it can often be arranged at the same visit.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
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Heat illness builds gradually and the early signs are easy to talk yourself out of. What to watch for on site or on the land, and the point at which it stops being manageable at home.
Summers here are hot, and a good number of people work through them outdoors — on sites, on machinery, in yards and paddocks. Heat illness usually builds gradually, and the early signs are easy to talk yourself out of noticing — but it does not always announce itself, and it can move fast.
This distinction matters more than anything else on this page.
The body is struggling but still coping. Someone with heat exhaustion is typically sweating heavily, pale and clammy, weak, dizzy, nauseated, with a headache, cramping muscles and a fast pulse. They are still making sense.
What to do: stop work immediately, get them somewhere cool and shaded, lie them down with their legs raised, loosen clothing, cool them with water and airflow, and give cool fluids in small sips if they are fully alert. They should not go back to work that day, and someone should stay with them.
If they are not clearly improving within about ten minutes, or they are vomiting, cannot keep fluids down, or become confused or drowsy at any point — call 000. Heat exhaustion progresses to heat stroke, and the handover point is the moment they stop improving.
The body's temperature control has failed. This is a medical emergency and people die from it.
The distinguishing feature is a change in how the person is behaving and thinking — confusion, slurred speech, unusual aggression or agitation, stumbling, collapse, seizure or loss of consciousness. The skin may be hot and dry, but it can also still be sweaty, so do not use dry skin as your test. Trust the confusion.
Call 000 immediately. Then start cooling without waiting. Get them into shade and remove excess clothing. If you can immerse them — a bath, a trough, a tub — cold water from the neck down is the most effective thing you can do. If immersion is not possible: cold water over the body, wet cloths, ice packs to the armpits, groin, cheeks, palms and soles, and as much airflow as you can manage. Do not give fluids to anyone who is confused or drowsy. Cooling early makes a real difference to the outcome.
By the time you feel thirsty, you are already behind. On a hot working day, drink to a schedule rather than to thirst — regular amounts through the shift rather than a large volume at smoko.
Water is fine for most situations. If you are sweating heavily for hours, you are losing salt as well as water, and replacing only the water can cause its own problems — food at breaks and an electrolyte drink both help. Watch out for energy drinks, which are often the default on site and are heavily caffeinated.
Urine colour is a rough but workable check: pale is fine, dark means drink more.
Anyone who has had a significant episode of heat illness should be reviewed. It is worth checking kidney function and electrolytes, going through medicines, and thinking about whether an underlying condition made it more likely. Book a standard appointment and say what it is about.
Heat exhaustion is a person who feels terrible but makes sense when they talk to you.
Heat stroke is a person who does not. That distinction is the whole thing.General information only. This article is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call us on (02) 6530 7404. Last reviewed 23 June 2026.
Blood pressure medicines, diuretics, some antidepressants and some antipsychotics all affect how your body manages heat. If you take any of them and you have felt the heat badly before, or you work in heavy PPE, it is worth raising at your next appointment.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →