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Frank, Alena, Hudson, Tony, and Paul Ruddy were some of the familiar faces at this year’s Össur Mobility Clinic on the Waves on Saturday 26 November, held at Nobby’s Beach in Newcastle.

The attendees spent the morning learning the basics of adaptive surfing with the combined guidance of Össur champion Jade ‘Red’ Wheatley, and Dan from Newcastle Surf School. The attendees had the opportunity to learn some key skills for adaptive surfing and be able to experience surfing for the first time. 

 Following a small refreshment break, Amputee Physiotherapist Cathy Howells ran the attendees through a TABATA Session and other beach activities including a beach relay and a game of soccer!

As part of our continued effort to remain industry leaders and provide the best outcomes for our clients, the APC team went to Melbourne to attend the 2022 AOPA Conference, held at the Crown Conference Centre. We had great representation from across the APC branches. 

Clinician Courtney Crichton convened the conference, taking on the mammoth task of coordinating many parts of the event including before, during, and after. Clinicians Alex Grieve, Sarah McConnell, and Rebecca Bowes, as well as technician Rhys Clenton presented on a range of interesting topics. 

Clinician, Paul Nixon, and Managing Director, Harvey Blackney joined Deep Dive Panels to discuss lower limb prosthetic prescriptions and Ethics in Orthotics and Prosthetics. Most notably, Harvey was awarded an AOPA Life Membership for his service to the profession over many years. 

Presentations: 

Northmead Clinicians Alex Grieve and Sarah McConnell ‘unleashed’ the evidence on the challenges of canine prosthetic management for Louie the Labrador. They shared the different prosthetic designs trialed and their learnings along the way to allow him to run again. Their final design featured a child’s running blade placed backward. 

Another interesting case was presented by Sarah McConnell looking into the journey of rehabilitation of a young below-knee client with an extremely short below-knee residuum and demanding lifestyle. This client challenged himself and his prosthetic abilities to make it to Nazare and surf one of the biggest waves in the world. 

Rebecca Bowes from the Hunter Clinic presented on extension prostheses for paediatric clients. Rebecca explored the complexities of the needs and goals of this niche clientele and identified themes across each of the case studies. 

Our Central Coast technical services manager Rhys presented “Laminations: What is strong enough?” in the technical stream at AOPA Congress. Rhys’ presentation discussed how we (APC) set out to prove that the lamination layups we were doing were correct, by investigating the science behind lamination theory and the available evidence, to find a formula to give us the answers. 

Harvey AOPA  Life Membership Award:

This year Harvey Blackney, one of the founding fathers of APC, was awarded an AOPA Life Membership for his exemplary dedication and advocacy for the industry over his illustrious career.  

For many years, Harvey has advocated for clients and the prosthetics profession through service improvement initiatives in NSW, positive publicity, awareness, and recognition. He has also influenced the development through his provision of input and support for a variety of projects and tasks, and ever-changing the structure of AOPA to Company Limited by Guarantee in 2014. 

This award is an acknowledgment of the generosity, vision, motivation, and hard work that Harvey has given to fellow prosthetists, orthotists, and the profession as a whole. The AOPA Life Membership is a testament to the positive influence that Harvey has had on the Prosthetics and Orthotics industry. 

 

I had first heard about the APC Graduate Program during a presentation at La Trobe University, after which I immediately applied to with my CV and Cover Letter. I was then selected for the program and began a two-month placement with APC Prosthetics in 2021 before starting the role in 2022. The experience has been amazing, and I feel incredibly lucky to be supported by the company to have a further period of learning and development, an opportunity a lot of other graduates don’t get.

Since January, I have honed in on my technical skills, making over 100 prosthetic devices of varying types, from pin and lock systems to pelite liners and foam covers. I have worked predominantly with the technical team, but everyone at APC Prosthetics has been so welcoming and helpful. I have already made long-lasting friendships in the short six months of knowing the team. With only six months left of my technical year, I aim to focus on more technically complex prosthetic devices. Additionally, I will begin to see patients – something I am very much looking forward to.

If you are considering the Graduate Program, my advice would be to simply apply! Not only is APC an incredible place to work in terms of its facilities and people, but the knowledge and experience you will gain in such a supportive environment will undoubtedly set you apart from other professionals. I hope to see you here soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To find out more about APC’s Graduate Program, click here.

Mobility Clinic on the Snow is a 4-day event designed for amputees to learn basic skills such as skiing, snowboarding and sit skiing. The event was sadly put on hold from 2020 due to restrictions caused by the pandemic and was finally reopened for the first time since in August 2022. This year the event welcomed 8 Athletes, of all ages and abilities to participate in the event which was hosted by Össur in collaboration with Disability Winter Sports Australia.

Congratulations to APC Clients Jeanti, Sami, Tilda and Nick for their attendance at the event which saw them participate in a range of snowboarding and skiing exercises led by Össur Head Coach, Joany Badenhorst. The Athletes were partnered with a guide from Disabled Winter Sports Australia to ensure that their mobility goals on the snow were achieved.

 

“As a first-time donor, I was feeling the nerves, but it was great to have the support of my colleagues around me and made for an overall fun and rewarding experience!” – Amber Gorman: APC Northmead, Prosthetist. 

A group of employees from our APC Northmead branch rolled up their sleeves and participated in a blood donation drive. The team were lucky enough to have access to a donation centre’s courtesy bus, which picked them up in groups throughout the day. The group consisted of some first-timers through to some veteran donors. Together, the team donated a mix of plasma and whole blood. Special mention to Michelle Jones who was up to her 10th plasma donation! 

After answering some key questions and checking important things like Haemoglobin levels, the donation process only took about 10 minutes.  Energy was returned with the help of lots of goodies from the refreshment station. While the choccy milk & sausage rolls were a treat, the real reward of the day was knowing that each person helped save three lives, in less than two hours. The team are looking forward to arranging another drive later in the year. 

As a team, APC has saved a total of 69 lives this year already! If donating blood is something you are willing and able to do, join the APC Lifeblood team, and make your donation count towards our tally.  

In addition to our APC Clinics in Northmead, Alexandria, Tuggerah and Hunter – we attend offsite clinics to service Amputees across Australia. Please call the contact number listed next to your desired clinic to book.

 

Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital: Eldridge Road, Bankstown, NSW Australia

When: Monthly – Friday’s

Contact: 02 9722 8000

 

Braeside Hospital: Prairie Vale Road, Prairiewood, NSW Australia

When: As needed

Contact: 02 9616 8600

 

Darwin Amputee Clinic – Darwin Private Hospital: Rocklands Drive, Casuarina, NT Australia

When: Quarterly

Contact: 08 8920 6011

 

Gosford Private Hospital: Burrabil Avenue, North Gosford, NSW Australia

When: 2^nd and 4^th Thursday as needed

Contact: 02 4323 8105

 

Hornsby Amputee Clinic – Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Private Hospital: Palmerston Road, Hornsby, NSW Australia

When: 2^nd Tuesday of the month

Contact: 02 4969 8700

 

Hunter Valley Private Amputee Clinic – Hunter Valley Private Hospital: Mawson Street, Shortland, NSW Australia

When: Last Tuesday of the month

Contact: 02 4969 8700

 

Liverpool Amputee Clinic – Liverpool Hospital: Goulbourn Street, Liverpool, NSW Australia

Amputee Clinic: Fortnightly – Monday’s

Physio Clinic (Enable patients only): Weekly – Thursday’s

Contact: 02 8738 3000

 

Macquarie Hospital: Wicks Road, North Ryde, NSW Australia

When:Weekly – Thursday’s

Contact: 02 9998 0051

 

Mt Wilga Amputee Clinic (Rehab Clinic) – Mount Wilga Private Rehabilitation Hospital: Rosamond Street, Hornsby, NSW Australia

When: As needed

Contact: 02 9847 5000

 

Port Macquarie Clinic: 2/2 Wrights Road, Port Macquarie, NSW Australia

When: Every 3 weeks – Thursday

Contact: 02 4969 8700

 

Prince of Wales Hospital: Barker Street, Randwick, NSW Australia

When: Weekly – Friday

Contact: 02 9382 5847

 

Royal North Shore Amputee Clinic – Royal North Shore Hospital: Reserve Road, St Leonards, NSW Australia

When: Monthly – as needed

Contact: 02 9926 7111

 

Royal Prince Alfred Amputee Clinic – Royal Prince Alfred Hospital: Missenden Road, Camperdown, NSW Australia

When: Weekly – Thursday

Contact: 02 9515 6111

 

Sydney Children’s Hospital: High Street, Randwick, NSW Australia

When: Fortnightly – Wednesday afternoon (if needed)

Contact: 02 9382 1470

 

Tamworth Amputee Clinic – Tamworth Base Hospital: Dean Street, North Tamworth, NSW Australia

When: Every 3 weeks – Tuesday and Wednesday

Contact: 02 4969 8700

 

Wingham/Taree Amputee Clinic – Manning Hospital: York Street, Taree, NSW Australia

When: Fortnightly – Monday

Contact: 08 4969 8700

 

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead: Hainsworth Street, Westmead, NSW Australia

When: Fortnightly – Monday morning

Contact: 02 9845 2131  or  9845 0833

 

Westmead Amputee Clinic – Westmead Hospital: Darcy Road, Westmead, NSW Australia

When: 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of the month

Contact: 02 8890 7800

 

Westmead Private Hospital: Mons Road, Westmead, NSW Australia

When: Quarterly

Contact: 02 8837 9000

 

Woy Woy Amputee Clinic – Woy Woy Public Hospital: Kathleen Street, Woy Woy, NSW Australia

When: Weekly – Wednesday

Contact: 02 4344 8446

 

Wyong Amputee Clinic – Wyong Public Hospital: Pacific Highway, Wyong, NSW Australia

When: Weekly – Wednesday

Contact: 02 4394 8188