By Life Medical Imaging – Your Local Community Imaging Partner
The holiday season brings a unique set of challenges for primary care and specialist referrers across the Central Coast. With staff leave, increased patient movement, seasonal injuries, and pressure on healthcare services, maintaining efficient diagnostic pathways becomes even more important.
At Life Medical Imaging, we understand the impact this period has on continuity of care — and we are committed to supporting local clinicians with responsive, accessible imaging services throughout December and January. This guide outlines practical strategies to streamline imaging flow for your patients over the holiday season.
Our Bateau Bay, Killarney Vale and Erina practices will close from 5pm on 24 December and reopen at 8am on 2 January.
If you need imaging services during this period, our Umina practice will remain open, located at 310 West Street, Umina Beach. To make a booking, please call 4326 7000.
1. Anticipating Seasonal Imaging Demands
During December and January, our valued referrers typically see:
- Increased musculoskeletal injuries
- Higher respiratory presentations
- Acute abdominal and pelvic pain
- Follow-up imaging pressures
- Limited staffing in both clinics and imaging services
Life Medical Imaging ensures consistent appointment availability, reliable X-ray, and responsive reporting to help minimise disruption to patient care.
2. Streamlining First-Line Imaging Choices
Choosing the correct first-line modality is essential for reducing delays:
Musculoskeletal Injuries
- X-ray → fractures, trauma, acute joint symptoms
- Ultrasound → tendon, ligament, soft tissue injury
- CT → complex trauma, high-risk injury clarification
Chest & Respiratory Symptoms
- X-ray → suspected pneumonia or acute respiratory illness
- CT Chest (low dose) → unclear findings, persistent or high-risk presentations
Acute Abdominal Pain
- CT abdomen/pelvis → right lower quadrant pain, renal colic, acute abdomen
- Pelvic ultrasound → gynaecological causes
3. Leveraging the Revolution Apex Elite CT Scanner
Our Erina practice hosts the Central Coast’s first GE Revolution Apex Elite CT, providing:
- One-beat, motion-free cardiac CT
- Ultra-low-dose scanning
- Smart MAR metal artefact reduction
- High-definition imaging for trauma and post-surgical assessment
- Faster acquisitions for anxious or tachycardic patients
For clinicians, this means:
- Faster and clearer diagnostic answers
- Improved confidence in acute and complex cases
- Reduced need for hospital-based imaging
4. Maximising Walk-In X-Ray Access
Walk-in X-ray at Bateau Bay, Umina Beach, Erina and Killarney Vale on a Tuesday and Thursday only helps streamline:
- Same-day injuries
- Respiratory presentations
- Fracture follow-up
- Work-related injuries
- Urgent GP assessments
Encouraging patients to attend early helps reduce same-day congestion.
5. Supporting Continuity of Care During Holiday Travel
Life Medical Imaging supports seamless continuity through:
- Fast reporting
- Secure digital delivery of all results
- Ready access to prior imaging for comparison
This reduces the risk of fragmented or duplicated imaging as patients travel.
6. Tips for Improving Holiday Imaging Flow
- Provide clear clinical notes on referrals
- Recommend early-day walk-in attendance
- Refer directly for CT where clinically indicated
- Ensure patients understand preparation requirements
- Utilise bulk billing for eligible services
These small changes significantly reduce repeat appointments and avoid delays.
7. How Life Medical Imaging Supports Clinicians During Peak Periods
LMI offers:
- Multiple convenient locations
- Consistent appointment availability
- Advanced CT capability unavailable elsewhere locally
- Experienced radiologists
- Responsive communication
- Community-focused, independent service delivery
We are committed to strengthening your ability to deliver efficient, safe, high-quality care throughout the holiday season.
If you need imaging services during this period, our Umina practice will remain open, located at 310 West Street, Umina Beach. To make a booking, please call 4326 7000.
With strategic imaging decisions and strong support from a responsive imaging partner, clinicians can maintain continuity of care during the busiest months of the year. Life Medical Imaging is proud to partner with Central Coast clinicians to provide reliable, high-quality imaging for the community.
We hope you enjoy the festive season and thankyou again for your continued support.