New doctor at Elphin Lodge with interest in geriatric medicine
Based at Elphin Lodge retirement village, Dr Carmella Mielke is a general practitioner with a special interest in geriatric medicine.
Based at Elphin Lodge retirement village, Dr Carmella Mielke is a general practitioner with a special interest in geriatric medicine.
She took over the practice in May 2017 from Dr Aviva Ruch.
Although she is based at Elphin Lodge, Dr Mielke sees patients from all the Rand Aid complexes and also has a number of outside patients.
“My late grandfather was the most amazing man, despite being sickly. He had to see a host of doctors for various ailments and received chronic medications from a number of different specialists. His treatment regime fascinated me and I found myself thinking how much more sense it would make, if he had one doctor, holistically tending to his various ailments,” she said. This is what inspired her interest in geriatric medicine.
She is interested in polypharmacy, which is when multiple medications are taken concurrently to manage co-existing health problems such as diabetes and hypertension.
She said polypharmacy is often problematic in older patients.
Other interests include the risk of a Vitamin B12 deficiency among older patients, which has been linked to neurological symptoms, dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
