RACF COVID-19 Outbreak: Are You a Practice With a GP Considering the Team Leader Role?
Over the last few months, Healthy North Coast has been implementing the COVID-19 Residential Aged Care Facility Outbreak GP Framework. The framework supports GPs to be ready for an outbreak and provides the opportunity for one GP at each facility to be a GP Team Leader — a remote role whose sole purpose is communication.
Increasing Preparedness for Emergency in General Practice
The bushfire danger period has commenced on the North Coast. This is a good time for general practice staff to access custom-designed trauma-related training for general practice and use quality improvement to increase practice preparedness for emergency. The Department of Health has engaged Phoenix Australia to deliver trauma-related training programs to frontline workers, including general
MBS Telehealth Items Extended to March 2021
Healthy North Coast welcomes the Federal Government’s confirmation that temporary MBS telehealth items have been extended until 31 March 2021. This is part of the government’s broader announcement of its national COVID-19 emergency health response being extended for a further six months, which also includes Medicare-subsidised pathology services, GP-led respiratory clinics, home medicines delivery, public
Management of Mild COVID-19 Illness in General Practice
When looking at the impact of widespread COVID-19 community transmission in Victoria, it is clear that continuity of primary care is crucial to support an effective outbreak response. Most people with COVID-19 are likely to experience mild symptoms and recover without requiring special treatment or hospitalisation. In Victoria, when the hospital system reached near capacity, general practitioners
GPs Working in RACFs: Are You Ready for an Outbreak of COVID-19?
For the past month, Healthy North Coast has run regular news stories to ensure GPs are ready for a COVID-19 outbreak in a residential aged care facility (RACF). We have put together the COVID-19 RACF GP Framework to guide how GPs will cover facilities in an outbreak. The framework outlines the key roles of the
Queensland Border Zone Expansion
The Queensland Government has announced that the Queensland border zone will expand from 1am on Thursday 1 October. The zone will now include the Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Glen Innes local government areas. The easing of restrictions has been welcomed by health practitioners and community members in our region. Residents living within the
Onsite Accreditation Assessments to Resume From 26 October
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has released information on the resumption of assessments under the National General Practice Accreditation (NGPA) Scheme. Onsite assessments to the RACGP Standards for general practices will resume from 26 October 2020. The reintroduction of onsite assessments will take into consideration the lead time for planning
OurNAMS Shares Collaborative Calendar with Primary and Aged Care Partners
The Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) Nursing and Midwifery education team deliver districtwide clinical education services to maximise consistency and access to services across the local health district. Effective education programs for clinical staff meet identified workforce development needs and support the strategic direction of NNSW LHD. The team is now happy to share
Did You Know You Can Effectively Address Smoking Cessation in Just a Couple of Minutes?
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has published a new guide, Supporting Smoking Cessation, recommending an evidence-based brief intervention for GPs. The guide addresses common misperceptions that smoking cessation ‘counselling’ takes too long and is unwelcome. See table 1.1 on page 16 of the guide for some revealing evidence about smoking cessation. Primary Care
High Risk Foot Service
The Mid North Coast Local Health District’s High Risk Foot Service provides a multidisciplinary, coordinated approach to managing foot complications. The service aims to prevent unnecessary presentations to hospital, admissions and possible amputation. The criteria for referral includes any person with an infected or probe to the bone wound of the foot, or has an
HealthPathways Update – September 2020
New HealthPathways have recently been published on the Mid and North Coast HealthPathways website. New HealthPathways Psoriasis Emollients (Moisturisers) Reviewed HealthPathways Guide to Frequently Used MBS Items Q Fever Integrated Team Care (ITC) Burn Injuries Hereditary Haemochromatosis Vomiting and Hyperemesis in Pregnancy Anaemia in Pregnancy Melanoma Tonsillitis and Sore Throat Mobile-Friendly HealthPathways – going live
PANDA Clinical Champions
Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) is looking for health professionals who are interested in mental health and wellbeing to become PANDA Clinical Champions. Clinical Champions are health professionals, researchers and clinical leaders who may or may not have their own lived experience of perinatal mental illness. Through Clinical Champions, PANDA is offering health professionals
