Suicide prevention service available in Bellingen and Kempsey
Healthy North Coast has provided Social Futures with funding to deliver a support and treatment service for people who are at risk of suicide or self-harm. The Care Connect Service is available to people living in the Kempsey and Bellingen local government areas. Welcoming the collaboration, Healthy North Coast Chief Executive Julie Sturgess said improving
Useful HealthPathways for GP registrars and supervisors
August brings on a new intake of GP registrars – welcome to the North Coast! HealthPathways is an excellent resource co-funded by Healthy North Coast and Northern NSW and Mid North Coast Local Health Districts. The pathways are particularly useful for GP registrars who need to look up how to manage tricky presentations, and know
Online Resilient Communities sessions return to Bellingen
Resilient Communities is a free online program for people living in the Bellingen Shire. The program will run on Tuesdays fortnightly from 7 September, 10 am – 12:30 pm. It aims to build community wellbeing and connectedness and is specifically designed to move people from a position of overwhelm and despair to a position of
Reception Insider – free online podcast series for medical receptionists
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has developed a free series of five-minute podcasts for medical receptionists. Receptionists influence how patients view their medical practice. They provide that first vital impression, and go on to build trust, allowing for the exchange of sensitive information. In a busy practice, staying welcoming, focused and accurate is
Consultation open for draft Sepsis Clinical Care Standard
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is inviting comments from the public on the draft Sepsis Clinical Care Standard. A clinical care standard contains a small number of quality statements that describes the care a patient should be offered for a specific clinical condition or defined part of a clinical pathway. It
Aged care staff vaccinations
Healthy North Coast is working closely with the Australian Government-funded provider International SOS to coordinate vaccination hubs for aged care staff. The vaccinations commence next week and will be moving up the coast through centrally located hubs in Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Casino, Ballina and Tweed. All first dose clinics will be completed
Free Employee Assistance Program offered to the region’s primary health workforce
Primary health care workers on the NSW North Coast are being offered free access to Healthy North Coast’s Employee Assistance Program. Healthy North Coast acknowledges the significant workload and emotional toll for our local health workforce who have been supporting our communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We recognise that you are making an invaluable contribution
Expressions of interest for Aboriginal healthy living and ageing reference group
Are you Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander? Do you want to be part of future planning for our older people and Elders? We are looking for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners (GP, health worker/practitioner, nurses, allied health), representatives from residential aged care facilities and academics. We welcome dynamic, future-thinking people who want to
New evidence about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness
A recent study of UK data showed that both Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines maintain high levels of effectiveness against the Delta variant after two doses. ‘This is good news for primary care, as we can be confident in advising patients of the benefits they will receive from the vaccines,’ says HealthPathways Clinical Editor Dr
Dealing with pandemic fatigue? Support is available
As COVID-19 and its effects continue to impact our communities, it’s important to remember that support is available for those experiencing ‘pandemic fatigue’. We’ve been dealing with this pandemic for the past 18 months and although we are familiar with lockdowns and changing restrictions, these changes can cause disruptions to our lives, our work and
COVID-19 vaccination rates growing in the North Coast
Nearly 195,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given across the North Coast since the national vaccination program commenced. The North Coast is on par with state and national averages and it’s great to see vaccination rates have increased over the past week. The Australian Government’s most recent geographic vaccination rates show more than 45% of
Primary Care Impact’s COVID-19 topic pages record more than 4,000 hits
Healthy North Coast’s Primary Care Impact platform is our central library of quality improvement topics and projects for local practices to enhance their quality improvement initiatives and navigate resources. It is noticeably clear just how hard practices have been working, with Primary Care Impact’s COVID-19 pages receiving strong engagement. In 2021 alone, our 12 COVID-19 quality
