On Tuesday 14 September, Healthy North Coast partnered with Dr Kym Collins, a sexual health physician with the Mid North Coast Local Health District, to deliver a two-hour webinar on sexually transmitted infections and HIV.
Special thanks to Kym for coordinating this stellar panel line-up:
- Dr Natalie Edmiston, Staff Specialist, Lismore Sexual Health Service
- Kate Chaffey, Registered Nurse, Clinic 33, Port Macquarie
- Andrew Buggie, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Lismore Sexual Health Service
- Dr David Smith, Medical Director HIV & Sexual Health, NNSW & MNC Local Health Districts
- Dr Hafiz Talib, General Practitioner, Coffs Harbour & Moonee Medical Centre
If you missed the 2-hour webinar, you can now catch up on the video recording in your own time.
‘The goal for the evening was to provide a platform in which we could provide advice around effective communication skills when taking a sexual health history,’ said Dr Collins, who covers Clinic 33 at Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour and Grafton.
‘Syphilis and other STIs are having a big impact on our North Coast communities and it’s crucial that local clinicians apply effective practice procedures as guided by the Australian STI Management Guidelines. GPs need to be able to explain behaviours that increase the risk of STIs and BBV with patients as part of routine history taking. To help with this, we showcased a range of digital resources that can be used in the provision of sexual health care.’
One GP who attended the live Healthy North Coast webinar said:
‘The webinar was a wonderful refresher and a reminder to include routine discussion re: sexual history with new patients or at other opportunities. It’s improved my strategies to screening and better understanding the appropriateness of PEP and PrEP. There were some good resources identified, including the Let Them Know contact tracing SMS system.’
Topics covered during the webinar included:
- Sexual health 101
- How to talk about sex
- What is safe(r) sex?
- Digital resources
- Syphilis update and multijurisdictional syphilis outbreak in Australia
- Gonorrhoea and why the World Health Organization is so concerned
- PrEP and HIV prevention
We encourage you to share this webinar resource with your North Coast clinical colleagues.
Resources discussed by Kate Chaffey, Sexual Health Clinical Nurse Consultant during the webinar included:
- Australian STI Management Guidelines
- Let Them Know
- The Drama Downunder
- Better to know
- Play Safe
- SHIL & phone 1800 451 624
Other useful resources:
- ASHM Antiretroviral Guidelines
- ASHM Gay Friendly Online Module
- EPIC-NSW
- Guidelines for preventive activities in general practice 9th edition (Red Book)
- NSW HIV Strategy 2016–2020
- NSW STI Strategy 2016–2020
- NSW PEP Hotline
- NSW HIV Strategy 2016–2020 January–March 2017 Data Report
- NSW Health Infectious Diseases Data
- NSW STI Programs Unit STI/HIV Testing Tool
- Post-Exposure Prophylaxis after Non-Occupational and Occupational exposure to HIV Australian National Guidelines
- The HIV Support Program
HealthPathways
HealthPathways, as discussed by Dr Grace Leung, is where you will find useful locally-based resources for managing sexual health conditions.
HealthPathways – Sexual Health
Username: manchealth
Password: conn3ct3d
Please also take a moment to complete the HealthPathways evaluation. The purpose of this research is to get a better understanding of who and why different health professionals use or do not use HealthPathways. Completing the survey will give you a chance to win $500.
Discover more Healthy North Coast events by visiting our events calendar.