Participants at this week’s ‘Preparing your practice for an open Australia’ webinar have praised the presentation and its timeliness.
Organised by Healthy North Coast and facilitated by Kym Poyner and Riwka Hagen, the hour-long session was delivered in response to the easing of public health restrictions and the ongoing risk of service disruption through community transmission of COVID-19. It examined how healthcare providers can plan for the new COVID-normal.
The webinar attracted around 100 people, including GPs, practice principals and practice managers.
One of the participants, Byron Bay psychologist and clinical director Simon DuBois, said the webinar was helpful on a number of levels.
‘In particular, it provided a great way to check that our medical practice is ready for the coming phase in the pandemic cycle,’ Mr DuBois said.
‘While I came out of the webinar feeling confident our practice has good systems in place, I was reminded of the critical importance of communication through the practice about them.
‘As such, my focus with our practice pandemic leader will be organising and coordinating communications through management, staff, practitioners and nursing areas.
‘I’m also keen to follow up the suggestion of having a practice scenario at work so that all team members are aware of their role when managing a patient presenting with COVID-19.’
Co-facilitator Riwka Hagen said it had been a ‘great session’, covering off on topics such as business planning, practice management, risk management and compliance.
‘Kym and I have worked together for a long time,’ Ms Hagen said. ‘It was all about bringing it back to first principles so participants could take away what they need’.
Some of the key learnings from the webinar included being able to:
- identify risks that could lead to a temporary closure
- develop strategies for minimising the risk of closure as a result of COVID-19 exposure
- review your pandemic preparedness, readiness and response actions and identify key recommendations to improve preparedness, response plans and capacities
- assess management capacity to ensure continuity of care
- mobilise your disaster management plan effectively and quickly in the event of a local COVID-19 outbreak.
Many attendees were surprised and impressed with the resources available to help them plan ahead and manage the risk of exposure to COVID-19. These resources include:
HealthPathways:
Username: manchealth
Password: conn3ct3d
Primary Care Impact pages:
- Increase preparedness to manage the impact of a potential practice closure
- Managing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in general practice
The webinar was recorded for those who were unable to attend or would like to view it again. It is available for viewing via Vimeo.
For more information or assistance, contact your Healthy North Coast Primary Health Coordinator.
