Healthy North Coast Practitioner Newsletter by Healthy North Coast

April 2015| Edition 10

Healthy North Coast practitioner newsletter

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GP Focus

AMS Focus

AgedCare Focus

Pharmacy Focus

AlliedHealth Focus

inside 3. GP Focus 10. AMS Focus 11. Aged Care Focus 14. Pharmacy Focus 16. Allied Health Focus 18. News 20. Events 22. Classifieds

Would you like a hard copy of this newsletter? If so, please email your name and postal address to healthynorthcoast@gmail.com and write “Copy of Healthy North Coast Practitioner Newsletter” in the subject line.

GPFocus

PAL UPDATE Administrative record keeping guidelines for health professionals The Department of Human Services has developed administrative record keeping guidelines to make it easier for you to maintain good record keeping standards within your practice. The information provided is generic and allows for individual tailoring to suit your practice requirements. The guidelines include: • • • •

a checklist to assess the administrative record keeping standards within your practice top 10 tips for administrative record keeping case studies and information about how to report suspected fraud information about electronic record keeping, knowing your responsibilities, how to support and train your staff and additional support services

Find the guidelines at http://ow.ly/L3E5S. Reminder: administrative record security The week of May 3-9 is National Privacy Week. It is a timely reminder to practices to monitor security and access of patient records and update record security procedures, so as to ensure the privacy of patient health information.

Your legal obligations when billing under the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Practitioners are legally responsible for services billed to Medicare under their Medicare provider number or in their name. Practitioners are responsible for incorrect claims regardless of who does 3

the billing or receives the benefit, and will be responsible for the repayment of the full amount of the incorrect Medicare benefit that was paid. Additionally, those practitioners may be required to pay an administrative penalty. Here are some examples of incorrect claims which incurred penalties: Example 1 A health professional consults in a practice where 50% of the Medicare billings are paid to the practice to cover expenses. It was discovered that the practitioner incorrectly claimed item ABC, which had a benefit of $120, when the correct item was item XYZ, which had a benefit of $80. Even though the practice received half of the benefit, the health professional was responsible for paying back the full amount of the incorrect Medicare benefit that was paid, in this case $120. Example 2 Routine data monitoring identified a general practitioner claiming daily services at a rate significantly different to his peers. During an interview under the Practitioner Review Program, it was found he was incorrectly claiming chronic disease management items when he had not met all item requirements, and that he was also incorrectly claiming general practice attendance items for services performed by the practice nurse. The practitioner had to repay the Medicare benefits he had received for all of the items incorrectly claimed under his name. The Department of Human Services has a number of useful resources to help you stay up to date with the MBS and manage your claiming. These include:

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health professional guidelines (http:// ow.ly/L3EGm) online training, such as the billing and claiming modules in Medicare for new health professionals (http://ow.ly/ L3F0E) billing accurately under Medicare vodcast (http://ow.ly/L3F7q)

eHealth update - PCeHR usability improvements The National eHealth Transition Authority (NEHTA) established the Clinical Usability Programme (CUP) in 2013, to work with general practice users and clinical stakeholder groups to develop recommendations to GP software vendors on improving the usability of eHealth functionality. Usability recommendations in November 2013 and May 2014 resolved GP usability concerns relating to displaying PCEHR information on the screen, providing clear wording around clinician responsibilities for uploading Shared Health Summaries, and providing clear indication whether the patient has an active PCEHR. The third update of the usability recommendations is now available. This release now gives vendors guidance on how to enhance their software through the use of prompts and reminders, as well as allowing GP users to customise and configure their PCEHR interactions. Clinicians can check whether their software vendor has incorporated usability recommendations on the NEHTA website (http://ow.ly/L3Fgl). Alternatively, contact your software vendor to find out how and when they plan to incorporate usability recommendations into their product. Clinicians can also submit eHealth usability feedback at http://ow.ly/L3Fzl.

GPFocus PAL UPDATE

My patient has recently been sexually assaulted – what do I do? If a patient discloses sexual assault in the last seven days, he or she can be seen that day by a counsellor from the Sexual Assault Service and offered counselling and a forensic medical examination by a trained doctor. The Sexual Assault Service is made up of specialist counsellors who can provide follow-up counselling for all victims of sexual assault (regardless of reporting and legal action). To refer a patient in business hours, call and ask for the Sexual Assault Counsellor on intake: • • • • • •

Tweed Valley area (07) 5506 7540 Richmond area 6620 2970 Grafton 6640 2402 Coffs Harbour 6656 7200 Kempsey 6562 6066 Port Macquarie 6588 2882

After hours, ask for the Sexual Assault Counsellor on-call to be contacted – they will call you back, so please give your contact details: • • • • •

Tweed Valley area (The Tweed Hospital) (07) 5506 7416 Richmond area and Grafton (Lismore Base Hospital) 6621 8000 Coffs Harbour 66556 7000 Kempsey (Kempsey District Hospital) 6562 6155 Port Macquarie (Port Macquarie Hospital) 5524 2000

If your patient does not want to see the Sexual Assault Service, you can still help by: • • • • • • •

thanking the patient for telling you stressing that what happened is a crime – it is not their fault discussing emergency contraception giving a hepatitis B shot if they are not immunised offering a sickness certificate giving them the 24-hour Rape Crisis Number (1800 424 017) alerting them to the option of anonymous police reporting via http://ow.ly/L3Gfz

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asking if they will be safe when they leave your surgery arranging a follow-up appointment for pregnancy and STI testing providing other counselling options

If appropriate, don’t forget to make a Mandatory Report.

Online training Barwon Health and Barwon Medicare Local have kindly extended access to their online education and training hub, GP Education and Training. Developed by local specialists, the courses are approved by the RACGP for continuing medical education credits and are currently available free of charge: • •

Mental Health Skills Training (MHST) Buprenorphine/Naloxone (Suboxone) Prescribing Long Acting Injectable Antipsychotics

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practices in our region and across Australia view your practice data via a suite of tables and graphs instantaneously and watch it change over time use quality improvement tools, such as the Model for Improvement, to test QI changes in your practice utilise a vast range of resources collected over years of quality improvement initiatives administered by the IF

NCML looks forward to supporting you on your QI journey. There is no cost to you for the service, and NCML only has access to anonymised data to assist with interpretation and regional trends. For more information on Classic CAT and QiConnect, please contact the NCML Provider Assistance Liaison team:

Visit http://ow.ly/L3Gy0 to learn more.

Tweed Valley: 07 5523 5500 Northern Rivers: 02 6622 4453 Mid North Coast: 02 6659 1800 Hastings Macleay: 02 6583 3600

Clinical Audit Tool - Classic CAT

The FRS can help GPs

North Coast Medicare Local currently has FREE licences available for Classic CAT. Classic CAT supports you to:

The Family Referral Service (FRS) is a State Government funded program delivered throughout the Far North Coast by the Northern Rivers Social Development Council in partnership with Interrelate. It is a free service which links families with young children (0-18 years old) to support services and community resources to ensure that children and young people are safe and well.

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provide high quality patient care be in complete control of your own patient information identify patients in high risk target groups improve practice revenue meet accreditation requirements

Attention Quality Improvement partners have you registered for QiConnect? Once you are using Classic CAT you will be able to join the North Coast Medicare Local QiConnect Quality Improvement site – a new approach to measuring your quality improvement work. This innovative web portal was pioneered by the Improvement Foundation (IF) to enable you and others in the region to get connected to support quality improvement (QI) initiatives. With QiConnect, you can: •

submit and benchmark your practice data anonymously with other

The Family Referral Service came into operation two years ago after the Wood Commission into child abuse and operates from Tweed Heads to Grafton. This service can help children, young people and families with issues relating to: domestic violence experiences, housing access, counselling and mediation, drug and alcohol concerns, parenting struggles, mental health concerns or finding culturally appropriate support. However, if other services are needed, the FRS can help to find them. The Family Referral Service can be contacted on 1300 338 774 or you can email support@familiesnorth.org.au.

GPFocus PAL UPDATE NPS Over the past three years, North Coast NSW Medicare Local (NCML) has been delivering the National Prescribing Service MedicineWise program to general practices on behalf of NPS. As communicated to GPs recently by NCML, as of the end of March 2015, the delivery of this program will be carried out by NPS and NCML will no longer be involved. NPS is committed to pick up where NCML has left off and continue with the provision of this most valuable program.

Specialist health expenditure higher than general practice Information gathered by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows that the cost of specialist (referred care) services in Australia came to 14.2% of total health care expenditure in 2011/2012, compared to 9.7% for general practice. Primary health care funding totalled 38% of health care expenditure over this period.

Have you talked with patients about their lung age? Research shows that talking with patients about their ‘Lung Age’ motivates them to quit smoking. Lung Foundation Australia has a ‘Lung Age Estimator’ (http://ow.ly/L3Ij6) available for health professionals to use in their conversations with smokers as part of the recently updated Primary Care Respiratory Toolkit. By entering a patients age, height, gender and FEV₁ (Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second), their lung age is estimated. A graph is also shown which highlights the rate of lung function decline. There are two rates of future lung function decline shown on the graph for an individual including:

Excluding general practice, this was made up of medicines 18.8%, dentists 8.3%, community health 7.1%, allied health 4.5% and public health 2.2%.

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Not surprisingly, public hospital spending was the biggest component of health expenditure in 2011/12, accounting for $42.0 billion, or 31.8% of recurrent expenditure. The largest component of the overall rise in health spending was spending on public hospital services (up by $2.1 billion), making up almost a third of the growth in recurrent health expenditure.

The Primary Care Respiratory Toolkit also includes numerous clinical resources including a spirometry calculator, packyears calculator, concise and summary versions of the COPD-X Guidelines at http://ow.ly/L3ID8.

The AIHW CEO David Kalisch said that over the decade to 2011/12, the Australian Government ratio of health expenditure to taxation revenue rose by 4.0 percentage points to 26.4%, while the state and territory governments’ ratio rose by 8.1 percentage points to 24.5%. “Our analysis of health inflation suggests that in recent years annual price rises in the broader economy have generally been greater than price rises in the health sector,” Mr Kalisch said. 5

The estimated recurrent expenditure on health per person in 2011-12 was $5,881, a rise from $5,681 per person in 2010-11 and $4,062 in 2001-02 (after adjusting for inflation).

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rate of decline if the person gives up smoking rate of decline if the person continues to smoke

FEV₁ can be obtained from a spirometer OR a COPD screening device such as the PiKo-6 or a COPD-6. Visit the Lung Foundation case finding in the community page http:// ow.ly/L3IrT to find out more about the PiKo-6 and COPD-6. The Lung Foundation has many clinical resources to assist you and your patients. These are updated regularly with the latest evidence in diagnosis and management of COPD. To be kept up to date with developments, subscribe to the Airwaves Clinical Update via http://ow.ly/L3IxP.

DWS Status for Lismore On 2 February, the Department of Health (DoH) amended the District of Workforce Shortage (DWS) classification system. The system is now reviewed annually instead of quarterly, using up-to-date geography and population data and the most recent medical workforce statistics. Since the re-calculation of the DWS, Lismore and surrounds is now classified as DWS for 12 months. This means that practices in this area can now recruit non-VR doctors who are overseas trained (OTDs), and therefore affected by the need to work in DWS areas. The NSW Rural Doctors Network (RDN) is a great source of relevant information and support for practices who are considering recruiting an OTD. Practices can advertise vacancies with the RDN. The RDN has also recently launched a new quarterly newsletter, Practice Made Perfect, which aims to help support general practice recruitment and retention activities. Go to www.nswrdn.com.au or contact Margaret Young, Project Officer - Medical Recruitment (Northern NSW) on 02 4924 8060.

New practice nurse workshops The needs of practice nurses supporting patient care in the community will be addressed in a new series of Decision Assist workshops that commence in March. The first practice nurse palliative care workshop will be held in Melbourne as part of the APNA Conference on 27 March. To register, visit the continuing education section of the APNA website: www.apna.asn.au Similar workshops will be held in Perth on 1 May, and Adelaide on 29 May. Professor Elizabeth Reymond from ANZSPM said practice nurses are integral to driving change in general practice, so it is important they are educated when promoting change for the general practice community.

GPFocus PAL UPDATE

Decision Assist GP education opportunities In 2015, GP education and training for advance care planning and palliative care is a key focus for Decision Assist, with the program rolling out a suite of opportunities for GPs and Practice Nurses, to enhance their skills and expertise. These will be pitched specifically to GPs and can contribute to CME points. They include evening workshops, conference workshops, webinars and e-learning initiatives, as well as GP-trainee education. The popular palliative care workshops will continue nationally, with upcoming dates in Brisbane. Visit http://ow.ly/L3JuL for the full list and details about registration. These workshops are accredited with RACGP and ACRRM to contribute to QI&CPD and PRPD points. In addition, an online module as an alternative to the workshop will be available from April. This will be accessible via gplearning for RACGP members or RRMEO for ACRRM members, and enable GPs to earn QI&CPD and PRPD points. The Clinical Audit is also continuing in 2015, providing GPs with an opportunity to review their approach to managing the care of older Australians with advanced chronic conditions living in the community. Accredited by the RACGP and the ACRRM for the 2014-2016 triennium, it contributes to 40 QI&CPD and 30 PRPD points. From April, GPs can also register for an Active Learning Module (RACGP members) or a Theory Practice Activity (ACRRM members). This educational activity is an opportunity for GPs to increase their capacity to manage the care of older Australians with advanced chronic conditions living in the community. Also from April, GPs can participate in an online ‘case of the month’ discussion. The forum will be moderated by a palliative medicine physician, covering scenarios 6

AFTER HOURS such as dementia, frailty syndrome, renal failure and cancer. For more information. email Karen Cooper from ANZSPM: karencooper.ANZSPM@bigpond.com Four podcasts about managing common symptoms in palliative care will also be available via the Decision Assist website in April. The four topics to be covered are dyspnoea, pain, delirium, nausea and vomiting. Visit www.decisionassist.org.au for more information. Specialist operators, including specialist palliative care physicians, are on the Palliative Care Phone Advisory Service 1300 668 908 - ready to take calls from GPs 24/7 on all palliative care issues, ranging from medication, symptom management, psychosocial support and bereavement advice to information about education. Visit www.decisionassist.org.au for more information or follow them on Twitter: @DecisionAssist

Reminder: After Hours activity reporting NCML would like to remind general practices that are recipients of the AH PIP quarterly PIP payment that the After Hours activity report is required for the four week period Monday 6 April - Sunday 3 May 2015. Practices should forward the completed template by 31 May 2015 to ensure timely payment of the May AH PIP payment. Please also submit the Feb 2015 Quarter Practice Incentive Program Statement Advice (if you have not yet done so) to facilitate the calculation of the May 2015 AH PIP payment. The reporting template for April 2015 has been uploaded. Visit http://ow.ly/L6DUs for more information. Practices that utilise a Medical Deputising Service, or participate in District Hospital AH on call rosters, or practice collaboratives only need to complete column 3: “AH Phone advice calls received”. The completed reporting template can be forwarded to afterhours@ncml.org.au or faxed to 02 6618 5499. North Coast NSW Medicare Local appreciates your co-operation in providing this data to assist in better understanding localised after hours demand for services planning purposes. Any enquiries can be directed to David Lacey, Regional Program Manager – After Hours on 02 6618 5421.

For information on portion control education tools, see page 14.

GPFocus PREVENTATIVE HEALTH (SNAP) guide: 2nd edition released The RACGP has just released the second edition of the Smoking, Nutrition, Alcohol, Physical activity (SNAP) guide. SNAP aims to help GPs and their practice teams work with patients on lifestyle risk factors of smoking, obesity, poor diet, low exercise and over-consumption of alcohol. The new online format provides a comprehensive list of resources and hyperlinks throughout the guide for ease of reference. Practices will also benefit from the section on how to enhance their practice organisation and implement a business model for applying the SNAP approach. The guide is available at www.racgp.org.au/snap.

For information on NCML’s Close the Gap services, refer to page 10.

IMMUNE RESPONSE Influenza vaccination Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged six months to less than five years will receive the seasonal influenza vaccine for free under the National Immunisation Program from 2015. Indigenous children are five times more likely than non-Indigenous children to die from the flu, and are much more likely to be hospitalised. Those who survive a severe flu can suffer lasting health complications including pneumonia, heart, blood system and liver problems. Free influenza vaccines are also available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over, and people who have chronic conditions that increase their susceptibility to influenza. For more information, visit the Immunise Australia Program (http://ow.ly/L3NLr) and the Flu Tracking website (http:// ow.ly/L3NOy).

Myth: flu vaccines cause the flu This common myth tends to circulate especially around the time when flu vaccines are being promoted. To counteract myths like this and support good decision making, it is useful to have the facts: •

It is impossible for the influenza vaccine to cause ‘the flu’. The vaccines registered for use in Australia are all inactivated, which means they do not contain live virus. The vaccines used are either split-virion or sub-

unit vaccines, which only contain the surface structures of the virus, not infectious particles. •

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The belief that the vaccine causes the flu could result from misinterpretation of either mild vaccine side effects or coincidental infection from other respiratory viruses, both of which can cause ‘flu-like’ symptoms. The incubation period for influenza is between 24 and 72 hours, and the vaccine takes 7 to 14 days to produce protection, so occasionally a vaccinated person may contract the influenza virus during this period. All vaccines elicit an immune response. Some of these responses can include a mild fever and headache, amounting to flu-like symptoms. This could result in the mistaken belief that the vaccine has given someone the flu. These side effects may occur with many different types of vaccines.

Reference: p.43, Myths and Realities: Responding to arguments against vaccination – A Guide for Providers, 5th Edition, 2013, DoHA http://ow.ly/L3NUp

Pertussis The NSW Ministry of Health recently announced that the NSW Government will offer free pertussis vaccine to pregnant women in the third trimester. Refer to page 19 for more details.

Cold Chain Survey by NCML The NCML Immunisation Project has developed a cold chain survey designed to gather important information on how you manage vaccines in your practice and facilities. It will enable the team to provide more focused support and targeted education on Cold Chain Management. Most of you should have already received the survey, and many have already returned them. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Senior Project Officer Sally Moore by emailing smoore@ ncml.org.au or phoning 66224453.

GPFocus IMMUNE RESPONSE 2015 School Vaccination Program Year 7 - All Students HPV - 3 doses (0, 2, 6 months) Boostrix (dTpa) - 1 dose Varicella -1 dose (for those that have no evidence of previous varicella vaccination or infection)

Year 8 HPV - Provided to students who commenced, but did not complete, HPV vaccination in year 7. Year 9 There is no Year 9 HPV program for 2015 as these students would have been offered HPV vaccine in Year 7 in 2013.

Year 11 and 12 MMR - Students that don’t have evidence of 2 doses of MMR vaccination will receive 1 dose only at school. If they require the remaining, second dose, they will receive a letter advising them to go to their GP.

2015 School Vaccination Program occurs over 3 visits to the school Term 1

Term 2

Term 3/4

Year 7 only HPV dose 1 NOTE: if child is away the consent form(s) is kept for Term 2

Year 7 only HPV dose 2 , Year 7 (or dose 1 for those away in Term 1)

Year 7 only HPV dose 3 (plus catch-up for those away on previous visit)

Year 7 only Boostrix (dTpa) NOTE: if child is away the consent form is kept for Term 2

Year 7 only Varicella NOTE: if child is away the consent form is kept for Term 3/4

Year 7 only Boostrix or Varicella catch-up for those away on previous visits

Boostrix – if missed in Term 1 Year 11 and 12 MMR Consent forms collected and checked for evidence of 2 doses

Year 11 and 12 MMR for those with no evidence of 2 previous doses of MMR

Year 11 and 12 MMR for those who missed their MMR dose in Term 2

Catch up for incomplete HPV schedule (Year 7 2014) Year 8 students who commenced HPV vaccination in year 7 in 2014, but have not completed 3 doses

Year 8 students who commenced HPV vaccination in year 7 in 2014, but have not completed 3 doses

For General Practices •

Patients presenting at your practice for school program vaccines – please confirm with patients that they do NOT have a consent form at the school. If they are unsure, check with the parent or the Public Health Unit.

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If the parent advises that their child was away on the school vaccination day and it is known that there is a consent form at the school, please advise them that the child will be caught up at the next school clinic.

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If the child has a consent form at the school, but would now prefer to have their vaccines at the practice, please advise the parent to write a letter of vaccine consent withdrawal and give this to the school OR contact the Public Health Unit to withdraw the consent form. Alternatively, if the child is at the practice, the nurse or GP can notify Public Health Unit. The Public Health Unit will need to know what year and what school the student is enrolled in and if vaccine withdrawal of

Year 8 students who commenced HPV vaccination in year 7 in 2014, but have not completed 3 doses

consent includes all the vaccines on the consent form. •

Where the student has a consent form at school, but refuses to allow the school nurses to vaccinate, a letter will be sent home to the parent advising them to take the child to the GP.

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If the student moves school, the parent or the school can notify the Public Health Unit and the consent card will be transferred to the new school if feasible. In the event that the consent card isn’t transferred, all attempts are made to contact the parent (via mail and mobile).

For enquires about the School Vaccination Program contact Coordinator Bernadette Williams by emailing Bernadette.Williams@ ncahs.health.nsw.gov.au or phoning 6620 7503.

GPFocus IMMUNE RESPONSE Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) Survey by the Public Health Unit Every month, the Public Health Unit (PHU) receives files from ACIR with information about children who are overdue for vaccination. This information includes details about providers of vaccination services for each child. Over the past 5 years, the PHU has been intermittently following up these overdue children with either the provider or the parent (if no vaccines have been recorded on ACIR) and established that up to 30% of these children are up to date with their vaccinations, but that this data has not been recorded on ACIR. The problem seems to be exacerbated when new vaccines are added to the schedule. The PHU are planning to survey practices to find out how they get information to ACIR, so as to identify common mistakes and problems. Once these are identified, they will develop a manual for each practice software to support the reduction of these issues. Survey forms will be sent out over the next month, and practice staff are asked to please return them promptly and thereby support the manual writing project.

MENTAL HEALTH Supporting people affected by forced adoption Two years ago on 20 March, the Australian Government made an apology to people affected by forced adoption or removal policies and practices. The impact of these practices continues to be profound: mothers and fathers have a higher likelihood of mental health issues, including post traumatic stress disorder. The people who were adopted are more likely to experience mental health disorders and poorer wellbeing, and encounter problems with attachment, identity, abandonment and parenting their own children. The Australian Institute of Family Studies research highlights some key principles when working with people affected by forced adoption practices. These include the importance of: •

validating experiences associated with adoptions, as most affected people have lived in silence and have not been able to talk openly and freely about their experiences.

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understanding that the effects of the separation and adoption experience are real for the people involved and are often ‘triggered’ by subsequent life events, e.g. birthdays, births or deaths within a family.

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understanding that there may have been complicity by doctors and nurses, and this mistrust and suspicion carries forward into how affected people trust those professions today.

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affected people receiving appropriate therapeutic services which may include treatment for the trauma they experienced.

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referrals to adjunct services providing peer support and search and connect services when people are seeking their personal information or wishing to reconnect with their original families. For details of available support services email forcedadoptons@dss.gov.au or visit http://ow.ly/ L6CZe.

Resources Chain of Protection has new resources including new videos. Visit http://ow.ly/L3PDY to learn more.

Education The Australian College of Nursing offers an online course to become a registered nurse immuniser. This course is designed for registered nurses working in health areas where administration of immunisation is part of their role and for registered nurses who wish to enhance their career opportunities. Successful completion of this course is one of the requirements necessary for RNs to administer vaccinations without the direction of a medical officer within New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Visit http://ow.ly/L3POn to learn more. The ACN also offers one day immunisation updates and webinars for RNs. Please refer to page 20 for details of upcoming events.

There is dedicated Australian Government funding to provide psychological support to people affected by forced adoption. In the North Coast of NSW this funding is delivered through Healthy Minds. GPs can make referrals to Healthy Minds using the downloadable referral form http://ow.ly/L6D6U. Referrals should be supported by a mental health treatment plan.

For details of how New Access can support Seniors suffering with depression and anxiety, refer to page 13.

Healthy Minds sessions are provided by a qualified allied mental health professional and are free of charge. For further information about Healthy Minds call 1300 137 237.

Background Artwork by Alison Williams

AMSFocus PAL UPDATE

IMMUNE RESPONSE

Close the Gap services – Aboriginal Outreach Workers available to support your patients

Influenza vaccination

The Closing the Gap (CTG) program is aimed at reducing the gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-indigenous Australians. North Coast Medicare Local (NCML) employs Aboriginal Health Program Officers, Care Coordination and Supplementary Service (CCSS) workers and CTG outreach workers from Tweed Heads to Port Macquarie. NCML Aboriginal Outreach Workers are available to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients across the North Coast help manage their health. Aboriginal Outreach Workers can help your patients by: • • • • •

accompanying patients to health appointments organising transport to and from health appointments assisting patients with form completion negotiating and brokering access to health and community services on patients’ behalf providing other support to make sure patients get the health care they need

If any of your patients need help — please refer them to the NCML Aboriginal Outreach Worker in your local area: Lismore Phone (02) 6622 4453 Fax (02) 6622 3185 Tweed Heads Christopher Keuntje Phone (07) 5523 5500 Fax (07) 5523 5599 ckeuntje@ncml.org.au Port Macquarie Phone(02) 6583 3600 Fax(02) 6583 8600 hm@ncml.org.au Coffs Harbour Terri Donovan Phone(02) 6659 1800 Fax(02) 6659 1899 tdonovan@ncml.org.au

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged six months to less than five years will receive the seasonal influenza vaccine for free under the National Immunisation Program from 2015. Indigenous children are five times more likely than non-Indigenous children to die from the flu, and are much more likely to be hospitalised. Those who survive a severe flu can suffer lasting health complications including pneumonia, heart, blood system and liver problems. Free influenza vaccines are also available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over, and people who have chronic conditions that increase their susceptibility to influenza. For more information, visit the Immunise Australia Program (http://ow.ly/L3NLr) and the Flu Tracking website (http://ow.ly/L3NOy).

For flu vaccine myth busting facts, a summary of the 2015 school vaccination program, details of Public Health Unit and NCML immunisation surveys and more, refer to page 7.

AgedCareFocus PAL UPDATE Department of Social Services

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The Department of Social Services has been conducting a series of briefings around the country to explain national aged care reforms. Here are some of the key changes: •

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all new referrals for federally funded community and residential aged care services will be conducted electronically from July 1 (exceptions have been made for healthcare professionals sending inbound referrals who still prefer to use fax). all new entrants into the federal aged care system will be screened initially by a contact centre run by Healthdirect. No clinical information will be captured in this process. The contact centre will establish a central client record that can be shared by the client and their carers or family, independent assessors and aged care service providers. following the initial screening process, a referral notice will be sent to an independent Regional Assessment Service (RAS) or Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) by email. The email does not contain personal details, but will alert assessors that there is a new referral, which can be accessed through a web portal. assessors will then conduct a face-toface assessment with the client and develop a care plan in association with the client. Depending on the client’s needs, they can then be referred electronically to community or residential service providers, who will also be able to access the central client record and the referral through a provider portal.

in emergency cases, referrals can still be made directly to service providers, with information on those clients then captured retrospectively and a central client record established. ACAT is expected to start using the new system between July and December this year. RACFs will then also transition to the new system and begin receiving electronic referrals.

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service providers will be able to access the referrals and the central client record through the provider portal using an AUSkey, a security certificate that can be hosted on a computer, or on a USB for those providers accessing multiple systems.

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if they are unable to immediately accept a referral, providers will be able to set up waiting lists for services. Clients can be added to one or more provider’s waiting list.

DSS is also currently considering a fees policy and planning to develop an interface between hospitals and My Aged Care to manage hospital discharges. Emergency Decision Guidelines Emergency Decision Guidelines (EDG) provide RACF staff with clinical instructions for managing acutely unwell residents. The EDG originated in Tasmania and as part of an RACF Quality Improvement and education program delivered through a partnership between NCML, Nambucca Valley Care, Mid North Coast Local Health District and Ambulance NSW, have been localized to the Mid North Coast in collaboration with Shin Hwa, Nurse Practitioner at the Coffs Harbour Health Campus. The guidelines have been introduced to RACFs from Macksville

to Woolgoolga and copies have been provided to GPs and Hospitals from Macksville to Coffs Harbour. The clinical areas covered in the guidelines are: • • • • • • • • • • • •

abdominal problems airway and breathing chest pain choking circulation and neurovascular confusion: delirium/infection dehydration falls pain seizures stroke tubes (catheters IDC & SPC/ PEGs)

For more information, please contact Kate Hillenbrand, Project Officer, by emailing khillenbrand@ncml.org.au or phoning 6659 1800.

BrainyApp Looking for a fun yet interactive way to encourage patients to care for their brain health? BrainyApp, developed by Alzheimer’s Australia and Bupa Health Foundation, raises awareness of the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. The app rates and tracks brain health, by asking a small number of easy to answer questions about general health, heart health, daily activities, new experiences, diet, drinking habits and social time. It then provides ideas on how to improve your brain health. Brainy App can be downloaded to a smartphone or tablet and is currently available in English and Spanish for both Apple and Android devices. For further information visit www.brainyapp.com.au.

AgedCareFocus IMMUNE RESPONSE Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination for Aged Care Facility (ACF) Residents in 2015 NSW Health strongly recommends that all current and new facility residents receive free seasonal influenza and pneumococcal vaccine (as appropriate) this winter. All persons aged 65 years and older are eligible to receive free seasonal influenza vaccine. Persons aged 65 years and older and persons with underlying medical conditions are at particular risk of complications from influenza, including pneumonia. The National Influenza Vaccination Program will commence later than usual this year, due to a change in two of the three influenza strains which has caused manufacturing delays. These delays will not affect vaccine supply volumes, and no vaccine shortages are anticipated. Orders for influenza vaccine can now be placed online at: https://nsw.csldirect.com.au/. Delivery of Fluvax commenced to ACFs in March. The following staff only are authorised under Section 10(4)(d) of the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 to order influenza vaccine annually (prior to and during each influenza season) and pneumococcal vaccine (throughout the year) free of charge for eligible residents: • • • • • •

the Manager Care Manager Director of Nursing Nursing Unit Manager Operations Manager or any person assigned with the role of managing a Residential Facility

The Australian Immunisation Handbook, 10th edition, p 255, also recommends annual influenza vaccination for staff of ACFs. Consideration should be given to purchasing influenza vaccine from the private market or encouraging staff members to attend their own general practitioner for vaccination. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccines provided free for residents under the Australian Government funded program must not be used to vaccinate staff members. Outbreaks of influenza in aged care facilities can spread quickly, cause serious disease, and be difficult to control. In 2014 approximately 120 ACFs reported influenza outbreaks resulting in 1893 cases, 216 hospitalisations and 98 deaths. Vaccination may not prevent influenza in the elderly, however vaccinated residents are less likely to require hospitalisation or die if they catch influenza. The Public Health Unit can advise on treatment and prevention measures. For more information, visit the Immunise Australia Program (http://ow.ly/L3NLr) and the Flu Tracking website (http://ow.ly/ L3NOy). 12

For flu vaccine myth busting facts, a summary of the 2015 school vaccination program, details of Public Health Unit and NCML immunisation surveys and more, refer to page 7.

AgedCareFocus MENTAL HEALTH NewAccess - Supporting Seniors Anxiety and depression affects people of all ages, including seniors. There are many phases in a senior’s life that result in big changes and transitions. This could include downsizing the family home, moving to residential aged care facilities, planning for retirement, or feeling ready to retire but not being financially ready. These challenges can lead to symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Some early symptoms include poor sleep, not feeling like going out any more, inability to concentrate, and feelings of guilt, frustration or worry. Unfortunately, many people in the over-65, ‘keep calm, carry on’ generation still seem to feel there is a stigma attached to depression and anxiety, viewing them as a weakness of character rather than a health problem. Addressing symptoms early is really important. In the North Coast of New South Wales a new program called NewAccess is being piloted to address these early symptoms of depression and anxiety. What is NewAccess? NewAccess is a low intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) program for people experiencing mild to moderate depression and/or anxiety. NewAccess provides six FREE sessions of low intensity CBT with a trained Access Coach focusing on strategies for managing depression, anxiety, low mood and life stress. How does NewAccess work? On referral, clients are offered an assessment session either in person or by phone. If a client is suitable for the program, a plan is developed in consultation with the client, for a guided series of Low Intensity CBT sessions. The client is also supplied with materials about the program and information about depression/anxiety as part of the psychological education component of the program. What is the referral process to NewAccess? Clients can self-refer by phone on 1300 137 934 or online at http://ow.ly/L6Lpq. Clients can also be referred by their medical practitioner, mental health worker or other community agency. What are the criteria for clients? NewAccess is an early intervention program for people over eighteen who are experiencing emotional stress and who are not currently accessing other mental health services. How is the program funded? NewAccess is a beyondblue program, funded by The Movember Foundation and beyondblue. For more information about NewAccess or to have a presentation or material delivered to you, contact NewAccess Program Manager, Jennifer Melsness on 0427 026 276 or contact the NewAccess Intake Line 1300 137 934 or visit http://ow.ly/L6Lpq.

PharmacyFocus PAL UPDATE Training

Aspen Australia Innovation Awards

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has released the following new online training courses for pharmacists:

Aspen Australia and PSA are offering six Innovation Awards, valued at $2,000 each, to community pharmacists implementing practice change. They believe that community pharmacy in Australia is changing continually and that to remain competitive and viable, many community pharmacies need to transform themselves.

•

Pharmacist Only Health Solutions – Analgesics, incorporating expert product knowledge from training development partner AFT Pharmaceuticals

•

Delivery of an effective travel health service in pharmacy, in partnership with Immuron Ltd

This training is free to all pharmacists via myCPD: www.mycpd.org.au

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Awards for Excellence Nominations are now open • • •

Pharmacist of the Year Young Pharmacist of the Year Lifetime Achievement award

Nominations close on Friday 26 June 2015, and the winners will be announced at the PSA15 conference in Sydney on July 31, 2015. Forms are available at http://www.psa.org.au/about/ excellence-awards.

The awards are for those implementing practice change to: •

increase pharmacist – customer engagement

•

target customers with health promotions and professional services

•

increase collaboration with other health professionals

•

increase health related (S2 and S3) medicine sales

•

maintain and grow dispensary profitability through sustainable business practices

Visit http://www.psa.org.au/news/innovation for more information.

PharmacyFocus PAL UPDATE Vitamin D deficiency link to diabetes

eHealth

Vitamin D deficiency has been found to be associated with diabetes independent of the level of obesity, according to new research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Complementary Medicines Australia CEO, Carl Gibson, said the study added to the database of research on the impacts of vitamin D deficiency. Visit http://ow.ly/L6NKP to view the abstract.

NSW Health is currently rolling out HealtheNet in the NNSW and MNC LHDs. HealtheNet is an eHealth solution offering a Clinical Portal, access to the PCeHR and secure electronic messaging of discharge summaries. Cerner was recently granted the tender to supply its electronic medication management system to the majority of NSW hospitals. This will support the process of bringing patient records, management and medication delivery online undertaken by HealtheNet, and significantly reduce the risk of medication errors.

NCML is holding a series of Diabetes workshops for health professionals in Tweed Heads, Ballina, Grafton and Kempsey over the coming months. For further details please refer to the Healthy North Coast Events Calendar on page 21 of this newsletter or online at http://ow.ly/L6NET.

For an update on PCeHR usability improvements, refer to page 3.

For information on NCMLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Close the Gap services, refer to page 10.

Pharmacists and pharmacy staff in the Tweed Valley region are invited to a learn more about HealtheNet from Belinda Collins, HealtheNet Change and Adoption Manager, over dinner on Wednesday 29 April at South Tweed Sports. For further details please refer to the Healthy North Coast Events Calendar on page 21 of this newsletter or online at http://ow.ly/L6NET.

For details of how New Access can support Seniors suffering with depression and anxiety, refer to page 13.

AlliedHealthFocus PAL UPDATE Mid North Coast Musculoskeletal Primary Health Care Initiative Musculoskeletal conditions are conditions of the bones, joints and their attachments (e.g. muscles, tendons and ligaments), and are the most common chronic diseases in Australia affecting 6.1 million people, or 28% of the population. Musculoskeletal conditions contribute significantly to Australia’s burden of disease with direct health care costs of $5.7 billion. Contributing disproportionately to this burden of disease are three conditions: • • •

osteoarthritis osteoporotic re-fracture acute back pain

The Mid North Coast is one of only three trial sites in NSW selected to implement the Musculoskeletal Initiative for Primary Health Care pilot, led by the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation. Following on from successful trials in hospital settings, NCML and the Mid North Coast Local Health District are working together to trial three models of care in the primary care environment to improve patient outcomes and professional satisfaction in the treatment of these conditions. Primary sector service providers are invited to get involved in the project, which aims to embed evidence based care into general practice with a focus on improving the coordination of general practice with allied health services to support patient management.

A second musculoskeletal symposium will be held in Coffs Harbour on Thursday 07 May, and will focus on the model of care for the management of acute low back pain, as well as the specifics of how the osteoarthritis and osteoporosis re-fracture prevention models will be rolled out in primary care. For further information, contact Project Officers: Coffs Harbour Fiona O’Meara fomeara@ncml.org.au 0409 613 976 Port Macquarie Martin Cushing mcushing@ncml.org.au 0418 316 648

AlliedHealthFocus PAL UPDATE Why clients don’t do as they’re told People generally have a better memory for pictures than for words. It’s a sad fact that clients retain only 10% of the information imparted to them verbally and 20% of the information in handouts they receive. When they are shown images and made to do something physically, that retention rate reaches a staggering 80%. Amanda Clark, dietitian at Great Ideas in Nutrition, has created Portion Perfection by smoothly incorporating both ‘seeing’ and ‘doing’ into all of the portion control education tools. Clients are shown how much to eat pictorially, and then have the opportunity to use the portion plates and bowls they see in the pictures so they can follow on to actually do what they saw, and concrete the learning. Even the recipe book shows portion accurate photos for everyone in the family. The plate also works as a visual cue to remind them of the message when the consultation is long over. You can start the conversation with patients by identifying the health risks associated with their weight and asking them if they’d like you to get them started on a simple strategy that can help them feel satisfied on less food.

If they indicate an openness to your interest then hand them an education page which gives them the first step in modifying how they make up their own dinner plate that night and guides them to further information and tools to take the process further.

This strategy can be shared by all members of the health team so we are all reiterating the same simple strategy and starting point. Visit http://ow.ly/LhcMf to download a copy of the education pages or request more information or assistance from info@ greatideas.net.au. The full Portion Perfection kit includes the portion plate, a portion bowl, a full pictorial eating plan with clear and simple portion guides for all family members, and a 4 week menu plan with recipes that guide the correct portion sizing. Visit www.greatideas.net.au to learn more.

HNCNews Networking Platform for Health Professionals

ealthy North Coastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new online network allows you to communicate, network and collaborate in a private and professional environment, with colleagues from across the North Coast without leaving your office. The Healthy North Coast Network is based on the functionality of other familiar social networking platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. With over 130 regional and professionbased networks available, the Healthy North Coast Network is ready for you to join right now. Health professionals can register for the Healthy North Coast Network by visiting http://bit.ly/VsrO2s. Full instructions for the platform are available at http://bit.ly/1sJgRI7.

Would you like your organisation to be accredited with a Rainbow Tick? The Rainbow Tick is a valued tool that provides the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex communities) with confidence that the services you offer are user friendly for them. Having a rainbow tick also demonstrates that the organisation is committed to safe and inclusive service delivery for this community. Rainbow tick accreditation is a unique product that boosts an organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s community profile and effectively conveys its commitment to inclusion. QIP (Quality Innovation Performance) is the national organisation that can support your service to acquire the 6 standards required by Rainbow Tick. For more information go to www.glhv.org.au/glbti-inclusive-practice. To contact Quality Innovation Performance go to: www.qip.com.au/standards/ or phone 1300888329.

HNCNews Coffs Harbour Health Campus leading the way for care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients In 2012-13, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were three times more likely to have a heart attack and nearly twice as likely to die from heart disease compared with non-Indigenous Australians. Coffs Harbour Health Campus is one of eight hospitals from across Australia selected to participate in an innovative national project to improve the service and care Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients receive when presenting to hospital with heart attack symptoms. The Heart Foundation and Australian Healthcare and Hospital Association have partnered to deliver the Lighthouse Hospital Project, which aims to provide health practitioners with the practical tools to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples receive clinically-appropriate treatment, delivered in a culturally-safe manner. Read the full story at: http://healthynorthcoast.org.au/top-stories-273/

Protect against mosquitoes after jump in Ross River detection

NSW Health to Provide Free Whooping Cough Vaccinations for Pregnant Women

NSW Health is urging people to take extra precautions to protect themselves against mosquitoes following a seven fold increase in detections of the mosquito-borne Ross River virus across the State compared with this time last year.

NSW Health will now provide free vaccinations against pertussis (whooping cough) to pregnant women during their third trimester, after evidence showed it lessened the risk of infants catching the potentially fatal infection.

Director of the North Coast Public Health Unit, Paul Corben said it’s the second time this year that NSW Health has issued a warning about mosquito-borne illnesses.

The Mid North Coast Local Health District’s Director of Public Health, Paul Corben, said NSW Health would fund the new initiative during the current outbreak of whooping cough. The change in advice is in line with a new recommendation released by The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

“Autumn is the peak time of the year for these insects to carry such infections so it is also when there is the highest number of mosquito-borne viral infections,” Mr Corben said. “So far this year, NSW Health has seen an increase in reporting of people infected by mosquito-borne viruses. “There have been 539 notifications of Ross River virus infections across the State compared with just 79 for the same period in 2014. “While all parts of the State have reported cases, residents of the North Coast of NSW have been particularly affected, with 319 notifications of Ross River virus received so far this year compared to 19 for the same period last year.” Read the full story at: http://healthynorthcoast.org.au/top-stories-277/

“We urge pregnant women to ensure they are vaccinated in their third trimester, ideally at 28 to 32 weeks, as it offers the best protection for babies until their first vaccination at six to eight weeks of age,” Mr Corben said. The NHMRC, which is responsible for endorsing the Australian Immunisation Handbook, updated its advice after a review of available evidence showed that immunising pregnant mothers in the third trimester significantly reduces the incidence of whooping cough in newborn babies, and therefore lessens the risk of infant death. The updated advice is a result of work undertaken by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) for the Australian Technical Advisory Group for Immunisation (ATAGI). Read the full story at: http://healthynorthcoast.org.au/top-stories-283/

HNCEvents Hastings-Macleay

Tweed

15 April - Diabetes Education for Health Professionals, Kempsey

16 April - Healthy Living w Diabetes – Managing Diabetes in your Health Care Environment (for GPs, Pharmacists, RACF Nurses & Allied Health professionals), Tweed Heads

22 April - Palliative Care Breakfast Meeting, Port Macquarie 22 April - Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Workshop, South West Rocks 23 May - Antenatal Shared Care Workshop for General Practitioners, Port Macquarie

Mid North Coast 22 April - Recipe for Success Autism Workshop, Coffs Harbour 22 April - The Three Silences of Women, Grafton 27 April - General Practitioner Dinner, Grafton 28 April - Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Coffs Harbour 1 May - CAPD Information lunch, Coffs Harbour 11 May - The Three Silences of Women, Nambucca Valley 12 May - Dementia Carer’s Workshop, Grafton 20 May - The Three Silences of Women, Coffs Harbour 27 May - Wound Care Clinical Update for health professionals, Grafton

April - June 2015 You can view the full North Coast Practitioner events calander at: www.healthynorthcoast.org.au/practitioner-events

17 April - GP Breakfast Meeting, Murwillumbah 12 May - Changed Behaviours and Transition to Care, Pottsville 14-16 May - Brave to Bold - APNA National Conference 2015, Gold Coast 18 May - End Stage Palliation and Dementia, Tweed Heads 25 May - Wound Care Clinical Update – Multidisciplinary, Tweed Heads 27 May - Quality Improvement Meeting for Pharmacists, Tweed Heads 10 June - Tweed Valley Clinical Society Meeting

HNCEvents Northern Rivers

Other Events

14 April - Aboriginal Cultural Safety, Lismore

13-16 April - Resolving Vilification Workshop, Sydney

20 April - The Emotionally Intelligent Leader, Lismore

17 April - Introduction to HIV Care For General Practitioners, Parramatta

23 April - Mindful Self-Compassion: Core Skills for Living Well, Goonellabah 23 April - Ballina Byron Clincial Society dinner 23 April - Richmond Valley Clinical Society, Lismore 28 April - The many faces of community engagement, Goonellabah 30 April - Person Centred Performance Management, Ballina 30 April - Healthy Living with Diabetes – for Health Professionals, Ballina 7 May - How to Write Great Content With Know-How & Kapow, Lismore 11 May - Dementia Carer Education Course, Maclean 11 May - Culture and Compassion: CPD for nurses, midwives and educators, Lismore 12 May - LGBTI Aged Care Training, Casino 12 May - Vicarious Trauma, Ballina 14 May - Managing Staff Conflict, Alstonville 14 May - What difference does it make? Impact assessment in practice, Goonellabah 20 May - General Practitioner Breakfast, Lennox Head 21 May - Hoarding and Squalor Information Session, Lismore 26 May - Wound Care Clinical Update for health professionals, Lismore 26-27 May - Youth Mental Health First Aid, Ballina 27 May - LGBTI Aged Care Training, Byron Bay 28 May - Aged Care Simulation Workshop, Lismore 28 May - Navigating social enterprise, Goonellabah 28 May - Richmond Valley Clinical Society, Lismore 21

March - May 2015 You can view the full North Coast Practitioner events calander at: www.healthynorthcoast.org.au/practitioner-events

18 April - HIV s100 Prescriber Course, Parramatta 20 April - Webinar: Understanding Complex Regional Pain Syndrome 23-25 April - Australian Telehealth Conference, Sydney 23 April - Understanding Dementia, Tamworth 4 May - Aspect Australia – Creating Positive Outcomes in Complex Scenarios Workshop, Sydney 4-5 May - 2015 Australasian Connecting Asthma Care Conference, Brisbane 9 May - From Collection to Court for Health Professionals, Melbourne 14 May - Brave to Bold APNA National Conference 2015, Gold Coast 15-16 May - Australian Diabetes Educators Association (ADEA) NSW Branch Conference, Newcastle 18 May - Mental Health Disorders (online training for rural practitioners) 20 May - Webinar: Diagnosis and Management of Fibromyalgia 21 May - Nurse Education Day, Ashfield 21 May - Immunisation Update for Nurses, Brisbane 24-27 May - National Rural Health Conference, Darwin 27 May - Adverse events following immunisation – ACN webinar for nurses 29 May - Immunisation Update for Nurses, Sydney 30 May - Infant GORD and its Complications, Webinar 10-11 June - Aboriginal Cultural Awareness, Sydney

HNCclassifieds CONSULTING ROOM FOR RENT COFFS HARBOUR Medical consulting rooms available for rent, from the middle/end of May. Would suit: • • • • •

medical doctors sessional specialists visiting from Brisbane or Sydney specialists allied health providers psychologists

There is parking on site and on street for patients and free parking nearby for staff. The practice currently accommodates a few specialists in their field. The practice is wheelchair friendly, light and airy and has a staff kitchen/canteen area. Situated with a 5-minute walk to the CBD, these premises are ideally located for conducting daily banking, postal services, etc. Please contact Michelle on 044 885 1885 for further details and expressions of interest.

POSITION VACANT - FT or PT GENERAL PRACTITIONER, WAUCHOPE A fantastic opportunity exists for a GP to join our vibrant family focused practice in Wauchope NSW. Wauchope is only 15 minutes west of Port Macquarie, 4 hours north of Sydney and 5 Hours south of Brisbane. We are a well-established, bulk billing, busy practice, privately owned and AGPAL accredited. You will be part of a team of enthusiastic and competent health professionals with full time registered nurse support, flexible hours and a good work life balance.

DOCTOR NEEDED FOR LISMORE SOUP KITCHEN North Coast Medicare Local (NCML) is calling for expressions of interest from GPs located in Lismore to provide medical services at the Winsome Health Outreach Clinic. Since April 2013, NCML has been providing an outreach health service on-site at The Winsome, a large facility owned and run by the Lismore Soup Kitchen Inc. The Winsome, predominately self-funded and reliant on a volunteer workforce, provides valuable support for some of the community’s most vulnerable people. It provides accommodation for men and daily meals for those in need. Every Wednesday morning, an Outreach Health clinic is held on-site, providing free GP and clinical nursing services to clientele of The Winsome. The Clinic is well-established and more than 200 patients have accessed care there over the past two years. NCML is keen to find a local GP who could commit to work at the clinic for a few hours each Wednesday morning. In order to consolidate the service it’s important to find a dedicated doctor. NCML also wants this doctor to welcome The Winsome clinic patients to his or her general practice for follow-up consultations. In the next few months, NCML and Vinnie’s are working together to construct a purpose-built clinic on the ground floor of The Winsome, comprising a doctor’s room, nurse’s room and reception/waiting area. If a Lismore GP is interested in working at The Winsome Outreach Clinic, please contact Monika Wheeler by phoning 6622 4453 or emailing mwheeler@ncml.org.au.

We offer full time or part time, immediate start and flexible hours. For more information or a confidential enquiry please contact admin@campbellstreetsurgery. com.au or phone 02 6585 1388.

Would you like to post a local classified ad in this newsletter? Email the details to healthynorthcoast@gmail.com before the 25th of each month. There is no cost associated with these ads.

HNCclassifieds GP VACANCY HASTINGS MEDICAL CENTRE Part time with a view to full time. This is an exciting and busy practice, in a lovely rural setting, with a multi-skilled team.

Are you planning for retirement in the next 6 months, 2, 5 or 10 years? Or are you looking for a work-life balance to spend more time with family?

Contact Practice Principle Dr Philp Ewart by emailing philip.ewart@hastingsmedical.com or phoning 0412971631.

Our service is personal and in complete confidence. Let us assist you in taking the first step.

VR FEMALE GP REQUIRED BANORA POINT • • • • • •

Accredited practice Established patient base No shiftwork Flexible hours Mixed billing Other sites available

Fully computerised and accredited practice with 4 consulting rooms, treatment room and adjacent to the local pharmacy. Situated in high population growth area with a rapidly growing patient data base. Centrally located with easy access to Brisbane, Gold Coast or Northern Rivers areas. Excellent high end remuneration and conditions. Join a professional, proactive, supportive and highly skilled team by calling Kym Ottery on 07 5523 2500 or kym.ottery@blooms.net.au.

GP VACANCY - COFFS HARBOUR Do you want to make a real difference? Are you interested in whole patient care? Consider joining our busy team of medical doctors who are passionate about the health and wellbeing of our patients with an emphasis on prevention and chronic disease management. We offer full nursing support in a large, modern AGPAL accredited group general practice, located 100 metres from the Jetty Beach in beautiful Coffs Harbour. If you are looking for a sea change with full time or part time work option, please contact our practice manager, Di Ryan on 02 6652 5322. 23

PRACTICE SUCCESSION & TRANSITION PLANNING

• • • • • • •

practice health check website creation options for succession practice refresh / upgrade preparing for sale introducing potential successors valuation services

We have VR GPs and their families looking for opportunities on the North Coast. Contact us today! Jodie Fairweather FM Practice Solutions Healthcare Practice Solutions Provider jodie@fmpracticesolutions.com.au 0412 076 847 www.fmpracticesolutions.com.au

PGY5 EMERGENCY MEDICINE TRAINEE PGY5 Emergency Medicine Trainee seeking 5 month GP rotation to improve understanding of availability of services to GPs in the community and management of GP presentations. Practice must be registered to train GP registrars, RRMA 4-7 and District for Workforce Shortage to allow full medicare benefits. Dates - September 2015 - January 2016 Location - Commutable from Tweed Heads UK IMG with General Registration and Australian Citizenship. Please contact Dr Laura Baxter on 0410336474 or email lbaxter@doctors.org.uk if you have a suitable vacancy.

HNCclassifieds FRACGP (VR) GP - KINGSCLIFF Looking for a new role or sea change? Join a team that is building a medical practice for the future. Kingscliff Family Medical Services is located only 20 mins from Coolangatta Airport & the heart of the Gold Coast. Kingscliff is a growing coastal town. The location offers a wonderful lifestyle & quality educational facilities for families. The requirement is for a full-time VR General Practitioner (GP) to join the Private Family Medical Practice. • • • • • • • •

specialist in family medicine 6 consult rooms, 2 treatment rooms allied services + women’s health nurse cosmetic and chronic illness centre servicing the local & surrounding areas in Tweed Shire private and mixed billing pathology on site the location offers a wonderful lifestyle and quality educational facilities for children

You will have the following: • • • • • •

MBBS or equivalent minimum of 5 years experience in general practice, 2 year Australian GP vocational registration, FRACGP or FACRRM must participate in continuing professional development (CPD) must have access to Medicare benefits in the RA1 provide evidence of medical indemnity insurance

To discuss this great opportunity in confidence, please email your current CV to brian@1800myclinic.com.au.

PRACTICE MANAGER - KINGSCLIFF Opportunity to join Kingscliff Family Medical Services, located on the North Coast of NSW. Kingscliff Family Medical Services is located only 20 mins from Coolangatta Airport & heart of Gold Coast. Kingscliff is a growing coastal town. The location offers a wonderful lifestyle & quality educational facilities for families. Reporting to the practice principal, you will co-ordinate and maintain all the functional requirements of the medical centre including financial, clinical, patient services, marketing, personnel administration and computer systems. • • • • •

full time/part time role available management & leadership skills work effectively as part of a team the ability to work unsupervised previous medical centre & allied serivces experience essential

To discuss this great opportunity in confidence, please email your current CV to brian@1800myclinic.com.au.

GP VACANCY - MURWILLUMBAH Semi-rural GP Practice in Murwillumbah, Northern NSW. 20 minutes to Gold Coast Airport and beaches, with the peace of country living. Full-time VR GP for non-corporate practice. Fully accredited, 8 doctors. Friendly doctors and staff. Full time practice nursing. Potential for hospital appointment. Enquiries and CV to Practice Manager: recruitment@mainstmed.com.au

COSMETIC DOCTOR WANTED BYRON BAY / KINGSCLIFF Cosmetic Laser Clinic in Byron/Kingscliff seeking a doctor with knowledge of fillers/injectables to work five days a week building the business alongside other technician/practitioner. Work would also include vascular and pigmented lesions, veins etc. Phone Jacqui on 0403 353 036.

HNCclassifieds GP VACANCY TWEED BANORA MEDICAL CENTRE Tweed Banora Medical Centre in Tweed Heads South is a fully computerised, modern, state of the art medical centre and provides the following services and support structure: full time nursing support, treatment and procedure rooms, ECG testing, pathology, radiology and pharmacy on site. The General Practitioner will provide general practice services in an extended hours, comprehensive mixed billing centre. The doctor will maintain clinical independence and enjoys stimulation from a varied patient mix. The practice provides a steady flow of patients. The full-time/part-time position is to be filled as soon as possible. The remuneration is very attractive and negotiable. All applications will be dealt with in strict confidence. Apply today! Contact: Annette Altmiks GP Liaison for Primary Health Care Tweed Banora Medical Centre, Tweed Heads South 0424 011 271 annettealt88@gmail.com

GP VACANCY - PORT MACQUARIE Port Macquarie Medical & Dental Centre in Port Macquarie is a fully computerised, modern, state of the art medical centre and provides the following services and support structure: full time nursing support, treatment and procedure rooms, ECG testing, pathology, radiology and pharmacy on site. The General Practitioner will provide general practice services in an extended hours, comprehensive mixed billing centre. The doctor will maintain clinical independence and enjoys stimulation from a varied patient mix. The practice provides a steady flow of patients. The full-time/part-time position is to be filled as soon as possible. The remuneration is very attractive and negotiable. All applications will be dealt with in strict confidence. Apply today! Contact: Annette Altmiks GP Liaison for Primary Health Care Port Macquarie Medical & Dental Centre 0424 011 271 annettealt88@gmail.com

NEW OBSTETRICIAN & GYNAECOLOGIST COFFS HARBOUR Dr Triveni Nanda is welcoming referrals at her new Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Specialist Centre in Albany House, 60-62 Albany Street Coffs Harbour. As a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist she is accepting patients for a range of services including high-risk obstetrics, urogynaecology, infertility, laparoscopy, colposcopy and related surgeries. The clinic is open five days a week for consultation. Dr Nanda will continue to work as a VMO at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital and as a visiting specialist at Baringa Private Hospital. Referrals to Dr Nanda can be made by phone on 02 6651 3848, by fax 02 8208 3268 or by email: info@cwsc.com.au

HNCclassifieds GPs WANTED FOR SHORT-TERM IMMUNISATION CLINICS HealthOne is a leading Australian healthcare activation company with extensive go-to-market knowledge in all aspects of stakeholder communications and sales. Our disciplined approach and commitment to quality, excellence and innovation delivers outstanding results. We have been active in the Australian healthcare marketplace for over 10 years, with a multi-dimensional approach encompassing brand strategy, marketing services, sales representation, merchandising, telesales, e-contact, strategic consulting and staff education. As the leader in Healthcare activations, we are looking for GPs to join our pharmacy-based influenza immunisation team between March and May 2015. Your role will involve administering influenza vaccination to adults who have booked an appointment within the pharmacy. Complete flexibility available: • • • •

pick your own sessions from the schedule available casual opportunity (clinics are conducted from mid-March to the end of May) $100-140 per hour (depending on location) with flexible 4 hour clinic sessions (or up to 8 hours if you prefer) clinics being held across Australia – both metro and regional opportunities

About you: • • • • • •

committed and professional approach efficient conduct MBBS or equivalent full registration with APHRA Medicare Provider Number current indemnity insurance certificate

IMPORTANT NEXT STEPS:

•

Send an email to annette.dixon@healthone.com.au including all of the following information: your APHRA Registration number, a copy of your current indemnity Insurance Certificate, Medicare Provider Number and a short bio with contact details.

•

You will then be contacted by HealthOne to discuss your preferred location (you may include the suburb/s or city in your email) and schedule.

Contact NCML Head Office Suite 6, 85 Tamar Street Ballina NSW 2478 Phone: 02 6618 5400 Fax: 02 6618 5499 Email: enquiries@ncml.org.au Northern Rivers Tarmons House St Vincentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Campus 20 Dalley Street East Lismore NSW 2480 Phone: 02 6622 4453 Fax: 02 6622 3185 Email: nr@ncml.org.au Tweed Heads 8 Corporation Circuit Tweed Heads South NSW 2486 Phone: 07 5523 5501 Email: tv@ncml.org.au

Hastings Macleay 53 Lord Street Port Macquarie NSW 2444 Phone: 02 6583 3600 Fax: 02 6583 8600 Email: hm@ncml.org.au Mid North Coast Suite 6, 1 Duke Street Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450 Phone: 02 6659 1800 Fax: 02 6659 1899 Email: mnc@ncml.org.au