Clinical Correspondence week ending 12/8/22 Extracts from GPNZ Clinical Correspondence ending 12/8/22 Latest news and updates from Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora – Full newsletter attached in Practice News. • •
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The establishment of an International Recruitment Service within Te Whatu Ora to attract and retain overseas healthcare workers to New Zealand and ensure they have expert immigration and relocation advice. A multimedia nursing campaign: The ‘Real Nurses’ domestic recruitment campaign has been developed with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation to attract more young people into nursing careers, and to encourage nurses to return to practice to a nursing career. You can see more at realnurses.co.nz Supporting internationally qualified health professionals to get registration in New Zealand: • a new six-month bridging programme to better prepare and support internationally qualified doctors from non-comparable health systems to enter the New Zealand workforce • Funding will also be made available from today for Internationally Qualified Nurses (IQNs) undertaking a competence assessment programme to gain registration in New Zealand. • Using non-clinical roles more widely: Including expansion of the Kāiawhina (unregulated healthcare workers) workforce Improving GP training model and boosting training numbers: Te Whatu Ora, Te Aka Whai Ora and the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners are working together to incentivise registrars and increase Māori and Pacific representation in GP training. One of the key goals is to boost GP training numbers to 300 per year. Funding to continue the Return to Nursing Support Fund: Increasing the nursing workforce through removing financial barriers for nurses returning to practice. Increased funding for individuals to complete the Nurse Practitioners training programme: Doubling the current number of funded training places to 100 by mid-2024
COVID-19 Care in the Community •
Pharmacists have been invited to a training webinar tomorrow evening at 7pm about supplying oral COVID-19 antiviral medicines Paxlovid and Lagevrio to eligible people who are at a higher risk of becoming very sick, without needing a prescription. This is the second phase of this initiative with all pharmacies now offered the opportunity to opt in. Locations of participating pharmacies are published on Healthpoint.
COVID-19 Response •
Two new posters on the use of P2/N95 and medical masks are now available to download from the Unite against COVID-19 website to guide the safe use of P2/N95 particulate respirator masks and disposable medical masks. There are free masks available at some rapid antigen test collection sites, and people at highest risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 are prioritised for P2/N95 masks. See where free masks are available on Healthpoint.