Boostrix in Pharmacy Update
From 1 August Pharmacy can order Boostrix vaccine at no cost for administration to eligible individuals. From 1 September Pharmacy will be able to administer and claim the administration fee for Boostrix.
The Boostrix vaccine boosts immunity against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough)
In removing these costs and enabling administration of Boostrix by Pharmacy, we
hope to make the Boostrix vaccine more accessible for eligible people.
Eligibility criteria can be found at: https://schedule.pharmac.govt.nz/ScheduleOnline.php?edition=&osq=Boostrix
• Click here to read more about Boostrix in Pharmacy Key Messages August 2022
• Click here to read Boostrix and CIR Inventory user FAQ
Epilepsy New Zealand eReferral now Live
Epilepsy NZ offers the following free service for all eligible people in New Zealand:
• support programmes for people and families living with epilepsy
• education and training tailored for individuals, families, schools, workplaces and community settings
• information and resources
• community awareness programmes
Epilepsy New Zealand is the voice for people living with epilepsy.
To contact our team phone: 0800 EPILEPSY (0800 374537)
Eligibility Criteria
• All individuals whether newly diagnosed with epilepsy or with a confirmed clinical diagnosis of Epilepsy and their whanau
• We also accept referrals from schools, aged care facilities and workplaces for our training and education services
• Non residents
Resources and Links
For further information, please refer to:
• Epilepsy New Zealand
• Epilepsy in Adults HealthPathways
• Epilepsy in Women HealthPathways
CLINICAL UPDATE: Blood Groups & Antibody Screens Issue
A computer bug has been identified in a recent update of software (ImmuLink) used for the processing of diagnostic blood groups and antibody screens.
This computer bug has the potential to transmit results from earlier iterations of the same sample number. For example, the results from sample 21T1234567 could be transmitted rather than 22T1234567, the prefix isn’t considered.
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Click here to read more about the Blood Groups and Antibody Screens Issue
CLINICAL UPDATE: Laboratory Testing for Monkeypox
There is currently an outbreak of Monkeypox in Europe, North America, and Australia.
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The virus is related to smallpox but is less severe. It is not easily transmitted between people. Infection occurs following close contact with an infected person, animal, or contaminated material. The virus enters the body through broken skin, mucous membranes, or the respiratory tract.
• Incubation period 5 21 days.
• The rash often begins on the face and spreads centrifugally. It goes through different stages before the resultant scabs fall off. Different stages may be present simultaneously.
• The rash is usually preceded by a prodrome including fever and lymphadenopathy.
• Genital lesions are also common and are the likely route of transmission in the current outbreaks.https://mcusercontent.com/44b7c39e3ff768164720288a9/images/ c292175c 62fc 391c c25b fbbb12d3669a.jpg
Click here to read more from Pathlab on laboratory testing for Monkeypox
Community Women's Health Clinic Pilot Programme
A pilot Community Women's Health Clinic (CWHC) is in progress to provide assessment, support, and management for a range of women’s health conditions that either do not meet planned care thresholds, do not require surgical intervention, or are deemed more suitable for delivery in primary/community care settings.
Please click here to view a document containing more details about the project.
Part of the work involves identifying whether referral volumes have been affected by issues with thresholds and acceptance of referrals. We would be most grateful if you could complete the survey by clicking the button below so that we understand more about any barriers to women’s health care.
Click here to complete the survey
Referring to Mental Health Services Improving the Process in WBOP
It can be tempting to concurrently refer our patients to both WBOP PHO and (former) DHB mental health services simultaneously to try to minimise waiting times.
However, due to contractual issues, the PHO is unable to accept a referral until the DHB has triaged and graded it, and in fact a dual referral can lead to delays.
The information contained in the DHB triage is sent to GPs only.
Going forwards, it would be helpful if referrals, for people who you believe require secondary care level input, could be made to the DHB in the first instance, and only then to the PHO if the DHB referral is declined. Please can you also attach the outcome of the DHB triage, and any relevant clinical documents to your referral to the PHO, as this information is not available to the PHO mental health team otherwise.
Many thanks in advance.
Pre-Assessment / Pre-Operative Management Guidelines Available on Bay Navigator
Did you know that Bay Navigator hosts management guidelines to help get your patients ready for elective surgery?
We often receive letters from the Pre Assessment Clinic asking for our help with optimisation of a patient’s blood pressure, diabetes control, iron deficiency or hyponatraemia. The newly overhauled Bay Navigator website has comprehensive guides to the required pre operative thresholds for all of these conditions.
Links to the guidelines are below:
Pre Operative Anaemia or Iron Deficiency
Pre Operative Diabetes Mellitus
Pre Operative Hypertension
Pre Operative Hyponatraemia
Please contact the GP Liaison team with any queries at baynav@bopdhb.govt.nz
Workforce Survey Abortion Services [Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977]
The Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act was amended on 24 March 2020 to enable better access to abortion services.
Manatū Hauora Ministry of Health has a team managing the ongoing implementation of this work.
Further information on the Act and the Ministry’s programme of work can be found at: https://www.health.govt.nz/our work/regulation health and disability system/abortion legislation information health practitioners/abortion legislation changes
And via Learn online https://learnonline.health.nz/admin/tool/sitepolicy/userpolicy.php
Overview
Thank you for participating in this abortion workforce survey.
This survey is aimed at individual health practitioners who currently provide, are looking to provide, or who want to know more about providing abortion care. This includes anyone who can provide an aspect of abortion care under the Act, including medical practitioners, nurses, midwives, as well as social workers or counsellors who may provide counselling.
The Ministry wants to support health practitioners in providing quality and culturally
safe abortion services and post abortion LARC contraception services to build a more sustainable and diverse workforce. This will help support better access to abortion care and give pregnant people more options. To do this, we need a better understanding of your interests and needs including:
• what you know about abortion
• if you currently provide abortion care (and if you want to provide more than you currently do), or, if you would consider providing abortion care
• if you currently provide LARC contraceptive services
• your opportunities for better service response to Māori and whānau and health equity
• what your understanding of culturally safe services is
• whether there are any barriers to service provision.
Health practitioners have a right to conscientiously object to providing abortion services. It’s important to note that your response to this survey is not a confirmation of your choice to either participate in, or opt out of, the service. The results will help inform our ongoing approach to workforce development for abortion services.
The survey is anonymous and will not identify individual responses to the Ministry unless you provide any details that enable you to be recognised.
We will publish the anonymised results of this survey on our website as part of ensuring a transparent process in implementing the Act.
The survey will run from 15 September until 31 October 2022 Please feel free to share this survey link with your colleagues. This survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Any questions about the survey can be directed to abortionservices@health.govt.nz
Dr Chris Tofield, Dr Dan Jackson, and Dr Paula Taylor
Email the Bay Navigator team
