The ACH program will run for 12 months commencing 1 July and will be provided to a small number of clients across each region.

Who is it for ?

People over 65 living at home and people over 50 who are at risk of eviction or homelessness, have hoarding tendencies and/or live in domestic squalor.

Eligibility

Enquiries can be made via either My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or Anglicare SQ on 1300 610 610.

The Queensland Transcultural Mental Health Centre have recently developed culturally responsive suicide prevention resources and training courses:

1. Culturally Responsive Suicide Prevention Training for Human Service Workers: an online, free training which consists of four modules. This training teaches non-clinicians how to identify and support people from CALD backgrounds who may be at risk of suicide. Training can be accessed through their website. For support to register, participants can view the iLearn Registration and Course Enrolment Guide.
2. Communicating about Suicide in the Media: an online training course which aims to upskill media professionals working in CALD media outlet on how to report suicide safely in the media. Training can be accessed through their website. For support to register, participants can view the iLearn Registration and Course Enrolment Guide.
3. Supporting a person in your community who is suicidal: a suicide prevention community resource. Available in 26 different languages and simple English. This resource can be accessed through their website.
4. Suicide Prevention Resources Hub: which includes resources for service providers and people from a CALD background and links to organisations and services that can provide mental health, suicide prevention, or multicultural psychosocial supports. This hub can be accessed through their website.
5. Updated Glossary of Mental Health and Wellbeing Terms for Interpreters, Translators, and Bi-cultural Workers: which is available in 30 different languages and can be accessed through their website.

Whitsunday Doctors Service is focused on providing the highest standards of care possible for their patients, and they are using their own practice data to achieve it.  

Led by GP Dr Konrad Kangru, the practice has committed to ensuring their patient data is accurate and up-to-date by taking part in the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) Data Program.

Through the Data Program, a general practice’s data is extracted, analysed, and then used to positively influence patient health outcomes within the primary healthcare setting. 

The program also benefits the practice by distinguishing the best way to streamline business processes, assisting with continuous quality improvement (CQI), identifying opportunities to maximise appropriate utilisation of MBS billing, and improving data quality for accreditation preparation. 

“Understanding and utilising data is tremendously important for our practice,” said Dr Kangru.

“We love being able to demonstrate to our patients, to our students and registrars, and to the visiting accreditation team that we actively seek to provide the very best standard of primary care we can, with the resources available.

“Our GPs participate in continuing audits for women’s health, diabetes, and skin cancer management. 

“We assess our performance on smoking cessation rates, and how regularly we are performing proper spirometry to better diagnose early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

“We ask our students how common these conditions they’re seeing with us are, and which groups are at highest risk. 

“Our nurses grab our patients from the waiting room before they see the doctor to quickly update height, weight, and waist measurements, and see if progress really is being made.”

By utilising meaningful and accurate data, Dr Kangru and his practice team are able to establish goals to work towards in relation to the care they provide for their patients and the greater

Whitsunday community, and work out what they need to do to achieve them. 

Dr Kangru said it is important that his practice takes the extra time to ensure their data is complete and up-to-date.

“There is no simple way for us to define what our endpoint is meant to be, let alone how we’re going to get there, if we don’t have meaningful and current data,” said Dr Kangru. 

“Every day in general practice we are confronted with unique clinical encounters managed in discrete patient episodes. 

“While we might conduct 20, 30, or 40 different n=1 clinical trials each day, it is our own access to data which guides our decisions. 

“Although we might think that we’re too busy to collect data, and it isn’t relevant to our own practices, data has always been valued in medicine.

“Collecting and analysing our practice data is how we are able to measure that we are being successful in our work, such as decreasing the number of preventable hospitalisations or preventing complications of chronic disease.

“It also enables us to demonstrate that the standard of care we provide in a regional setting is as good as anywhere else in Australia.

“If we didn’t record important patient data, collate it, share it, and improve upon it, then we wouldn’t know if we are actually achieving our goals.

“Our practice data provides us with an evidence base that steers us in the right direction so that we can make the biggest impacts on the wellbeing of our patients.” 

To learn more about the Data Program, visit www.nqphn.com.au/healthcare-professional/provider-hub-360/nqphn-data-program

Northern Queensland Primary Health Network’s (NQPHN) Vaccine Works campaign spotlights the region’s vaccinating general practices and pharmacies, and focuses on the primary care sector’s highly-successful role in increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates in North Queensland.

In Sarina, three general practices and two pharmacies are currently vaccinating the local community:

• Awal Medical
• Sarina Family Practice
• Sarina Clinic
• Terry White Chemmart Sarina
• Sarina Discount Drugstore.

As of today (15 October 2021), these five primary care providers have together delivered more than 7,800 COVID vaccines to the wider Sarina community, which has a population of approximately 7,000 people.

Awal Medical has led the way, administering more than 4,700 doses from its practice since March this year.

Practice Manager Yogita Awal said Awal Medical has been involved in the national COVID vaccination program rollout since day one.

“We felt it was important to us to keep the Sarina community COVID safe,” Yogita said.

“We believe in protecting the community and reducing the burden on the health system. Our message is ‘Get the jab. Vaccine works’.”

Terry White Chemmart Sarina has administered more than 450 vaccines over the past two months after pharmacies joined the vaccination rollout program in August.

Owner Therese Lambert said: “We even opened out of hours last week and did a clinic with over 30 walk-ins.

“I love helping the community by offering them options to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Ms Lambert said she is also heading to Australia's largest rail freight operator Aurizon next week at their Jilalan depot to offer vaccination clinics for employees and their families.

Dr Shahanaz Meer, Practice Principal at Sarina Clinic, said her practice had administered more than 2,000 AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines to the Sarina community since March 2021.

NQPHN Chief Executive Officer Robin Whyte praised Sarina’s vaccinating GPs and pharmacies, and said the primary care sector is playing a key role in the ever-increasing rate of COVID-19 vaccinations across North Queensland.

“Our Vaccine Works campaign is about showcasing our local primary care providers for all the amazing work they’ve done over the past few months to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates in North Queensland and protect our community,” Ms Whyte said.

“Primary care plays a vital role in the national vaccination rollout program, as it has the capacity to vaccinate in a distributed model by offering place-based solutions in local communities.

“North Queensland, due to its geography, presents unique challenges and opportunities, and the incredible work of general practices and pharmacies in our region will support us to reach our vaccination targets sooner rather than later.”

In North Queensland, there are currently 135 general practices, 115 pharmacies, 10 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and four GP-led Respiratory Clinics administering COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna).

To book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, including at Queensland Health clinics, people are encouraged to use the Australian Government’s official COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder at https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au 

Addressing inequities in access to high quality medical care has been a longstanding challenge in Australia and the Government recognises the importance of providing all Australians with timely access to quality, safe, and affordable health care services, no matter where they live.

To assist in attracting and retaining medical professionals in regional, rural, and remote areas, the 2019–20 Budget provided $62.2 million to commence a National Rural Generalist Pathway (the Pathway). Rural Generalists are general practitioners (GPs) who provide primary care services, emergency medicine, and have training in additional skills like obstetrics, anaesthetics, or mental health services. The Pathway recognises the extra requirements and skills of rural generalists and supports them to meet the diverse health needs of regional, rural, and remote communities. Rural Generalists complement and work alongside rural GPs to increase local access to a wider range of specialist medical services.

The Australian Government is working with the state and territory governments and with the GP Colleges to support the implementation of the Pathway.

The Department of Health has worked with the National Rural Health Commissioner, Adjunct Professor Ruth Stewart and with practicing Rural Generalist Dr Preston Cardelli to develop a video to highlight elements of rural practice. We hope the video will provide insight to medical students and junior doctors who might be considering a rural career.

Watch the video here.

Townsville Head to Health, funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) through the Australian Government’s PHN program, will be a front door for people over the age of 18 to access mental health support.

Residents in Townsville and surrounding areas who need mental health support for themselves, their family, or friends will be welcomed through a ‘no wrong door’ approach and supported to receive the support appropriate to their needs.

The centre will assist to address some of the current gaps existing for people experiencing high levels of distress or suicidal crisis and will reduce the number of emergency department presentations by providing a more accessible entry point to the mental health system.

NQPHN Chief Executive Officer Robin Whyte said Neami National was selected as the lead provider following an extensive tendering process.

“NQPHN’s commissioning objective was to identify a provider with local experience and a robust plan to engage with the Townsville community, not only in co-designing the service but also in ongoing service delivery and partnerships,” said Ms Whyte.

“The successful applicant also needed to have robust systems, corporate and clinical maturity, and experience in delivering mental health services.

“We were so pleased by the enthusiasm and interest shown by the market throughout this process and are honoured to be working with Neami National to bring this important mental health support service to Townsville.” 

NQPHN and Neami National will now work closely with the Townsville community, people with lived experience, general practice, and other local health professionals to ensure the centre is warm, welcoming, and embraces an evidence-based recovery approach that is client-centric and tailored to the needs of the local community.

Neami National Queensland State Manager Karen Thomas said working with NQPHN and their community partners allows them to offer something new to benefit visitors to the service and the wider community.

“Collaborating with Richmond Fellowship Queensland, Lives Lived Well, Townsville Multicultural Support Group, and the broader community will be the foundation to delivering a new way to access safe, welcoming, and inclusive mental health support for the people of Townsville,” said Ms Thomas.

“With co-design playing an important part of shaping the service, we are looking forward to engaging broadly to ensure we can meet the real neds of the community.”

With half of Townsville Head to Health staff in dedicated lived experience roles, the new service provides ‘peer-first, peer-last’ support, with lived experience support right on arrival all the way to when someone is ready to leave.

“We are excited to develop opportunities for people to bring a lived experience as part of a multidisciplinary team offering clinical and psychosocial support. Working together helps everyone understand how to best support good mental health and wellbeing,” Ms Thomas said.

The new service is scheduled to open in late 2021 and will be located in a prominent facility in the Townsville CBD.

Further, medical practices can bow book onsite interpreters on weekends for COVID-19 vaccination purposes. Telephone interpretation services continue to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Pharmacists are able to utilise interpreters from TIS National to assist in their consultations with patients and to ensure informed consent is given for COIVD-19 vaccines.

Medical practices and Pharmacists can use their existing TIS client code to request interpreters for both their Medicare and non-Medicare patients. For those who are not already registered with TIS National, registration can be done online at https://tisonline.tisnational.gov.au/registeragency 

For more information, contact the TIS Free Interpreting Service Team on 1300 575 847 or email tis.freeinterpreting@homeaffairs.gov.au

The Open Arms DBT program is a six month comprehensive treatment program for those experiencing chronic and significant difficulties with regulating their emotions and/or tolerating distress. It can also be useful for those who experience difficulties in maintaining effective relationships with others. Click here to view the flyer.

Open Arms have developed a DBT Referrer Information Sheet and Client Information sheet to support the referrer and client in determining whether the program is suitable for your client.

All interested participants will attend an information session first before progressing to an intake assessment to determine suitability to attend the program. Feedback will be provided to the referrer on the outcome.

If you have a client that you would like to refer to the program can you complete the referral form and return to openarms.northqld@dva.gov.au. For more information contact Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

The Principles on the role of the GP in supporting work participation are Australia’s first national principles developed by the Collaborative Partnership to improve work participation in consultation with key stakeholders across sectors and industry. The Principles have been officially recognised as a Supported Position Statement by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

The Principles guide GPs on how they can empower people to engage in good work. The Principles support the evidence that work is an important social determinant of health and ‘good work’ can be used as part of a patient’s recovery and wellbeing.

GPs are ideally placed to provide advice to patients and other stakeholders on the health and social benefits of participation in good work. The advocacy role of GPs includes understanding a patient’s needs and advocating to ensure they are empowered to choose and control their treatment pathway, recovery, and goals, including engaging in good work.

GPs, employers, and other professionals need to work together as a team to improve work participation rates for people with a health condition or disability.

A one-page snapshot summarising the Principles has been developed to guide the role of the GP in facilitating the health benefits of good work. The snapshot provides a summary of the three key roles for GPs in supporting work participation for people with injury, illness, or disability.

The one-page snapshot on the Principles is available here.

Visit Medical practitioners | Comcare for more information and resources to assist with work-related injury or illness.