North Queensland general practice, pharmacy, and residential aged care home staff have participated in emergency planning training ahead of the upcoming cyclone and wet season.  

Demand for healthcare services increases during an emergency, making it essential for general practices and pharmacies to maintain their ability to provide critical help during emergencies. 

The training was developed and delivered by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN), Townsville Hospital and Health Service (HHS), Townsville Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG), and the District Disaster Management Group (DDMG) to assist North Queensland health professionals prepare, respond, and recover from an emergency that may disrupt their usual operations.  

NQPHN Interim Chief Executive Officer Ben Tooth said general practices and pharmacies, and their teams, were at the heart of healthcare, especially during an emergency.  

“General practitioners, pharmacists, and health professionals, including those in residential aged care homes, are often the first point of contact for community members,” Mr Tooth said. 

“Emergency planning is about being prepared and knowing what to do in all disaster situations,” Mr Tooth said.  

“The recent training addressed a range of emergency responses, including bushfires, significant weather such as a cyclone or flood, like we have seen in recent years, and other health events including the pandemic.” 

The workshop covered disaster management arrangements, the stages of evacuation, prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of emergency management, and cold chain management.  

“During previous emergencies, we know general practice and pharmacy teams have worked hard to provide people with the best care possible, which demonstrates their commitment to their communities,” Mr Tooth said. 

“Our role in an emergency is to liaise closely with primary care providers to support the District and Local Disaster Management Groups and Hospital and Health Services, so community members can access primary care throughout the response and recovery phases. 

“We would encourage all health professionals to update their key contact details with Northern Queensland Primary Health Network, review their website’s resource links, update their checklists and processes for responding to an emergency, and subscribe to the Northern Queensland PHN SMS Emergency Alert System.” 

North Queensland general practices, pharmacies, and aged care homes are invited to opt-in to the Northern Queensland PHN Emergency SMS Alert System. 

Mr Tooth said the 2023-2024 cyclones and the wet seasons, along with recent flooding, bushfires, and the pandemic have highlighted the crucial role of the Emergency SMS Alert System in supporting coordinated emergency response efforts. 

“The purpose of the SMS Alert System for health professionals is to provide an avenue for clear and immediate communications to healthcare providers that’s specific and localised to the relevant to the current emergency,” Mr Tooth said. 

The future of digital healthcare is exciting and right at health professionals’ fingertips, according to Townsville general practitioner (GP) Dr Toni Weller. 

Dr Weller was one of six health professionals who completed the CHIA (Certified Health Informatician Australasia) credential program funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) to build the capacity and capability of the digital health workforce in North Queensland.  

The CHIA credential, managed by the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH), is a national certification that validates a health professional’s expertise in health informatics, including health sciences, information science, leadership, data, and IT.  

As digital health grows in Australia, many roles now require these skills, including in Dr Weller’s position as the General Practice Liaison Officer at GP Link Townsville Hospital and Health Service (HHS).  

She is also the Queensland GP Liaison Network Co-Chair and a Senior Lecturer at James Cook University’s College of Medicine and Dentistry. 

Dr Weller believes health professionals should be excited, not intimidated, about digital health. 

“Digital innovation, AI (artificial intelligence), and change is already here and part of our daily professional life,” Dr Weller said. “If we don’t understand how to evaluate, consider, and manage digital innovation, we can accelerate risks and harm rather than create healthcare improvement. 

“CHIA is a great way to assess and understand knowledge gaps, as well as improve the understanding for leading and managing in the digital age.  

“I think the certification is relevant to all health professionals, especially leaders and managers.”  

Dr Weller’s work as a GP Liaison Officer is primarily stakeholder engagement, collaborating for systems improvement, healthcare leadership, and working for innovation and change.  

She said the CHIA program was extremely helpful as the domains were broad and covered many areas that were interlinked.  

“I found the information technology domain regarding systems design, lifecycle, and security, and the information science domain were especially relevant for me and expanded my knowledge,” Dr Weller said. 

“I can now assess, consider, and understand new and existing systems, which is essential for evaluation, implementation, and risk management.  

“The CHIA program has a strong focus on the human interaction and change management aspects, which are also important and can be easily forgotten.  

“It showed me the tech itself is only one part to consider with digital healthcare enablement.” 

The AIDH is working on a shorter version of the CHIA accreditation, known as the Digital Health 101 program.  

NQPHN will look to fund future study opportunities to encourage more primary care professionals to upskill in aspects of digital health through CHIA or the Digital Health 101 course.  

“I had been thinking about doing CHIA, however, the opportunity and support from NQPHN was the driver I needed to do the study, and I would recommend this for all healthcare professionals,” Dr Weller said. 

A voluntary study group, run by NQPHN’s Operations Director – Health System Integration and Innovation Janine Cox, was available to support participants throughout the program.  

The study group met fortnightly after hours via Teams to discuss the key content covered over the previous fortnight. 

“The study group was opt-in, collaborative, and motivating. I found it helpful for me,” Dr Weller said. 

The six CHIA participants also have access to AIDH events as an associate member for 12 months.