The Australian College of Nursing’s 2020 ‘Nursing in the Community Week’ shines a light on the importance of #NursesWhereYouNeedThem, and Central Queensland, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast PHN is also celebrating these vital healthcare professionals by profiling some of the nurses within our own organisation. Our PHN recently welcomed Rae Fialla …
Communicating with your patients
Our PHN works closely with Healthily to look at new ways general practice can deliver information to their patients. The fortnightly Take Time Out Interactive Packages general practices across our region have been sent for staff, is a good example of the Healthily/GoShare platform. Find out more here.
#NursesWhereYouNeedThem: Ellen McDermott
The week of 14-20 September is the Australian College of Nursing’s ‘Nursing in the Community Week’, with the theme this year #NursesWhereYouNeedThem. The PHN’s Ellen McDermott has many stories to share from her 37 years as a nurse. “Over these years I have worked in aged care, private hospitals, public …
Use of My Health Record climbs
Uptake and use of My Health Record has continued to climb in recent months. There are now more than 22.81 million records, with over 86% of those containing data. The Australian Digital Health Agency’s Statistics and Insights document from July 2020 shows the number of records with data increased by …
Dementia Australia expands services
Dementia Australia’s services are available for individuals, couples, families, groups, and anyone impacted by any form of dementia. Services are available to all Australians, regardless of where they live, and can be accessed in a variety of ways including face-to-face, telephone or online. For the most appropriate service for specific …
Help reduce Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander hospitalisation
The aim of the Preventable Hospitalisation Program (PHP) is to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with existing chronic health conditions who may be at risk of admission, or have been admitted, to hospital. The PHP provides person-centred care in the community, and empowers clients to self-manage their …
StepCare service extended for another year – get involved.
The PHN is extending the StepCare service for an additional year and is welcoming practices from anywhere across the region – Central Queensland, Wide Bay or the Sunshine Coast to register their interest. StepCare has already proven to be a great quality improvement initiative, helping patients to access the right …
Measles health alert – Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service has confirmed a case of measles in a person on the Sunshine Coast. The person is believed to have travelled from South East Asia by plane (TR 0221) to Brisbane while unknowingly infectious arriving Saturday morning at 9.35am. People who are known to …
Information for GPs administering flu vaccines to RACF residents and staff
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee recommended that visitors and staff (including visiting workers) who have not been vaccinated against influenza should not be permitted to enter residential aged care facilities (RACFs) after 1 May 2020. To assist in completing RACF influenza immunisations as soon as possible, Queensland Health has …
Nurse Navigator – assistance for GPs
The nurse navigator and the co-ordination of care – how it works The Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service model of care depicts the general practitioner as the central case manager. The nurse navigator’s role is to assist with the provision of services for patients who have complex health …
Temporary changes to locum tenens
In order to provide greater flexibility to health professionals responding to the COVID-19 situation, the Department of Health will extend the locum tenens period from two weeks to twelve weeks. This extension is a temporary change to support the COVID-19 response, reducing the number of Medicare provider number applications and …
Top tips to help your patients access the NDIS
The clinical experience of general practitioners is crucial in helping people with disability access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), to confirm a person’s disability is permanent and significant. The NDIS was never intended to replace health responsibilities for diagnosing and treating medical conditions, so the most important way GPs …
Help Close the Gap early on Indigenous health
In the wake of last week’s National Reconciliation Week, now is an ideal time to reflect on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians, and the sobering reality that the mortality rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is currently 2.4 times the mortality rate for non-Indigenous children. The …
‘Let me see my baby’ – how GPs can help those learning to live with loss
The tough topics of miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death and the subsequent grief felt by parents, family and friends were recently explored in an intimate and in-depth conversation on the Sunshine Coast. Let Me See My Baby is a panel-led discussion developed and run around Australia by Amy Banson, who founded …
National Medical Workforce Strategy consultation activities
Webinars On 17 February 2020 we held a webinar hosted by Associate Professor Susan Wearne, Principal Medical Advisor for the NMWS and Professor Jenny May from the National Rural Health Alliance. The response to the webinar was overwhelming with 559 participants watching, and 75 joining the Live Q&A, asking 68 …
Public health alert – COVID-19
Summary Iran, Italy and South Korea have been added to the list of countries for which clinicians should consider testing of people with a clinically compatible illness and history of travel. On 26 February 2020 the Commonwealth updated advice on testing of persons under investigation for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It …
Novel coronavirus – latest PHN updates
Last updated: 4 February 2020 Novel coronavirus There has been an outbreak of a novel (new) coronavirus (2019-nCoV) originating in Wuhan, China. Queensland Health asks you consider novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection in patients with fever and respiratory symptoms who recently travelled to anywhere in China, and investigate patients using standard …
Novel coronavirus: face masks and additional resources
The Health Minister has indicated that the Department of Health is making the national stockpile of face masks available to general practices as needed. We do not yet have exact details about when they will be available, but we will advise you as soon as delivery dates are confirmed. Priority …
Information for general practitioners – textured breast implants
Queensland Health has started notifying all women identified as having received textured breast implants or tissue expanders associated with increased risk of Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL.) Please note GPs will be contacted if they have patients who are affected. Read the Queensland Health notice here. …
Panel of Mental Health Clinical Services Providers
The PHN is approaching the market to engage mental health clinical service providers (Service Providers) across Central Queensland, Wide Bay and the Sunshine Coast to form a Panel of Mental Health Clinical Services Providers (the Panel). The PHN is establishing the Panel to help streamline the new commissioning process for …