Dr Karen Price named RACGP President-elect

Elizabeth Deveny, Chief Executive Officer of SEMPHN wishes to congratulate local GP, Dr Karen Price on becoming RACGP's new President-elect. 

Dr Price will officially take on the role of RACGP President at the close of the college’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 30 November.

 Webinar: Has COVID fatigue set in with your infection control practices?

We invite practice managers, practice nurses and other clinical staff to join a lunchtime webinar at 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm discussing the topic: Has COVID fatigue set in with your infection control practices?

Presented by Marg Jennings, Microbiologist, Infection Prevention Control Educator & Consultant to General Practice, Marg will provide demonstrations and reminders on:

• How to correctly use masks and gloves and how to put on and take off including hand hygiene
• Physical distancing - and what you are doing with your waiting rooms and tea rooms
• Cleaning - high touch surfaces.

When: Thursday, 17 September, 12.30 - 1.30pm
Cost: free
Register here. 

Practice Managers, register for the next network meeting!

SEMPHN will be hosting the next virtual Practice Managers Network Meeting on 23 September and will be broaching the important topic of self care. 

Guest speaker Renee Hayden, CEO of APMHA Healthcare will present on the topic: As the Practice Manager you are supporting your team and maintaining business goals but what about you? 

There will be an interactive discussion on what you can do in the practice to promote well-being for your team and yourself.

When: 23 September, 12.30 pm - 1.30pm
Cost: free
Register here. 

Business Acumen for General Practice support

SEMPHN is working with Jim Grant & Associates to provide local General Practices with support to develop and fine-tune your Business Acumen. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted primary care “business as usual”, now is the time to be thinking hard and preparing for the future.

These two, one-hour webinar sessions will provide you with the skills and tools you need for a journey towards financial sustainability and growth.

You will benefit from developing:

In  session 1:

• Your ability to set clear goals based on the Practice’s vision and goals
• Market thinking
• Sound business thinking and planning.

In Session 2:

• Monitoring of practice financials (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow).

These sessions are appropriate for Practice Owners, Practice Managers and Business Managers.

You will be provided with copies of the presentations, Business Planning Guides and Financial Monitoring easy to use spreadsheets.

Following these two sessions, the SEMPHN Provider Support team will continue to support practices wanting ongoing support with their Business Acumen and understand the benefits of benchmarking their progress with each other.

Registration

• Session 1: 24 September, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
• Session 2: 1 October, 12.30pm - 1.30pm

Why Osteoporosis remains critical (webinar)

Osteoporosis, like any other chronic disease, remains critical during this time. This online webinar has been designed to ensure health care providers stay updated with their clinical knowledge.

It also ensures continuity of care is maintained for patients during the COVID period.

Speaker Dr Judith Hammond (General Practitioner VIC) and Professor Peter Ebeling (Endocrinologist, Monash Health/ Medical Director, Osteoporosis Australia) will be leading this webinar. 

When: Thursday 17 September, 7.30 pm - 8.30pm
CPD points: 6
Register here.  

Use or learn suicide first aid skills that could save a life

COVID-19 has many of us feeling unsettled, uncertain and lonely, particularly those living with restrictions
right now. For some, these feelings may turn to thoughts of suicide.

LivingWorks, together with Crisis Heroes, South Eastern Melbourne PHN and North Western Melbourne PHN, has launched a suicide first aid outreach campaign for Victorians to help each other stay safe.

The campaign calls on those trained in suicide first aid, or interested in being trained, to register their
skills and support those in need.

To find out more, or to get involved, visit: www.crisisheroes.com/livingworks 

Are your patients missing their skin melanoma checks?

A recent survey from SEMPHN showed that 19% of people in south eastern Melbourne avoided a skin melanoma check due to the current pandemic. 

We have developed a series of printable posters and shareable social media tiles for general practice to share the messages. 

Visit our 'Your Health Matters' campaign page to download all the resources for free!

Melanoma pathways

Did you know that there are a series of cancer referral and clinical pathways on the SEMPHN website? These are known as Optimal Care Pathways or OCPs. 

There are specific OCPs relating to skin cancer (non melanoma) and melanoma. 

 Visit the OCPs page here (and bookmark it for future reference!). 

Peninsula Health launches Symptom & Urgent Review Clinic

Peninsula Health is now providing greater support for cancer patients across Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula through the opening of a new Symptom and Urgent Review Clinic (SURC).

Based at the Frankston Hospital Chemotherapy Day Unit, the SURC will help patients manage potential side effects from systemic anti-cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Patients will be able to contact experienced cancer nurse clinicians who may either provide advice via telehealth through video or phone consultations, triage patients to see their GPs or advise in-person attendance for further management. 

The clinic is funded by the Southern Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service (SMICS), Department of Health and Human Services.

The SURC will embrace the telehealth model of cancer care using both video and telephone follow-up consultations and provide ongoing communication to  GPs to ensure continuity of care for patients.

Furthermore, the telephone triage process allows COVID-19 screening to be done over the phone, maximising the safety of both patients and staff.

SURC opening hours & contact details

• Mon-Fri 8.30am – 4.30pm. Urgent after-hours support will be available.
• Tel: (03) 9784 8856
• Email: SURC@phcn.vic.gov.au

Diabetes Victoria and the Benefits of Peer Support

The Diabetes Victoria ‘Benefits of Peer Support’ video is designed to support health professionals in recommending peer support to their clients.

The four-minute video highlights the benefits of peer support whilst addressing the potential concerns health professionals may have. 

Peer support can provide people with diabetes with the information and emotional support they need to successfully manage their condition. In the video, Erin speaks about the importance of connecting with other mums whose children have diabetes and GP Ralph Audehm talks about the short amount of time he has with his patients and their need for additional support.

Watch the video: Benefits of Peer Support video

Diabetes Victoria is connected to over 90 peer support groups.

To find out more and which groups are near you, visit our website at www.diabetesvic.org.au/peer-support-groups or contact the Peer Support team at peersupportgroups@diabetesvic.org.au. 

Diabetes Victoria has other programs and services to support people living with diabetes as well as the health professionals who support them.

To find out more visit our website at www.diabetesvic.org.au or contact Claire Rickard, Primary Care Engagement Coordinator at crickard@diabetesvic.org.au.