Professional development opportunities and events read more

Updated Health Alert: Measles
Another seven cases have been reported read more

Free mental health services and GP priority intake line
Do you have patients who can't afford services? read more

Practice Networks this month: Diabetes, HR strategies
Come to our April Network meetings read more

ePIP: Did you know practice nurses can create and upload Shared Health Summaries?
Be smarter about using My Health Record read more

Our new address
Please note our new office details from 13 April read more

SEMPHN GP Symposium
Please save the date for our inaugural event read more

Forum: Heavy menstrual bleeding
Get the latest updates in treatment and best practice read more

Hepatitis B brochures in multiple languages
Check out this new brochure read more

New handbook: gynaecological cancers in Indigenous women
Help reduce the impact of cancer in your community read more

Grants and scholoarships available for primary health professionals in Cardinia, Casey and Greater Dandenong
Appplications are open until 23 April read more

The following was issued to GPs and hospital emergency departments on 27 March.

Key messages:

• There have been a further seven cases of measles in Melbourne which may be linked to a previously reported case who was infectious on flight D7214 from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne and in Tullamarine airport on 7 March from 9.30am until midday.
• Anyone who was on the above flight, or in Tullamarine international airport during that time, and is not immune is at risk of contracting measles and may already be unwell.
• There have previously been three confirmed cases of measles in Melbourne in March this year, with these infections likely to have been acquired overseas, in different locations.
• This page details additional sites (including Pakenham) where the cases may have been infectious with measles. Susceptible patients who attended these sites at the dates and times specified should continue to look out for measles until up to 18 days after their exposure.
• Be alert for measles in patients presenting with a fever at rash onset, particularly if they attended any of the places listed.
• Notify the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Section at the Department of Health and Human Services on 1300 651 160 of suspected cases immediately.
• Avoid sending suspected cases to an emergency department unless the illness is severe enough to warrant admission. Isolate suspected cases to minimise the risk of transmission within your department/practice.
• Take blood for measles serology in all suspected cases. Discuss whether to take nose and throat swabs for PCR with the Department if your suspicion for measles is high. Approval is required prior to PCR testing at the reference laboratory. PCR testing for measles does not attract a Medicare rebate.

Read the full alert here.

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Do you see patients with depression and anxiety who can't afford services?

Accessible Psychological Interventions (API) are short-term psychological supports for people who:

• live or work in South Eastern Melbourne
• have a health care card or can’t afford or get into similar services
• have a mental illness such as mild depression or anxiety.

Supports can include cognitive-behavioural therapy, skills training, psycho-education, relaxation strategies and other evidence-based interventions, in one-on-one, family or group sessions.

Psychologists, mental health social workers, occupational therapists and/or mental health nurses might be involved.

API services are part of Mental Health Stepped Care which means people can ‘step up’ into more intensive services, or ‘step down’ into less intensive services, as their mental health needs change.

Fax a referral and GP Mental Health Treatment Plan to 9793 9052
OR call SEMPHN Mental Health Intake ph: 1800 862 363 (9am-5pm)

Find clinical software templates and referral forms here

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Practice managers and practice nurses, please join us for some interesting topics at this month’s Practice Network meetings.

Practice nurses will receive a diabetes clinical update including:

• medications update - current and new medications, when and how they are used
• best practice management of diabetes
• when to refer and who to refer to.

Practice managers will learn about HR strategy in general practice including:

• an overview of HR strategy in general practice
• documents required to successfully manage your HR workforce
• Q&A on current practice HR issues.

Cost: Free. Sandwiches and Tea/coffee provided.

Register here:

• St Kilda Practice Network: 12 April – St Kilda Town Hall, 6pm-7.30pm
• Dandenong Practice Network: 18 April – Greater Dandenong City Council, 6pm-7.30pm
• Frankston Practice Network: 19 April – Cube 37, Frankston, 6pm-7.30pm

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A Shared Health Summary can be created and uploaded by a patient’s nominated healthcare provider. This is a patient’s regular provider and can be:

• a general practitioner
• a registered nurse, or
• an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Worker.

Some examples of when it may be useful to upload a Shared Health Summary include:

• when creating or updating a new Care Plan or Health Assessment
• when completing a childhood immunisation.

Chatting with your patient about the Shared Health Summary during the consultation is one way of incorporating uploading into your workflow.

Our GP ImproveIT online resource gives more information on who can upload a Shared Health Summary.

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Please note for your records and meetings/visits to our office, that from Friday 13 April (20 April for the Dandenong SEMPHN Office), our new address will be:

South Eastern Melbourne PHN          
Level 2, 15 Corporate Drive                  
Heatherton 3202.                                    

We look forward to welcoming you into our exciting new space!

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GPs in South East Melbourne, please save the date for our inaugural GP symposium on Saturday June 2 from 9am to 3pm.

The symposium will focus on mental health and young people, and will provide you with practical clinical information about eating disorders, depression, self-harm, suicide prevention and anxiety from experts in the field, as well as interactive sessions.

It will also be an opportunity to find out what we're doing in the mental health space, locally.

The event will be held at Pullman & Mercure Melbourne Albert Park. This will be an RACGP-accredited event.

Keep an eye on our event calendar to register.

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Do you treat women who experience heavy menstrual bleeding?

Are you across the latest treatments available, and what's now considered good practice?

The first Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation identified significant variation in the rate of hysterectomy and endometrial ablation, surgical procedures to treat heavy menstrual bleeding. This prompted the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care to develop the Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Clinical Care Standard

A forum on 7 May hosted by Safer Care Victoria and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, will take you through the new standard, and help you better understand how you can treat and engage with women who have this common condition.

Who should attend?

• doctors, including GPs
• family planning services
• gynaecologists/obstetricians
• nurses
• radiologists
• surgeons
• women’s health services

RACGP Category 2 points pending. For more information contact elif.cetiner@safercare.vic.gov.au.

Register here.

If you can't make it in person, you can register for webcasting
or register your interest in getting more information about the clinical care standard.

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Did you know that around 14,000 people in South Eastern Melbourne are living with chronic Hepatitis B?

A new Hepatitis B brochure Be HEP Aware from Hepatitis Victoria is now online in multiple languages: Arabic, Burmese, Chinese, Dari, Dinka, English, Karen, Khmer, Urdu, and Vietnamese. 

The Dari, Arabic, and Khmer language brochures are tailored to South Eastern Melbourne.

The brochure covers:

• who is at risk
• how to stay healthy
• how best to protect yourself
• where you can find more information
• where to find a liver clinic.

Download the brochures in other languages

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Would you like to help reduce the impact of gynaecological cancers in your community?

Gynaecological Cancers: a Handbook for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Health Practitioners promotes risk reduction, cervical cancer screening, awareness of symptoms, early detection and appropriate and timely testing and treatment.

The Handbook covers information about:

• the new cervical screening test
• risk factors for gynaecological cancers
• symptoms of gynaecological cancers
• treatment options
• follow up after treatment
• sources of support and more information.

The Handbook was developed with input from key Indigenous health organisations and experts.

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Following the winding up of the South Eastern Health Providers Association (SEPA) in November 2016, the Australian Communities Foundation established the South Eastern Primary Care (SEPC) Fund. 

Grants from the SEPC Fund can support the primary health care workforce in South Eastern Melbourne (specifically, the Shire of Cardinia and Cities of Casey and Greater Dandenong) to provide better care in the community, via:

• scholarships for primary health care professionals and support staff to undertake education and training
• grants for organisations to deliver training to primary health care professionals and/or support staff
• grants for primary health care professionals or primary care organisations to undertake projects within the primary health care setting.

The scholarships and grants are likely to be allocated in annual grant rounds over the next two to three years.

Applications are open until 23 April.

Details of the scholarships and grants are available here.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

10 Apr		Suicide Prevention in Men - What do we know and what can we do? GPs Frankston Details and registration
12 Apr		St Kilda Practice Networks Practice Nurse, Practice Managers St Kilda Details and registration
17 Apr		GP anaesthetists (GPAs) discussion forum and networking evening GP Anaesthetists East Melbourne Details and registration
18 Apr		Dandenong Practice Networks Practice Nurse, Practice Managers Dandenong Details and registration
19 Apr		Frankston Practice Networks Practice Nurse, Practice Managers Frankston Details and registration
19-20 Apr		Course in Wound Closure and Suturing Nurses, GPs South Yarra Details and registration
1 May		Cultural Respect & Appreciation Workshop GPs, Practice Nurse, Practice Manager Doveton Details and registration
2 May		Holmesglen Multi-disciplinary meetings (MDM) 2018 GPs Moorabbin Details and registration
5 May		Mending Hearts - A Comprehensive Update in Cardiology GPs Malvern Details and registration
7 May		Heavy menstrual bleeding: Delivering best practice care forum GPs, Nurses, Women's health services, Surgeons, gynaecologists/obstetricians Melbourne Details and registration
10 May		APNA National Conference Nurses Brisbane Details and registration
16 May		Diagnosis and Management of Syphilis, Gonorrhoea and Chlamydia in Primary Care GPs & Sexual health clinicians Melbourne Details and registration
19 May		Spirometry Training Course GPs, Nurses Dandenong Details and registration

For more information about events contact Stephenie Cook ph: (03) 8514 6609 or events@semphn.org.au

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