Professional development opportunities and events read more

Book now! Only three weeks until our inaugural GP symposium
GPs, please join us at our 2 June event read more

Refugee and asylum seeker health - changes to SRSS
Here's how you can help vulnerable migrants read more

Free mental health services and GP priority intake line
Looking for easy access to psychological and other services for your patients? read more

New Colonoscopy Categorisation Guidelines
New changes come into play from 1 July read more

Closing tomorrow: Expression of Interest: Suicide Prevention Advisory Groups
Would you like to make a difference? read more

Exercise is Medicine workshop
Come to this 31 May workshop in Mornington read more

General Practice in Addiction Conference
Learn more about common addictions and management read more

Healthier choices on the menu
New kilojoule labelling laws are in place read more

Do you have questions you’d like to ask when it comes to young patients and mental health?

Come along to our mental health symposium and join your fellow General Practitioners on 2 June for Mental health and young people: Providing the best primary care.

This event is especially for South Eastern Melbourne GPs to give you the opportunity to build connections with your fellow GPs, share stories and learn from each other.

Bring your questions and don’t be afraid to ask them throughout the day. The day will consist of presentations from experts in this fields, and interactive GP-to-GP sessions.

One in four people across South Eastern Melbourne suffer from mental illness, and we have some of the highest rates of suicide in the state.

The event will be held at Pullman & Mercure Melbourne Albert Park and is RACGP-accredited for 9 Category 2 points.

Spaces are limited so register here now.

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Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) is the program that supports vulnerable migrants who are waiting for decisions on a visa application, including people seeking asylum.

A new SRSS model commenced on 1 May.

Over the coming months, SRSS recipients will be notified about how this may affect them.

In short, the SRSS program will be reduced in size and support will be tailored to meet individual needs.

The two services contracted to provide SRSS in Victoria, Life Without Barriers and AMES Australia, will be providing advice to the Department of Home Affairs about circumstances that impede clients’ ability to gain employment and engage in the Status Resolution process.

The Department of Home Affairs has nominated four categories of ‘vulnerabilities’ they will consider.

People who are not deemed to be vulnerable will be exited from the SRSS program. Those who are identified as being vulnerable by the SRSS providers will be reviewed by the Department of Home Affairs as to whether they are
still eligible for SRSS support.

What you can do:

• Identify if you are seeing clients who receive SRSS
• Review these clients to identify barriers to employment that arise from the four categories of vulnerability
• Gain informed consent from the client to share information with the SRSS provider and their contractor at the Department of Home Affairs
• Write a brief letter about the history of health services provided, the ongoing care a person is receiving, medications, care responsibilities, immediate stressors and a brief description of the impediment to work (see this advice about preparing letters for people seeking asylum)
• Provide a copy of the letter to the client and to the SRSS provider
• Respond to any enquiries from SRSS providers and the Department of Home Affairs (with consent from client)

For more information, see the Victorian Refugee Health Network's info sheet.

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Do you have patients with mental illness who live/work in South Eastern Melbourne and have a Health Care Card or can’t afford/access similar services?

Accessible Psychological Interventions (API) services offer a range of short term psychological interventions
for people with mild-moderate mental illness.

Mental Health Integrated Complex Care (MHICC) services offer support for people with severe mental illness and complex needs who require coordination of their care over an extended period of time.

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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There are new Colonoscopy Categorisation Guidelines that will affect how GPs refer patients for colonoscopies in Victorian public hospitals from 1 July 2018.

The guidelines were developed to ensure that all patients are assessed and booked for colonoscopies according to their clinical risk.  They were developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

The guidelines are designed to assist health services to:

• Consistently apply agreed clinical risk stratified treatment times for patients needing a colonoscopy.
• Outline the information required from referrers in order to determine the need for a colonoscopy and urgency.
• Reduce unnecessary colonoscopies.

Useful links:

• Colonoscopy categorisation guidelines 2017
• Referral information form for referring clinicians.  Note, this is not a required template, but provides guidance on all information required on a colonoscopy referral. 

Similar guidance for gastroscopy is likely to be completed this year.

For more information, contact Mr Chris Potter, Senior Policy Officer, Department of Health & Human Services chris.potter@dhhs.vic.gov.au or ph: (03) 9096 7589.

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Would you like to make a different in suicide prevention activities?

SEMPHN, in partnership with the Victorian Government, is supporting communities to reduce the incidence of suicide through a coordinated place-based approach to suicide prevention across the Greater Dandenong and Frankston Mornington Peninsula regions.

The suicide prevention place-based trials are part of an Australia-wide reform in suicide prevention, driven by the high rates of suicide and the need for a renewed approach.

SEMPHN is establishing a Greater Dandenong Suicide Prevention Advisory Group and a Frankston Mornington Peninsula Suicide Prevention Advisory Group to provide a local partnership approach for these trial sites. 

We are seeking representatives from a range of sectors and members of the community with lived experience of suicide.

Please read and/or complete the following Suicide Prevention Advisory Group forms by COB tomorrow, 15 May:

• Frankston Mornington Peninsula EOI (please note, the original email address cited for submissions was incorrect, and should be suicideprevention@semphn.org.au)
• Frankston Mornington Peninsula EOI application form
• Frankston Mornington Peninsula Terms of Reference
   
• Greater Dandenong EOI (please note, the original email address cited for submissions was incorrect, and should be suicideprevention@semphn.org.au)
• Greater Dandenong EOI application form
• Greater Dandenong Terms of Reference

Applicants will be notified of the outcome by 15 June.

Please submit any questions in writing to suicideprevention@semphn.org.au.

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Would you like to know:

• how exercise can be used to prevent and manage patient chronic conditions?
• how graded exercise therapy helps patient safety?
• key aspects of the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines?
• about behavior change strategies that work, when it comes to adopting physical activity?
• more about existing physical activity and assessment tools in your medical software?

If you answered yes to any of these, come along to a two-hour workshop on 31 May in Mornington.

Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) and SEMPHN are hosting the event, which will be facilitated by local accredited exercise physiologist, Rebecca Hallam.

By treating physical activity as a vital sign, you'll learn about the role of physical activity in the prevention and management of chronic disease.

You'll also leave the sesson with a suite of resources to support you in your assessment, management and referral of patients with (and at risk of) chronic disease.

• RACGP: Allocated 4 Category 2 points (Activity 10931) in the RACGP QI&CPD Program for the 2017-2019 triennium
• APNA: 2 CPD hours
• ACCRM: 2 Core Points

Register now!

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The RACGP Victoria Drug and Alcohol Committee is hosting a conference GPADD18 – Dealing with Addiction on 4-5 August.

The conference will address some of the most common addictions and associated conditions that are presented to GPs in their daily practice, including chronic pain, real-time prescription monitoring, pharmacotherapy and more.

Participants will receive the latest updates and practical tools for early detection, preventative approaches and management of drug, alcohol and other addiction-related problems.

The conference will be held at Yarra Valley Lodge, Chirnside Park.

View the program, cost and accommodation details.

Register here.

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New kilojoule labelling laws have come into effect.

From 1 May, large Victorian fast food and supermarket chains are required to display the kilojoule content of ready-to-eat food and drinks, along with the average adult daily energy intake of 8,700 kilojoules.

The new laws will help consumers to be able to compare the kilojoule content of food and drinks on offer and help them make more informed decisions about dinner and take-away food.

The average Australian eats out more than four times a week, and almost half these meals have too many kilojoules – items like burgers, chips, pizzas, smoothies and bakery items.

One take-away meal may contain more than half of an adult’s daily kilojoule intake – so many people are eating far too much without realising it.

Victorians will see kilojoule labelling on menus in large food chains – around 2,500 outlets will be subject to the laws.

The kilojoule content of food will also be on the tags of ready-to-eat food in more than 550 supermarkets across the State.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

16 May		Optimising the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease GPs Webinar Details and registration
17 May		Cabrini GP Lecture Series Lecture 3 - Hot topics in Gastroenterology GPs Brighton Details and registration
23 May		Multi-disciplinary meetings (MDM) 2018 GPs Moorabbin Details and registration
24 May		Older Person Mental Health First Aid Course Mental health Workers, Aged care, Gps Frankston Details and registration
24 May		Untangling Depression: Practical strategies for cases that challenge us Counsellors, Psychologists, Social Workers, Youth Workers. Melbourne Details and registration
24 May		Cabrini GP Lecture Series Lecture 4 -Advances in radiation oncology GPs Brighton Details and registration
25 May		Primary Care Asthma Update Aboriginal Health Worker, Allied Health Professional, GPs, Nurses, Pharmacist Dandenong Details and registration
25 - 26 May		Contemporary Chronic Disease Management Workshop Nurses Melbourne Details and registration
31 May		Management of urinary incontinence and prolapse GPs and those specialising in Women’s health Parkville Details and registration
31 May		Exercise is Medicine Workshop Allied Health Professionals, GPs, Nurses Mornington Details and registration
2 June		South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network GP Symposium GPs Albert Park Details and registration
2 June		Managing Difficult Situations & Challenging Behaviours workshop Nurses, Practice Administration, Practice Manager Frankston Details and registration

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

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