Dear subscriber,

Welcome to this week's edition of Sydney Health Weekly! Central and Eastern Sydney PHN aims to make this newsletter your efficient one-stop-shop for primary health news and events within the central and eastern Sydney region. We are constantly working on making your news as targeted and relevant as possible and welcome your feedback to editor@cesphn.com.au.

Featured News

Strengthening the partnerships between general practice and local hospitals

Late last year we called for expressions of interest to represent the general practice perspective at our local hospital clinical councils throughout our region. The following GPs would be more than happy for you to contact them if there are issues you would like to see raised at the one or more clinical councils:

• Balmain Hospital Clinical Council – Dr Kate George 
• Concord Hospital Clinical Council – Dr Joe Cordaro 
• Concord Hospital RACF Committee – Dr Lara Mihaljevic 
• RPA Hospital Clinical Council – Dr Annabel Kain 
• Sydney Local Health District Clinical Quality Council & Clinical Council – Dr Winston Lo 
• St Vincent’s Hospital Clinical Council – Dr Gary Nicholls 

Have you considered using telehealth to compliment your GPMPs and TCAs?

With health-care systems facing the dual challenges of an ageing population with increasing co-morbidity, providers are looking to leverage new technologies such as telehealth to assist improved patient care. CESPHN is currently offering GPs and their patients the opportunity to participate in a FREE eight week telehealth program Staying Healthy Living Well provided by Feros Care. The program is easy to refer to and provides ideal support for GP’s preparing GPMP’s and TCA items 230 and 723 for older people.

Positive Speakers Bureau (PSB)

The NSW PSB is made up of people living with HIV, Hep C or other co-morbidities who can complement health sector training in mental health and AOD units, sexual health units and A and E units, including allied health and aged care settings. PSB speakers address HIV stigma and discrimination in clinical spaces, personalise the reality and experiences of living with HIV today and increase understanding of the issues faced by people living with HIV. The speakers came from a range of cultural backgrounds, ages, genders, and life experiences, and undergo regular training to ensure they keep pace with the ever-changing landscape of HIV information, treatment, and prevention.
Click here for more information and to book a speaker.

New Medicare item numbers and changes to RACF

As of 1 March 2019, new Medicare rebates became available to general practitioners and medical practitioners attending patients at RACF. The surprise is a new call out fee item number 90001 with a rebate of $55.00. The derived fee based on sliding scale relating to number of patients visited at each RACF has also been discontinued.  
Click here for more information. 

Updated SLHD podiatry referral information

The SLHD Podiatry Department has updated its referral information. Click here to download a PDF version for your practice! This document will guide your decision-making process when considering whether your patient requires tertiary-based foot care. 

Garvan Institute study on glycaemic response to diabetes medication

Garvan are running an exciting study aiming to understand why some people have poor glycaemic response to metformin, while others are super-responders. The researchers look at the gut microbiome and use personalised nutrition plans based on algorithm developed by collaborators at the Weizmann Institute (Israel). They are looking for individuals with prediabetes or early type 2 diabetes not yet treated with glucose lowering medication. Participants will be administered metformin, and either given personalised dietary advice based on their gut microbiome or the standard of care, healthy diet (control). 
Please consider referring patients through either email predict@garvan.org.au or call 92958215 for more information. 

We're GLAD to help

The GP Liaison in Alcohol and other Drug Project is here to assist you with your patients.
Click here for more information.

NDIS survey for health professionals report

Central and Eastern Sydney PHN would like to thank all of those who responded to the recent NDIS Survey for Health Professionals. The objective of this survey was to identify key issues about the implementation and to identify Central and Eastern Sydney PHNs members education needs.
Click here for more information.

Clinical services guide to lymphoedema

Lymphoedema is a chronic swelling of a limb or body region and is associated with significant morbidity, loss of function and, on rare occasions, mortality. Poor management of lymphoedema can have detrimental effects on a person’s physical and psychosocial health. Pain and discomfort are frequent symptoms, and people with lymphoedema have increased susceptibility to acute cellulitis, requiring hospitalisation and antibiotic therapy.
Click here to view the NSW Health resource on lymphoedema.

palliAGED practice tips: Enabling careworkers and nurses in aged care

Nurses and personal careworkers provide direct care to millions of older Australians. To support them in caring for older people approaching the end of life, palliAGED has developed a series of practical tip sheets focusing on commonly encountered issues.
Click here for more information.

Foot health fact sheets

The Australian Podiatry Association have a variety of fact sheets on foot health that may be of use to you in your practice. These cover when to see a podiatrist, how to look after ageing feet, and what to know when buying school shoes.
Click here for more information.

Updated SLHD podiatry referral information

The SLHD Podiatry Department has updated its referral information. Click here to download a PDF version for your practice! This document will guide your decision-making process when considering whether your patient requires tertiary-based foot care. 

palliAGED practice tips: Enabling careworkers and nurses in aged care

Nurses and personal careworkers provide direct care to millions of older Australians. To support them in caring for older people approaching the end of life, palliAGED has developed a series of practical tip sheets focusing on commonly encountered issues.
Click here for more information.

NDIS survey for health professionals report

Central and Eastern Sydney PHN would like to thank all of those who responded to the recent NDIS Survey for Health Professionals. The objective of this survey was to identify key issues about the implementation and to identify Central and Eastern Sydney PHNs members education needs.
Click here for more information.

Positive Speakers Bureau (PSB)

The NSW PSB is made up of people living with HIV, Hep C or other co-morbidities who can complement health sector training in mental health and AOD units, sexual health units and A and E units, including allied health and aged care settings. PSB speakers address HIV stigma and discrimination in clinical spaces, personalise the reality and experiences of living with HIV today and increase understanding of the issues faced by people living with HIV. The speakers came from a range of cultural backgrounds, ages, genders, and life experiences, and undergo regular training to ensure they keep pace with the ever-changing landscape of HIV information, treatment, and prevention.
Click here for more information and to book a speaker.

Draft terms of reference for a royal commission into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with a disability 

The Australian Government has announced the beginning of a public consultation on the draft terms of reference for a Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. The consultation seeks feedback on issues that may be confronting and distressing. 
Click here for more information.

NDIS survey for health professionals report

Central and Eastern Sydney PHN would like to thank all of those who responded to the recent NDIS Survey for Health Professionals. The objective of this survey was to identify key issues about the implementation and to identify Central and Eastern Sydney PHNs members education needs.
Click here for more information.

Carers NSW 2018 Carer Survey Central and Eastern Sydney PHN Profile

Carers NSW is the peak non-government organisation for carers in NSW. The biennial Carers NSW Carer Survey provides Carers NSW with a critical opportunity to hear from carers across New South Wales about what matters most to them. The Carers NSW 2018 Carer Survey was conducted between May and July 2018 and received a total of 1,830 valid responses. In line with previous Carers NSW Carer Surveys, this sample cannot be considered representative of the wider NSW carer population, thus limiting the generalisability of its findings. Despite this, the findings presented here raise important implications for governments, service providers, employers and the broader community.
Click here for more information.

Positive Speakers Bureau (PSB)

The NSW PSB is made up of people living with HIV, Hep C or other co-morbidities who can complement health sector training in mental health and AOD units, sexual health units and A and E units, including allied health and aged care settings. PSB speakers address HIV stigma and discrimination in clinical spaces, personalise the reality and experiences of living with HIV today and increase understanding of the issues faced by people living with HIV. The speakers came from a range of cultural backgrounds, ages, genders, and life experiences, and undergo regular training to ensure they keep pace with the ever-changing landscape of HIV information, treatment, and prevention.
Click here for more information and to book a speaker.

Moving Pictures: Dementia resources for Australia’s multicultural communities

Moving Pictures is a project by the National Ageing Research Institute which aims to raise awareness about dementia for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The films feature stories from carers of people living with dementia and expert views of key service providers. Based on the films, in-language comics have also been produced. The resources provide information about the signs of dementia, seeking support for dementia care, and connecting with others managing dementia within their communities. The films and comics are freely accessible on their website movingpictures.org.au.
For questions or to order hard-copy comics please contact them at movingpictures@nari.edu.au.

National Child Protection Week art competition

With National Child Protection Week scheduled for the first week of September, the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, has launched their annual children’s art competition. In addition to pictures of happy childhoods, this year children are asked to send in pictures that include boats and lighthouses which will be used to illustrate the idea that parenting can be like sailing a boat. Entries close 12 April 2019. Winning entries receive a $50 gift voucher.
Click here for more information.

Our Health Counts

In NSW, the Council for Intellectual Disability has strongly advocated on the issue of people with intellectual disabilities dying too young, resulting in the NSW Government putting $4.7million into specialist intellectual disability health services last year. They have joined their national organisation Inclusion Australia to launch the "Our Health Counts" campaign Australia-wide.
Click here for more information.

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts. If you would like to submit an article or have suggestions on content you would be interested in reading, please email editor@cesphn.com.au.