Weekly Update

Opening of Exodus Health and Outreach Centre
​The Exodus Foundation has a purpose built Health and Outreach Centre providing health and welfare needs to the homeless within the inner west area. Within the Health and Outreach Centre is a GP and dental clinic. The GP clinic provides primary, chronic and mental health care. It is a bulk billing practice where the client requires a Medicare card or number. The GP clinic is available Monday and Wednesday mornings, no appointment is necessary.

The grand opening of the health and Outreach Centre will be held at 11 am on Saturday 19 November at the Exodus Foundation, 180 Liverpool Road, Ashfield. 

For more information on the grand opening or the clinic, please contact Exodus on 8752 4602 or email clinic@exodusfoundation.org.au. To view the invite, click here.

National Shingles Vaccination Program will commence from 1 November
People aged 71-79 years of age will be able to receive the free shingles vaccination as a catch-up program until 31 October 2021. Zostavax® vaccine may be ordered now via the online vaccine ordering system. People who are not eligible to receive the vaccine as part of the program can purchase the vaccine on the private market.

Providers should submit shingles vaccination data to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR), which commenced in September 2016, expanding upon the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) by capturing vaccines administered throughout a person’s life. Vaccination providers will play a key role in informing patients about the program. To assist in promoting the program we ask that you encourage vaccination providers to:

• Administer the vaccine to eligible people. Vaccination providers could consider a staged approach to recalling 70-79-year-old patients as appropriate for their clinic.
• Promote the vaccine to eligible people through displaying the program posters and brochures in their clinic.
• Report adult and childhood vaccinations to the Australian Immunisation Register.

Further information regarding this program can be found on our website.

Referral guidelines and referral forms to POW Diabetes Centre
The Prince of Wales Diabetes Centre has recently developed new referral guidelines to ensure patients are seen in an appropriate timeframe. The new referral process requires a new referral form to be completed. This multidisciplinary clinical and education service also provides access to podiatry for complex diabetes foot care. For diabetic foot care the podiatry referral is required. GP referral templates for Best Practice and Medical Director can be downloaded from the Diabetes Management page on our website under Diabetes Integrated Care and Referral Pathways

The Child Protection Helpline number is changing!
From 30 October 2016, there will be one number for staff and the general public to contact the Child Protection Helpline (FaCS) to make a report about a child or young person at risk of significant harm. The new number is 132 111. The Helpline will continue to be open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Click here for more information.

Let us know your thoughts as a GP on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance
Researchers at the University of Sydney invite doctors practising in Australia to participate in a survey on antibiotic use and resistance. The aim of the survey is to explore practitioners’ attitudes towards antibiotic use and resistance, education and resource needs. The survey takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. Take part for a chance to win an iPad!

Click here to participate. Responses are anonymous and confidential.

For more information, please contact Dale Dominey-Howes on 9351 6641.

The end of the 2014-2016 RACGP QI&CPD triennium is near!
Requirements for GPs are as follows:

• 130 points
• 2 x Category 1 activities – one of which needs to be a quality improvement activity 
• 1 x recognised CPR course

Please see the RACGP website for further information. In addition, we have limited places available in our upcoming CPR courses which meet the requirements. See the CPD calendar for updates. If you have any questions, please contact a member of our CPD team at Kogarah on 9330 9900 or Ashfield 9799 0933 or email events@cesphn.com.au  

Concord Clinical Day - Friday 21 October 2016
Concord Clinical Day is a day of educational lectures held every year at Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney. Its purpose is to educate staff and students on the latest advances in medicine. This year’s themes are Gastroenterology, and Mental Health and Ageing Therapeutics. All GPs are welcome to attend, admission is free, and lunch is provided. Registration is not required. Just sign in on the day.

Click here to view the program. For more information contact Concord Repatriation General Hospital Senior Staff Specialist, Winston Cheung.

GPs, it's not too late to have your say on type 2 diabetes patient education
Central and Eastern Sydney PHN in partnership with Sydney Local Health District are engaged in a project to develop and implement a new model of community-based diabetes education. We need your valuable input to help us understand current practices and available resources in the management and education of patients with type 2 diabetes. 

Please click here to take a short online survey.

Central and Eastern Sydney PHN

Upcoming Events

Cold Chain Management and ACIR Expansion to Australian Immunisation Register Workshop 
Please note: These sessions have the same content, please register for one session only

For:    GPs, AHPs, practice nurses, practice managers and practice administrative staff
Time: 6.30 pm dinner, 7.00 pm presentation

Click the dates below to register:

Tuesday 25 October - Ashfield Office, L1, 158 Liverpool Rd

Thursday 17 November - Kogarah Office, L3, 15 Kensington St

Wednesday 23 November - Education Centre, War Memorial Hospital, 125 Birrell St, Waverley

For external event opportunities click here