Patients urged to continue regular (tele)health check ups

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we've been encouraging community members, particularly those with chronic diseases, to continue visiting their doctors to manage their health needs. 

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

Visit our 'Continue to take care of your health' campaign page to download all the resources for free!

Two roles open to work for alcohol and other drug treatment program

Two exciting roles are available for the innovative ResetLife Youth program, a structured alcohol and other drug treatment program.

ResetLife Youth involves 16 weeks of intensive treatment, followed by 16 weeks continuing care.

Key Supervisor (full time) - This role will lead a multi-disciplinary team to implement and deliver the ResetLife intensive outpatient treatment service to young people experiencing complex and problematic alcohol and other drug use.

Primary therapist (full time) - This role will facilitate individual sessions, groups and case management.

To apply or find more information, click here. 

Referrals open for innovative alcohol and other drug treatment program

ResetLife is a free, intensive outpatient Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) treatment program, based on the Matrix Treatment Model, for people who live or work in south eastern Melbourne.

The program involves 16 weeks of structured, intensive outpatient treatment, followed by 36 weeks of continuing care. 

​Why is this program needed?

ResetLife provides an alternative and/or complementary treatment to residential rehabilitation. ResetLife allows people with drug and alcohol problems to remain in the community while accessing intensive treatment.

• Peninsula Health delivers ResetLife (adults) in Frankston.
• FirstStep delivers ResetLife (adults) in Port Phillip.
• TaskForce delivers ResetLife Youth in Moorabbin.

How to refer
Call SEMPHN's Access & Referral team on 1800 862 363.

For ResetLife Youth, contact TaskForce directly on 
9532 0811.

Watch the latest Immunisation NIP update with Dr Peter Eizenberg

A chance to catch up on Dr Peter Eizenberg’s presentation clarifying the significant changes to the Pneumococcal recommendations.

These changes have far-reaching implications for scheduling and funding especially for the medically at-risk and older Australians including people with existing reminders for Pneumococcal vaccination.

Also, featuring the updated Meningococcal recommendations including the targeted funding of Meningococcal B for Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander children less than 2 years, as well as Meningococcal B and ACWY vaccines for people of all ages with some medical risk conditions.

Watch the video here. 

HPV Vaccine in General Practice

Although most students are learning from home, the DHHS has advised that the delivery of the secondary school immunisation program remains an essential service and is encouraging parents to book immunisation appointments for their child when the vaccine is due.

Fact sheet for parents and guardians.

General practices may see an increase in immunisation appointments for 12-14-year-olds for the HPV vaccine, as per the NIP schedule.

The HPV Fact Sheet is a useful resource for GPs and practice nurses to refer to during these consultations and discusses how safe the vaccine is, the need for the HPV vaccine as well as answers to common questions asked by patients.

Are you a GP who speaks a language other than English?

A new campaign from the RACGP is helping culturally diverse people access health care during the pandemic.

The website expertadvicematters.com.au contains information on how to access a local GP, telehealth and interpreter services. People who speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Hindi or Arabic will find this information in their language.

GPs are helping to spread the message by sharing videos of themselves speaking in many different languages, urging patients not to delay routine care.

You can find these videos on YouTube here.

GPs are welcome to share the website and videos, and to record your own video, posting on social media with the hashtag #GPexpertadvice and tagging @RACGP.

More information and a script to help you do this are available on the RACGP website.

World Suicide Prevention Day (10 September)

Thursday 10 September will mark World Suicide Prevention Day, which may prove to be a challenging time for suicide survivors and those bereaved by suicide, particularly under the current lockdown restrictions.

Chasing Change is a grass-roots suicide prevention network in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula who will be hosting a series of online events and activities from 6 - 13 September via their Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/Chasingchangespn/.

Throughout this week, Chasing Change aims to bring the community together to remember those lost to suicide, promote support amongst community members and to share important health and wellbeing resources.

If you know someone who may be interested in learning more about suicide prevention and the work that Chasing Change do, please refer them to the Chasing Change Facebook page or the Chasing Change website https://chasingchange.com.au/

Women's Health Week (7-11 September)

Women's Health Week is just around the corner and this year's theme is 'health checks'. This theme is especially important as the world moves through the pandemic. 

Patients may be likely to put off their regular health checks at a time like this, so it's important to remind them it is safe to visit a GP clinic, or to have an appointment via telehealth. 

Women's Health Week walks women through different aspects of their health every day of the week. Visit the website for more information, or download resources here.