Professional development opportunities and events read more

Free Hepatitis A vaccine for MSM and people who inject drugs
Encourage your patients to get this vaccine read more

Confirmed measles case in Melbourne
A health alert was issued last week read more

Do you know someone who would like to be involved in suicide prevention activities in the Frankston Mornington Peninsula?
There's a free two-day workshop for people with lived experience read more

Borderline Personality Disorder in Primary Care
This education session and initiative is open to GPs read more

Keep our events calendar at your fingertips
Read our simple steps for bookmarking SEMPHN's events page read more

Last chance! Tell us how codeine rescheduling is affecting you and your general practice
Please take two minutes to share your thoughts read more

Managing Codeine Presentations and Lessons Learnt
Learn management strategies from expert presenters read more

Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence (MATOD)
The next training is 21 April read more

Foundations of General Practice Nursing
Last chance to register for the upcoming training read more

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

NDIS update 
Read the latest fact sheet read more

Around 40 cases of the Hepatitis A virus have been confirmed and more cases are under investigation.

The department has responded by funding a free vaccine for men who have sex with men (MSM), and people who inject drugs.

Please read this factsheet A guide for professionals working with people who inject drugs and encourage your clients who have injected drugs in the past 12 months to see their GP as soon as possible to request a free vaccination.

You can also read the full alert issued 12 January Important Vaccination Update for MSM.

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The Chief Health Offficer issued the following alert to General Practitioners and Hospital Emergency Departments on 20 February:

Key messages:

• There has been one confirmed case of measles in Melbourne. The infection was acquired in Victoria and it is possible that the infection was acquired at Centrelink in Dandenong between 22 January and 2 February. The person attended a number of locations in Melbourne while infectious.
• The department is attempting to contact people who may have been in contact with the individual while they were infectious.
• Be alert for measles in patients presenting with a fever at rash onset, particularly if they attended any of the places listed above. Secondary cases may have symptoms start anytime from now until 6 March.
• Manage suspected cases in the GP setting if appropriate and avoid sending to a hospital emergency department unless the patient is severe enough to warrant admission to hospital. Take blood for measles serology in all suspected cases and isolate suspected cases to minimise the risk of transmission within your department/practice.
• Notify the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Section at the Department of Health and Human Services on 1300 651 160 of suspected cases immediately.
• 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: 20 February 2018 - Confirmed measles case in Melbourne

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Roses in the Ocean is offering a SEMPHN-funded two-day workshop, called 'Voices of Insight', on 23 and 24 March in Mornington. It's free of charge for participants (spaces strictly limited).

Voices of Insight is for people with a lived experience of suicide who are interested and ready to share their story publicly - be that through organised speaking engagements or incidental conversations.

Lived experience of suicide can be:

• being bereaved by suicide
• having experienced suicidal thoughts
• having survived a suicide attempt
• supporting someone who has been suicidal.

Previous public speaking experience is not necessary.

Completion of the ‘Our Voice’ program is preferable but not compulsory.

See the flyer or complete an expression of interest here.

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GPs, SEMPHN is offering an opportunity for you to receive extra support to manage the care of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) who present with chronic risk.

Come along to a one hour education session presented by Prof Sathya Rao, Psychiatrist.

If you're a GP working in the Frankston, Mornington Peninsula or Greater Dandenong LGA, stay an extra half hour to learn more about the BPD in Primary Care initiative. Practice Managers may attend on behalf of a GP.

This 12-month initiative will provide GPs with intensive support from psychiatry and allied health including on-call support, secondary consultations and more.

RSVP your attendance to one of these sessions:

• Dandenong 28 February (6.30pm - 8.30pm). Register here
• Frankston 14 March (6.30pm - 8.30pm). Register here.

We'll be seeking expressions of interest on the night to participate in the BPD in Primary Care initiative.

For more information see the flyer or contact Alison Asche at suicideprevention@semphn.org.au.

If you're interested in learning more about BPD, you can listen to a recording of the Radio National 'All In The Mind' episode, featuring Prof Sathya Rao (the presenter at SEMPHN's upcoming sessions).
 

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Would you like to know how to get to our events calendar more quickly?

Bookmark are links or a saved shortcut that directs your Internet browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer etc. to a specific webpage. This makes it easier to access your favourite pages on the Web.

To bookmark a page simply;
1. Go to our SEMPHN Events Calendar
2. Press Ctrl+D.
3. Name the bookmark and select the folder in which you want it saved.
4. Click Save.

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As you know, codeine was rescheduled to being prescription-only from 1 February.

Over the next few months, we'd like to give you the opportunity to feedback about the rescheduling, identify support you might need and to be a voice for your patients.

Please take two minutes here to tell us how codeine rescheduling has affected you and your general practice to date.

Responses are open until tomorrow, 27 February.

Thank you for your time!

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What has been your experience with the rescheduling of codeine?

Come to an evening education session on 6 March in Doncaster and learn management strategies from expert presenters, as well as discuss your concerns with the panel and other health professionals.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify which codeine formulations are available on prescription and when it is appropriate to prescribe them
• Apply best practice management approaches to respond to issues that have emerged since codeine rescheduling
• Establish collaborative multi-disciplinary strategies to optimise patient health outcomes for codeine-related requests
• Implement practice-wide systems for responding to the codeine changes.

This activity is approved for 4 Category 2 RACGP Points.
Activity Number 122254

Please register here by 2 March.

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The next RACGP Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence (MATOD) Module 2 training for 2018 is on 21 April in Warragul.

Codeine dependence is treated in the same way as any type of opioid dependence - with Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence (MATOD).

With codeine now rescheduled to 'prescription only', it's an important time for GPs to understand how to manage patients who may have opioid dependence.

MATOD Module 2 is a full day interactive workshop to assist prescribers with managing opioid dependence and prescribing pharmacotherapy. This training is not a requirement for GPs prescribing buprenorphine/naloxone for up to 5 patients.

Learning outcomes:

• Outline the potential benefits and risks associated with opioid prescribing.
• Recognise, prevent and respond to problematic pharmaceutical opioiduse.
• Identify the legal issues regarding the prescribing of buprenorphine andmethadone.
• Implement safe and effective opioid and or methadone prescribing aspart of a broader pain management plan.
• Safely and effectively prescribe buprenorphine and or methadone foropioid dependence.

The education is presented by MATOD specialist GPs and is accredited for 40 Category 1 RACGP QI&CPD points for the 2017-2019 triennium.

Register here.

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APNA’s Foundations of General Practice Nursing two day workshop on 16-17 March is filling fast.

Don’t let your new Practice Nurse miss out. Register here.

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Australian Communities Foundation has announced the establishment of the South Eastern Primary Care (SEPC) Fund. SEPC is a non-tax deductible charitable sub-fund of the Australian Communities Foundation.

The Fund was established following the winding up of the South Eastern Health Providers Association (SEPA) in November 2016.

Grants from the SEPC Fund are made to support the primary health care workforce in South-Eastern Melbourne - specifically the Shire of Cardinia and Cities of Casey and Greater Dandenong - so they can provide optimum care for the community. 

• 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. 

It's expected that the scholarships and grants will be allocated in annual grant rounds over the next two to three years.

Applications are open from today until 23 April.

Details of the scholarships and grants are available here.

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People living in Bayside Peninsula are expected to move to the NDIS between April 2018 and March 2019.

This includes the LGAs of Bayside, Frankston, Glen Eira, Kingston, Mornington Peninsula, Port Philip and Stonnington.

Check-out the latest fact sheet that explains when different packages of care move across to the NDIS.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

28 Feb		Borderline Personality Disorder in Primary Care GPs SEMPHN Dandenong Details and registration
28 Feb - 1 Mar		FlexIT: Flexible Insulin Therapy for Health Professionals Diabetes Nurse Educators and Dietitians Melbourne Details and registrations
1 Mar		Front of House health staff: Working with people from refugee backgrounds All staff working at the front line reception Brunswick Details and registration
6 Mar		Managing Codeine Presentations & Lessons Learnt Thus Far GPs, Pharmacists, Practice Managers, Practice Nurses, Practice Staff, AOD workers, Allied Health Professionals Doncaster Details and registration
7 Mar		Getting the most from your practice software: For users of Medical Director GPs, Practice Principles and Managers Dandenong Details and registration
7 Mar		STI Management in General Practice GPs Clayton Details and registration
14 Mar		Borderline Personality Disorder in Primary Care GPs Frankston Details and registration
15 Mar		Cabrini GP Lecture  – MTPDA: Implications for GPs GPs Malvern Details & registration
16-17 Mar		Foundations of General Practice Nursing Workshop Practice Nurses Melbourne Details & registration
17 Mar		The Alfred Allergy Symposium GPs Melbourne Details and registration
23 Mar		Prevention of Chronic Disease Forum All health professionals Melbourne Details & registration

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

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