Practice nurses: Limited places for FREE immunisation education

SEMPHN's Practice Nurse grant will cover the cost of the Nurse Immunisation course for 400 eligible nurses ($1000 per applicant) in the SEMPHN catchment, to support immunisations for influenza, other child and adult vaccinations, as well as preparing for potential administration of the COVID-19 vaccinations.

About the course

The course is appropriate for both Registered and Enrolled Nurses. On completion of the course, nurses will receive a nationally accredited statement of attainment.

The first 200 Registered Nurses to complete the course will be eligible to complete the Immunisation Endorsement Program at no additional cost. This extra program authorises Registered Nurses practising in Victoria to administer vaccines independently of a medical officer.

• The course takes approximately 110 hours to complete, including a five-hour, face-to-face training. 
• The grant allows the practice nurse to take up to 1.5 days funded study leave, however the remaining hours to complete the course will be in their own time.
• All practice nurses who accept the grant must complete the course by 30 June 2021. 

How to apply

• Practice nurses need to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SEMPHN’s eProcure.
• All questions about this grant must be asked through SEMPHN's eProcure.
• Applications close Wednesday, 27 January 2021. 

Read more details on the SEMPHN website, or visit SEMPHN's eProcure. 

 Free wellbeing support is available for general practice staff

SEMPHN is offering general practice staff in the catchment access to its Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

SEMPHN's EAP provides up to four, free, short-term professional counselling sessions and can be done virtually or over the phone. There are two experienced psychologists available for appointments.

Mandy Stone (psychologist) has been SEMPHN's EAP provider for many years and is an experienced EAP Provider. To contact Mandy please call 0418 171 985. There are other psychologists in Mandy Stone's team who are also available for you.

Gulzabeen Mohammed (psychologist) has over a decade of clinical experience working with an array of presentations with a wide demographic including children, young people and adults. To contact Gulzabeen please email your full name, best contact number and the most suitable time to call you to aspirepsychologyclinic@gmail.com.

 Free access to psychiatrist secondary consultations for GPs in the Monash Health catchment

SEMPHN has partnered with Monash Health to provide general practitioners with free access to secondary consultations with an experienced psychiatrist.

What’s on offer?

GPs in the Monash Health catchment can access a free, 30-minute phone consultation during business hours to discuss your patient’s mental health, for example: diagnostic issues, medication options, developing safety plans and general management. 

The service is applicable to patients of all ages and includes generalist and subspecialist advice, including that related to children, aged persons, LGBTIQ, perinatal and intellectual disability.

This is a non-urgent service, and clinical responsibility for the patient remains with you (the treating GP).

You will not be expected to provide patient identifying information.

How can I access this service?

Call SEMPHN’s Access & Referral on 1800 862 363, 8.30 am-4.30 pm weekdays. Faxed referrals will not be accepted. You will be asked to provide information which will be sent to the psychiatrist at Monash Health before the formal consultation.

Read more. 

Mandatory Active Ingredient Prescribing

What is Active Ingredient Prescribing?

It is a change to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation PBS (RPBS) that requires medicines to be prescribed using their active ingredient names instead of the brand name. Active Ingredient Prescribing will become mandatory from the 1 February 2021. 

There are some exemptions, including for handwritten prescriptions and these are discussed in more detail in this factsheet. Failure to prescribe using active ingredients from the 1 February could result in your patients having to pay for their medicines privately without any governments subsidies. 

Why is it being introduced?

It aims to improve medicines safety by reducing brand name-related medication confusion and increase uptake of generic medicines with resulting cost savings for patients, the PBS, and RPBS.

What does my practice need to do?

Clinical software vendors are updating their prescribing software to automatically include active ingredients on prescriptions.

You will need to update your practice software to the required version with the updated active ingredient prescribing functionality.

 We recommend getting in contact with your software vendor if you have any questions about the software update. And do not hesitate to contact SEMPHN's Digital Health team at digitalhealth@semphn.org.au or 03 8514 4460 for help with this or any other digital health queries.

BreastScreen Victoria van returns to Cranbourne

The free BreastScreen Victoria mobile screening van will soon return to Cranbourne Library from Monday 8 February to Friday 5 March 2021.

For women over 50, free breast screens every two years are the best way to detect cancer early, before there are symptoms and when treatment is likely to be most successful.

There are over 18,500 women in the City of Casey that are due to have a breast screen and have not yet booked an appointment. The van provides an opportunity to have a breast screen in a convenient location with friendly staff.

While a GP referral is not required to attend an appointment, a GP recommendation is invaluable in encouraging participation in the program.

General practices in the Cranbourne area are encouraged to promote the van’s visit to eligible asymptomatic patients who haven’t screened before or are due for a screen.

For promotional materials to be sent to your clinic, email lhochberg@breastscreen.org.au.

For patients that miss the van, appointments are available throughout the year at the Casey Hospital clinic.

Dates: 8 February – 5 March 2021
Location: Cranbourne Library, 65 Berwick-Cranbourne Rd, Cranbourne East
Book now: Call 13 20 50 or visit breastscreen.org.au  

Re-opening after the holiday: Vaccine Cold Chain Management

Checking for possible vaccine breaches is important when re-opening the clinic after the holiday season. Below is a practical check lists for you to use in your general practice.

Re-opening the clinic:

• Record the fridge min-max and current temperatures at the start of the first working day
• Download the data logger
• Has a vaccine breach occurred?
• Is it a reportable breach?

Reporting a vaccine breach:

• Put a sign on the fridge Do not use or discard vaccines until further notice
• Download, complete and email the cold chain breach form
• Follow the advice and re-order if required only the quantity of vaccine for one month’s use each time.

Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre (MVEC):

• Take the vaccine cold chain quiz and assess your knowledge of the correct storage and handling of vaccines.
• For more eLearning packages: ‘Vaccination Procedures’ and ‘Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration’

New Immunisation resources for Primary Care Professionals

The MumBubVax website for expectant parents provides a suite of resources and information for expectant parents, designed to support conversations about vaccination during pregnancy and for babies after delivery.

This includes independently assessed information about influenza, pertussis and Hepatitis B vaccines included on the National Immunisation Program and answers to common questions in an accessible and easily interpreted format.

The VaxChat eLearning modules have been designed to help providers adapt their clinical communication skills to support conversations recommending vaccination during pregnancy to expectant parents.

The modules cover:

• communication techniques
• strategies to address vaccination misconceptions
• key messages about maternal influenza and pertussis and newborn hepatitis B vaccination
• strategies to improve uptake in your clinic.

The modules each take less than 15 minutes to complete. Providers can claim Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for completing the modules, depending on their profession.

For further resources, please visit the SEMPHN immunisation webpage.

 Cancer Council Victoria's online component: bowel cancer screening

This online educational component is designed to support General Practice to implement the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP).

The information is targeted towards GPs, practice nurses and practice managers which will enable a coordinated practice-wide approach. 

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is an important health initiative and aims to reduce illness and death from bowel cancer through early detection or prevention of the disease. Bowel cancer is one of only three cancers for which population screening is available nationally in Australia.

Learning objectives:

• Be aware of why GP practices need to endorse participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and be able to explain to patients the risks of not completing the test
• Be familiar with the impact GPs can have on bowel cancer screening rates
• Have access to the resources your practice needs to encourage patients to screen for bowel cancer
• Have increased knowledge of key points from the national colorectal guidelines and links to further clinical information.

Access the online component here.

Webinar: Palliative Care for General Practitioners 

Join PEPA for an interactive education session, utilising group discussion and case studies to provide a greater understanding of palliative care.

This workshop is for General Practitioners based in Victoria who care for people with a life-limiting illness. Practice Nurses are also welcome to attend.

Topics

• Recognising patients who need palliative care
• Communicating about end of life issues
• Voluntary assisted dying in Victoria
• Assessing and managing common symptoms
• Advance care planning

Workshop pre-requisite

To maximise learning PEPA offers six online GP learning modules. The modules have been developed by the Palliative Care Education and Training Collaborative and can be accessed here.

When: Wednesday, 24 February 2021, 6 pm – 8 pm
Where: A WebEx link will be provided prior to the workshop, after registrations close
Accreditation: Workshops are eligible for Category 2 CPD points
Register here. 

Inquiries:  P: 9231 1926 or E: pepa@svha.org.au