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July 2021 Newsletter
Message from the President
Welcome to the mid-year newsletter of the Podiatry Council of NSW.
This newsletter comes at a time when large parts of NSW are experiencing significant restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank you for your efforts to support the public health response so far. I know the restrictions have major impacts on businesses, including health care businesses, and the difficulty this is causing many people in our profession as well as the wider community. It is critically important at this time that we support each other and the community through the public health measures.
NSW Health has provided the following information to health practitioners to help ensure the provision of safe healthcare with vigilance in protecting our colleagues and patients:
- Please encourage people in your communities, particularly Greater Sydney, to stay at home.
- Contact people prior to their appointments to ensure they do not have any symptoms consistent with COVID-19, and check if they have been to a venue of concern or had contact with anyone that has been identified as being a close or casual contact.
- Ensure all people, staff/workers, practitioners and delivery people included, wear a mask whilst attending the practice.
- Use Telehealth appointments if possible. In Greater Sydney, face to face consults are only allowed when it is deemed that the persons’ health is likely to deteriorate if they do not receive care.
- Have QR codes setup and easily available for use, and please strongly encourage their use.
- Urge staff and workers to get vaccinated. Clinical and non-clinical health care workers are eligible under phase 1B of the vaccination roll out.
- NSW Health encourages registered healthcare providers to encourage their patients to get vaccinated. Please discuss the risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccinations with your patients in the context of current community transmission.
Council membership update
In June we said farewell to long time Practitioner Member Verona du Toit, who stepped down after finishing her current term. Verona has served on the Council since 2015, providing great service to the community in her time on the Council. Verona will be greatly missed, and we wish her well in her future endeavours.
In July we welcomed Jessica Knox as Practitioner Member to the Council. Jessica brings significant private practice and education experience to the Council as well as experience in health and performance matters. Congratulations on your appointment, Jessica.
EOI for hearing members and performance assessors
Council recently called for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to perform the roles of performance assessors or hearing members. These roles support Council when managing complaints to ensure that our assessment and decision-making processes are fair, and the outcomes result in public protection and safety. Thank you to those podiatrists who have put their names forward to fulfil this role.
In this newsletter you will find updates on a range of activities in health practitioner regulation.
Luke Taylor
President, Podiatry Council of NSW
Public consultation on the Shared Code of Conduct
The shared Code of Conduct sets out the standards of professional conduct the National Boards expect and is used by Boards to evaluate practitioners’ conduct. Practitioners have a professional responsibility to be familiar with and to apply this code.
The shared code is an important document for the public as it can help them understand what behaviour they can expect from a registered health practitioner and assess whether their care met professional standards.
Twelve of the National Boards, including the Podiatry Board of Australia have a shared code of conduct, most in the same form and some with minor variations. National Boards and Ahpra are reviewing the shared code to ensure it stays up to date and is an effective regulatory tool that contributes to patient safety. The revised code aims to be relevant and useful for practitioners and more accessible to the public.
The main changes proposed to the code are:
- adding principles as an overarching guide
- setting high-level expectations which can be supported by further guidance if required
- adding content on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and cultural safety
- adding guidance about bullying and harassing, vexatious complaints, clinical governance and setting performance targets that could impact on patient safety
- reducing repetition by removing some content and blending other content
- adding hyperlinks to help the reader source further information.
Click here for further information about the public consultation on the revised shared Code.
No place for sexism, sexual harassment or violence in healthcare
Last month, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and the National Boards published a joint statement, No place for sexism, sexual harassment or violence in healthcare to remind registered health practitioners of their professional obligations and encourage speaking up about disrespectful behaviour and unprofessional conduct in healthcare.
The Podiatry Council of NSW endorses this statement, sharing the view that respect is a cornerstone of good, professional practice and it is fundamental to the Australian community’s trust in registered health practitioners. The Council strongly holds the position that there is no place for sexism, sexual harassment or gendered violence in healthcare.
The Council’s expectations of registered health practitioner conduct and respectful, professional behaviour, including maintaining appropriate professional boundaries, are set out in the Podiatry Board of Australia Code of Conduct. The Council is in full agreement with the Board that practitioners must always treat patients, consumers, students, employees and colleagues with respect. The Council also agrees that practitioners must always communicate professionally and respectfully with and about others, including when using social media.
The Ahpra and National Boards joint statement is available here for your information.
How does the Council manage complaints?
The Council works in partnership with the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) to manage complaints about registered practitioners and students. A complaint can be made about the health, performance or conduct of a registered health practitioner or student.
The Council deals with complaints about registered practitioners and students where the safety of the public may be at risk, and intervention may be required to assure public safety. While the HCCC conducts all investigations in NSW and prosecutes the most serious complaints.
Co-regulation occurs through consultation and clear regulatory functions as outlined in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW) for the Council and the Health Care Complaints Act for the HCCC.
Any conditions placed on a registered health practitioner by the Council is notified to Ahpra and practice related conditions are made publicly available on the Register of practitioners. Conditions placed on registration apply nationally.
When a complaint is referred to the Council for management, we have different pathways available for managing these different types of complaints. The practitioner will be provided the details of the complaint and asked to respond to it. When managing complaints, we ensure that our assessment and decision-making processes are fair, and the outcomes result in public protection and safety.
Further information is available on our website:
Further information
If there are any topics you would like covered in forthcoming newsletters please email us at mail@podiatrycouncil.nsw.gov.au
