COVID-19 update

Read about:

• COVID-19 cases in the region
• Upcoming webinars
• COVID oral treatments
• Novavax update
• Boosters for residential aged care workers
• COVID-19 care in the community
• CESPHN Vax at Home Service
• Additional PPE available

Immunisation update

Read about:

• COVID-19 vaccine exemptions 
• Booster for adolescents aged 16-17 years 
• Excess vaccines and AIR COVID-19 booster report
• Defining 'up-to-date' status for COVID-19 vaccination 
• Boosters for residential aged care workers across Australia 
• Practice Incentives Program  COVID-19 in-reach vaccination  
• COVID-19 vaccine in severely immunocompromised
• International travel update 
• and more...

Telehealth reimbursement fact sheet updates 

Coviu's telehealth reimbursement fact sheets have been updated with the information made available by Medicare regarding permanent telehealth, including:

• psychiatry services,
• specialist services, and
• GPs and other medical practitioners.

The remaining updates will reflect the new permanent telehealth MBS items as soon as they are readily available by Medicare.

COVID-19 mental health toolkit for children 

Need help supporting your child’s mental health during COVID-19? This free online toolkit includes videos, fact sheets, podcasts and guides to help your family navigate the pandemic.The resources are available in 18 different languages. 

Scan the QR code in the below flyer to get started.

'C The Whole Story': A forum about Hep C, homelessness, AOD and mental health 

This national forum is for nurses, NSP frontline workers, and peer workers who are working in homelessness, AOD, and/or mental health settings. Other healthcare providers and allied health workers with an interest in hepatitis C are welcome to join.  

Learn and share knowledge about innovative approaches to hepatitis C care across three priority settings.  
   
Date: Friday, 1 April 2022  
Time: 10.00 am - 4.00 pm (AEDT)  

Canterbury Antenatal and Postnatal Service (CAPS) has turned one! 

CAPS provides families with care by the same midwife during pregnancy and two weeks post birth, either at home, hospital or in community clinics. The CAPS team at Canterbury Hospital provides support to 639 local families. The team has also expanded from one Child and Family Health Clinic to three, with midwives now running clinics at Belmore, Earlwood and Punchbowl. 

“We’ve provided more than 6,500 occasions of service. We’re passionate about the continuity of antenatal care and delivering two weeks of postnatal support to parents,” says Mel de Ferranti. “We’ve had families having their second baby return to CAPS for care, because of the positive experience they’ve had.” 

The model of care has also been shared with four other hospitals who are starting, or have started their own version of CAPS. For more information and referrals, please email
SLHD-CAPS@health.nsw.gov.au. 

GP Liaison in Alcohol and other Drugs (GLAD) service at St Vincent's Hospital Network 

It has been a difficult period over the last 2 years with the COVID pandemic placing a lot of pressure on the community and on Alcohol and Other Drug services. This has impacted GPs' ability to directly refer to services and so has encouraged GPs to utilise GLAD. GLAD has helped many patients by developing a patient-centred plan and continues to be vital for the community. You can read one patient's story here. 

If you are a GP in the CESPHN area and would like some AOD advice and/or support for a patient at your practice please contact the GLAD team at St Vincent's on:
Email: svhs.adsintake@svha.org.au or
Mobile: 0436 607 480.

Register for suicide prevention training for health professionals 

Black Dog Institute is providing education workshops and expert insights panel sessions designed for health professionals looking to expand their knowledge and skills in the area of mental health. Register for the following online workshops: 

• Talking about Suicide in General Practice (6 CPD points, only $40) 
• Diagnosis and Treatment of PTSD in Emergency Service Workers
• Youth in Distress: Managing Suicidality and Self-harm 
• Digital Safety Planning for Suicide Prevention 

If you have any questions or issues registering, email education@blackdog.org.au. 

Tips for GPs: supporting people with severe mental illness 

Register for this interactive online workshop introducing the essential role of general practice in providing ongoing-care for people with severe mental illness. GP participants discuss:

• the challenges in providing care,
• learn about available resources and support in CESPHN, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Sydney Local Health District, and
• reducing the health equity gap with shared care.

When: Tuesday, 1 March, 7.00 pm

Download the asthma adventure game and action plan 

Whilst we face Omicron and the vaccine roll out for children, we cannot get complacent about back to school asthma. Every year there is a well-documented spike in asthma flare-ups when children return to school after the summer break. This results in an increased reliance on health care resources, including Emergency Department visits, hospitalisations, GP presentations and days off school. Not only is this unsettling for children as they start a new year at school, but often impacts time off work for the parents/carers also.

This year we’re asking kids to achieve their asthma goal and helping them achieve it with a fun Asthma Adventure game. You may just be their Asthma Master…

Watch videos about Rapid Antigen Tests in multiple languages 

The ‘'Doing a 15 minute Rapid Antigen Test' video is available now in multiple languages. These include: 

• English,
• Cantonese,
• Filipino,
• Dari,
• Mandarin,
• Korean,
• Vietnamese,
• Spanish and
• Tamil. 

This NSW Health site will be updated with more RAT videos in additional languages in coming days.

New 'My Aged Care' face-to-face service offer launched by Department of Health 

The Department has now launched a new My Aged Care face-to-face service offer, delivered by Services Australia. Building on the My Aged Care website and contact centre, senior Australians will now have access to Aged Care Specialist Officers to provide in-person support to access and register for aged care services.

Aged Care Specialist Officers will be available in Services Australia service centres across the country. Initially this will be in 16 locations and will increase to 80 locations by December 2022. Ten Aged Care Specialist Officers will deliver outreach support to senior Australians living in rural and regional areas.

Check your NASH PKI expiry date and renew on time 

Current NASH SHA-1 certificates are being transitioned to more secure SHA-2 certificates. All current SHA-1 certificates expire on 13 March 2022. National Authentication Certificate for Health is used to securely access services such as My Health Record, ePrescribing and Secure Messaging with high level of encryption. 

If your NASH PKI certificate expires you will no longer be able to access or upload documents to My Health Record and you may not be able to issue or dispense an electronic prescription. If you are unsure about your NASH status, please contact us urgently at digitalhealth@cesphn.com.au.  

View NASH Renewal Quick Guide here. (For GPs)

View NASH Renewal Quick Guide here. (For pharmacists)

Step by step instructions for how to renew a NASH PKI certificate can be found using the following link. You can also register for an instructional webinar and learn to request and renew a NASH PKI.

Register for Early Stage Dementia Integrated Rehab program 

The Early Stage Dementia Integrated Rehabilitation program is a 9-week group rehab and education program that runs out of War Memorial Hospital, Waverly. The program is designed to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of older people with early stage mild dementia and their family and carers. There are two components to the program: 

1. a 9-week small group education course with presentations from members of the Management of Dementia Squad and opportunities to get to know the other people in the group who are also getting ready to live well with dementia, and
2. a targeted, individualised interdisciplinary rehabilitation intervention focused on the attainment of one or two important life goals identified by the person with dementia.

For more information please see the client brochure and clinician brochure.

Help parents get the best out of their online referral to Triple P 

We are hosting 3 x 30 min peer support sessions led by a Triple P Practitioner to help GPs support parents through the program and get the most out of your referral.

The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program gives you the tips to bring out the best in your children, so they can be more resilient and confident. 

SR specialists and referrals - a free electronic referral service for private specialists 

Join us for this interactive demonstration on how to make and receive electronic referrals using the SR Specialists & Referrals service in Genie software. Electronic referrals are safe, save time and make the referral process simple.

When: Wednesday, 23 February 7.00 pm – 8.15 pm
Where: Online
Target audience: Specialists and practice managers in private practice.

Respiratory update: advances in asthma immunotherapy and COVID-19 respiratory recovery 

Join us online for a discussion on the advancements in asthma immunotherapy and management of respiratory recovery post COVID-19. Part of Hazelhurst CPD series.

When: Thursday, 24 February 7.30pm – 9.00pm
Where: Online
Target audience: GPs, physiotherapists, pharmacists, exercise physiologist, nurses
RACGP points: 3

Advancing the role of GPs in holistic care of people with severe mental illness 

Join us for this online workshop on overcoming the stigma and providing essential primary care for people with severe mental illness.

When: Tuesday, 1 March 7.00pm – 8.30pm
Where: Online
Target audience: GPs
RACGP points: 3

Allied health: infection prevention and risk management whilst still seeing patients 

Join us for a pandemic infection prevention and control update, presented by Margaret Jennings, a microbiologist, antimicrobial, infection prevention and educator.

When: Thursday, 3 March 7.00 pm – 8.15 pm
Where: Online
Target audience: Allied health professionals working in private practice

Rheumatology and joint pain - Case study analysis of the joint replacement surgery journey 

Join specialists from St Vincent's Private Hospital and St Vincent's Clinic for an interactive, online workshop to discuss the assessment and management of rheumatic conditions and common hip, knee and shoulder complaints.

When: Thursday, 17 March 7.00 pm – 8.00 pm
Where: Online
Target audience: GPs, nurses and AHPs
RACGP points: 2