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“What do you do when the client does open up and it’s the end of your 15-minute appointment?… How to make them feel safe and also listened to and validated and get them back in another day?”

North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) is partnering with Professor Kelsey Hegarty from the University of Melbourne Safer Families Centre to offer practices an opportunity to participate in a fully supported five-month quality improvement activity.

The approach is to build and sustain greater internal capacity within primary care providers to respond to the high prevalence of family violence-related presentations in primary care. The project team will deliver a comprehensive, practice-based education program tailored to overcome challenges affecting your capacity to respond to family violence.

This opportunity is open to the whole NWMPHN catchment. Project waves will continue to commence throughout 2021 and 2022.

Please note: we are now considering non-accredited practices to participate in this project.

 Watch our webinar on the shadow pandemic of family violence for more information.

What’s involved?

• Support throughout the project from the NWMPHN project lead and a family violence support worker from a local service.
• Three in-practice education sessions delivered by clinical GPs from the Safer Families Centre and a family violence support worker from Northern Specialist Family Violence Services.
• Two virtual workshops with other participating practices to provide an understanding of quality improvement methodology, and to support sustainability of practice improvements.
• Secondary consult/mentoring support from the Safer Families Centre’s family violence support worker.
• Monthly visits from the NWMPHN project lead to support your practice’s selected quality improvement activities.

Benefits for your practice

• Incentive payment of $3,000 (+GST) for participating practices that complete the program.
• RACGP-accredited CPD activity opportunity (previously 40 Category 1 points).
• Facilitated learning workshops with subject matter experts.
• Dedicated support from the NWMPHN project lead and a local family violence support worker to help you complete this quality improvement activity.
• Opportunity to share, network and connect with other practices involved in the project.
• Participation in this facilitated quality improvement project will help to meet the requirements for the Practice Incentives Program Quality Improvement Incentive.

How to apply

Please complete the below application form and email to primarycare@nwmphn.org.au

• Download application form (.docx)

If successful, our project lead will work with you to determine when your practice would like to start the project.

Please direct all queries to:

Irina Basanko
IQI Project Lead – Family Violence
North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network
Phone: (03) 9347 1188
Email: Irina.Basanko@nwmphn.org.au

Emergency Response Planning Tool (ERPT) – Why you should register to use it now!

Significant environmental events such as bushfires, flooding and even an earthquake could have a catastrophic effect on your practice and your ability to provide services to your community.

As we saw at the end of 2019 and into 2020 the bushfires had devastating consequences and will impact many Victorians for years to come.

General practice in these areas should play a significant role in the community’s response to any major event but to be able to do this your practice, and its staff need to be prepared. Fully completing the ERPT will ensure that your practice has an emergency response plan ready for all eventualities. Have a cloud based online emergency response plan for your practice;

• Consider the risks that your environment and geography pose in your planning process
• Understand that should your clinic be damaged; your emergency response plan should help you to re-establish services as soon as possible
• Staff members personally preparing for the aftermath of an emergency will ensure that they are able to respond appropriately.

Completing the ERPT will help you prepare for accreditation. The ERPT is the RACGP-recommended tool for GP practices to prepare for emergencies and pandemics and complies with the fifth edition RACGP standards.

The Victorian Department of Health is funding GP practices in Victoria to use the ERPT and Healthpoint ANZ is supporting you by helping you get started via a videocall training session.

So, if you are coming up for accreditation in 2022 and you want to go away for the holiday season with minimal interruption, using the ERPT to put all your practice emergency response information in one place is important. Act now to prepare your practice for a bushfire, flooding, power outages and other unplanned events, register for the ERPT at https://erpt.racgp.org.au and start your planning immediately.

Victorian government subsidies for the ERPT will end in December 2023, so make the most of your opportunity to get your ERPT in place now.

What will your practice receive?

Each participating general practice will receive:

• fully subsidised access to the ERPT in 2022 and 2023 (normally $385)
• support from Healthpoint ANZ, including an initial set-up/orientation video call to help you complete an emergency response plan
• ongoing access to the Healthpoint ANZ help desk
• further support from your practice’s relationship manager at North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network as required.

How to register for the ERPT

1. Go to the URL: erpt.racgp.org.au/standardlogin
2. Click on Register your practice for the ERPT, in red. Complete the few details.
3. HealthpointANZ will contact you to arrange training and support

Visit the RACGP website to find out more and watch a video about the ERPT.

For enquiries please contact the Primary Health Care Improvement Team on (03) 9347 1188 or email primarycare@nwmphn.org.au

 View flyer (.pdf)

Doctors in Secondary Schools aims to provide equitable, accessible and professional primary health care services to young Victorians in secondary schools.

Current opportunities in our region include Melton Secondary College and Kurunjang Secondary College. Find a list of all current opportunities here.

The program complements existing student wellbeing programs aimed at improving health literacy and encouraging preventive health. Its explicit objectives are to:

• make primary health care more accessible to students
• provide assistance to young people to identify and address any health problems early
• reduce the pressure on working parents and community-based GPs.

Who is involved?

As part of the program, 100 Victorian government secondary schools will have access to a GP trained in adolescent health, for up to one day per week. This service will be located onsite, as an in-reach service, providing medical advice and treatment to students enrolled in the participating school.

The program calls for a medical practice to nominate a general practitioner or eligible registrar to provide services in a ‘satellite clinic’ within the school for a period of four hours weekly. A practice nurse is also supported to spend a full day at the school.

Eligibility

Medical centres must be accredited against the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Standards for General Practice. Practices that are accredited or registered for accreditation and committed to working with the school on an ongoing basis are encouraged to apply.

Practices are required to provide bulk-billing services for students, have a medical software program and have – or are willing to have – a clinical audit tool installed to record and report data.

The program requires GPs with:

• a medical degree and licence to practice in Australia
• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) registration with no restriction on scope of practice
• experience working in a multidisciplinary team.

The program requires practice nurses with:

• AHPRA registration
• no restrictions on scope of practice in Australia.

If you are a GP, nurse or general practice interested in the Doctors in Secondary Schools program, complete this online expression of interest form.

To discuss your interest in the program or ask questions about the EOI process, please contact Carlia (03) 9347 1188 by phone or email: diss@nwmphn.org.au

Find out more on our website here.

Would you like to increase staff confidence to use your clinical software, improve data quality and uptake of digital health initiatives in your practice?

North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) is offering practices* access to data quality and digital health modules in Train IT Medical’s online learning management system (LMS). Train IT Medical is run by experienced practice manager Katrina Otto.

The modules aim to increase the capacity and confidence of general practice teams to effectively use their clinical software to:

• improve data quality
• increase quality improvement activities
• encourage the uptake and use of digital health initiatives for providers and patients.

Practice teams will be given access to four online learning modules that must be completed by May 2022. The four modules are:

1. Essential clinical data using Best Practice or MedicalDirector
2. Database cleansing using Best Practice or MedicalDirector
3. Quality Improvement and PIP QI including Pen and Best Practice or MedicalDirector
4. Digital Health and My Health Record using Best Practice or MedicalDirector

Practices will be required to complete four documented Plan Do Study Act cycles throughout the licence period to enable and sustain change within practice, and will need to participate in evaluation and review activities. Practices will receive support throughout the project from their NWMPHN relationship manager.

*Training is only available at this stage for practices with MedicalDirector and Best Practice software.

Benefits for your practice

• Self-paced training on how to get the most out of your practice software including improving data quality, using software to support quality improvement and increase the use of My Health Record.
• Support to undertake quality improvement activities.
• Improved data quality for your practice.
• Opportunities to share, network and connect with other practices through discussion board section of the LMS.
• Completion of all project activities will contribute to requirements for the PIP QI Incentive.

How to apply

For more information and to apply, please download and complete the application form below and email to education@nwmphn.org.au

 Application form (.docx)

Applications are open until all available licences are taken.  

Please direct all queries to:

Saadia Khan
Workforce Development Program Officer, North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network
Phone: (03) 9347 1188
Email: education@nwmphn.org.au

Opportunity for general practices to improve the quality of life of patients with life-limiting illnesses.

North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network has partnered with the North and West Metropolitan Region Palliative Care Consortium to offer general practices the opportunity to connect with local community based palliative care providers.

Practices can request a visit from a community palliative care team member to provide information, education, and support, and help improve understanding and access to community palliative care services.

Visits can be virtual or in person as COVID-19 guidelines permit. Visits will be arranged by our liaison officer at a time that suits the practice.

Apply now and help enhance the palliative care journey for patients in our region.

• Online application form

Healthdirect Video Call is an easy-to-use telehealth platform funded by the Commonwealth Government.

Due to the increased need for telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, Video Call is now available free of charge for all general practices in our catchment until 30 June 2022 (extended from 31 December 2021).

Healthdirect Video Call allows health care services using telehealth to provide a single, consistent entry point on their website. Patients simply click a link to enter an online waiting room for their appointment. Patients do not need an account, special software or dial-in details, which reduces the need for extra resources or systems to support video consulting.

To register for a free licence:

• GPs in private practice who wish to start using the service can register for a free licence here.
• GPs in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations who wish to start using the service can register for a free licence here.

Resources

• Visit the Healthdirect website for more information about how Video Call works.
• To help you get started and improve your Video Call skills, refer to the healthdirect webinars, starter guide and other guides and videos.

RACGP accredited training

In collaboration with the RACGP, healthdirect is offering CPD courses that support GPs and Practice Managers to use Video Call more confidently and effectively. The following free courses are run by healthdirect RACGP Education Activity Representatives:

• Essential Video Call training 1 hour 2 CPD points for RACGP or 1 hour ACCRM credit. This module is for GPs new to Video Call and covers the basic functionality of the platform. The course will also suit practice managers who may be implementing telehealth into their practice workflows.
• Advanced Video Call training 1 hour 2 CPD points for RACGP or 1 hour ACCRM credit. This module covers more advanced use of the platform. The course will also suit Practice Managers and anyone interested in how Video Call can reshape the provision of services to patients or clients.

For more information contact:

Primary Health Care Improvement Team
North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network
Phone: 03 9347 1188
Email: primarycare@nwmphn.org.au