Acknowledgement of Country

Country SA PHN would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands across Australia and pay respects to the Elders past, present and future. We recognise and respect the unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters, and seas, which continue to be important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living today. 

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Commissioned Services

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Country SA PHN Funded
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Webinars / e-Learning

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Face to Face

Webinars / e-Learning

Country SA PHN have commissioned MindFit at Work to roll out a suite of FREE 1 hour mental health sessions designed for ALL staff who work in residential aged care, general practice and primary health care.  

The MindFit at Work program offers practical strategies that help staff build resilience, manage stress and maintain their mental health. Face to Face sessions are now available in Murray Bridge, Berri and Mount Barker, and there are also online sessions available so we can reach all corners of Country SA.

For further information and session registration visit the MindFit at Work website. View the below flyers which feature details about upcoming sessions in Murray Bridge, Mount Barker, and Berri.

Murray Bridge

Mount Barker

Berri

Country SA PHN Newsletter February 2025

If you are an aged care provider and preparing for Support at Home changes on 1 July 2025, you may be keen to learn about Australian Government grant opportunities via GrantConnect.

As noted on GrantConnect, “this grant opportunity will be open to HCP (Home Care Package) and CHSP (Commonwealth Home Support Programme) providers, providing one-off funding of $10,000 in the 2024-25 financial year towards the cost of IT system upgrades”.

This will support HCP providers to meet new obligations for claiming payments and reporting under Support at Home and align CHSP providers’ new reporting requirements with the new Aged Care Act (2024).

For further information review the Grant Opportunity Guidelines via GrantConnect.

This opportunity is part of the Government’s Support at Home and new Aged Care Act Transition Support 2024-2025.

Read more about the Aged Care Transition Taskforce on The Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Country SA PHN Newsletter February 2025

In the October edition of our PHN newsletter, we shared Country SA PHN’s attendance at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Well Research Symposium delivered by SAHMRI (South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute).

During the symposium we heard from the Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner, Andrea Kelly, a proud Warumungu and Larrakia woman, as she reflected on her experiences travelling around the country, listening to older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Recently, the Department of Health and Aged Care shared a short video where Andrea summarises her travels. View the video.

In addition, at the Department of Health and Aged Care, Sonja Stewart, a Yuin woman, has joined as the Deputy Secretary for Ageing and Aged Care. Read more about Sonja.

Country SA PHN thank the Health Engagement and Aged Care, SA Branch, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care Local Network, for highlighting these important messages.

Image credit: SAHMRI

Country SA PHN Newsletter February 2025

Updates have been made to the Emergency Response Planning Tool (ERPT). These updates have been made across the ERPT platform and are consistent for all ERPT users.

Updates include:

• Replacing the term “Staff” with “Team Member/s” throughout the ERPT – this is align terminology with the common operating model whereby a practice leases out space to a GP, with the practice providing administrative support (reception services, medical consumables etc). This removes any implication GPs are “staff” within the tool. Where a GP is staff of a practice, the word team member/s remains relevant.
• Removal of the Covid Safety Plan module – as a COVID-19 Safety Plan is no longer a mandatory requirement for practices this section has been removed and relevant principles moved into the Pandemic module.   
• Changes to the Pandemic module – this module had a strong focus on pandemic influenza with changes now reflecting management of infectious disease outbreaks more generally, including lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Users will be notified of the updates by Healthpoint ANZ. Healthpoint ANZ recommend you log in to your ERPT account, review the content, make any necessary edits and republish an updated version.

If you have any questions, please contact the team at Healthpoint ANZ via [email protected].

Not a current subscriber to the ERPT?

The ERPT is a subscription-only resource developed by Healthpoint ANZ in collaboration with the RACGP. This cloud-based resource guides users through a series of planning templates, where critical information about your practice can be entered, updated and retrieved during an emergency.

Country SA PHN provides funding to the ERPT for general practices. For more information contact [email protected].

ERPT counts toward CPD categories

Undertaking different activities related to the ERPT would count towards each of the CPD categories that GPs are required to complete minimum hours of as part of their CPD requirements. Which are:

• Education Activity
• Reviewing Performance
• Measuring Outcomes

The initial set up the ERPT would count as Education Activity CPD hours.

Reviewing an already established ERPT, and making changes based on new best practice principles or changes in the risk landscape would count as Reviewing Performance CPD hours.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the practice’s plan and whether it is fit for purpose after an event which requires its activation (i.e. an emergency event, a near miss or false alarm, training scenario or desk top drill) would count as Measuring Outcomes CPD hours.

For more information contact [email protected].

Further information

View the RACGP Emergency planning and response in general practice fact sheet. This fact sheet outlines important information about bushfires in Australia and provides tips for keeping your practice and patients as safe as possible in the event of extreme weather.

Country SA PHN Newsletter February 2025

As the calendar flips over to the second month of the year I’d like to wish all those I’m yet to catch up with in 2025 a very Happy New Year.

This year will be an interesting time politically as we soon head to the ballot boxes to cast our vote in the federal election. At Country SA PHN we look forward to continuing our focus on improving country South Australians health and well-being and bridging the gap in health inequity.

Country SA PHN’s Health System Integration and Innovation (HSII) portfolio is focussed on program planning, innovation and service design that addresses health access and equity. This leads to the commissioning of services to improve people’s experience of primary health care by designing innovative outcomes-based activity. This valuable work, and that of all our Country SA PHN teams, strongly aligns with our Strategic Plan’s priorities.

Applying a health access and equity lens is fundamental to the work that we do and underpins our considerations when designing and developing primary health activities. Health equity is about the fair achievement of good health and wellbeing, and not simply the equal distribution of health care. This may mean facilitating population health initiatives for certain groups of individuals.

Throughout 2025 and 2026 HSII will be supporting the following areas: Population Health; Primary health care clinically focused services/activities such as the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, Multidisciplinary Team Care and clinical referral pathways (HealthPathways ​SA); After hours care and access for specific population cohorts such as people experiencing homelessness and people experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health including chronic disease management and cultural capacity building.

Within this, HSII will have a strong focus on strengthening and building a Population Health program of activities across our region prioritizing: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health; Chronic Disease; Sexual and Reproductive Health; and Child and Youth Health.

A great example of a HSII team designed and now commissioned activity that aligns with our Strategic Plan priorities of building skill, capacity and knowledge within our primary health care providers and aiming to keep people well and out of hospital by supporting primary health providers is Wound Management Education in Residential Aged Care Homes.

Country SA PHN has commissioned Wound Innovations, a local nurse-led service to deliver specialist wound management education in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs) across all of country South Australia. Within this activity, Wound Innovations will deliver a full day of in-person training to 76 different RACHs.

Older people are a priority cohort for Country SA PHN. Chronic wounds are an under-recognised public health issue which contribute to significant long-term health impacts for older people.

HSII collaborated with our Country SA PHN Ageing and Palliative Care team to design and develop this primary health workforce development initiative including country South Australian RACH staff. Consultation indicated that face-to-face wound care training was a high priority due to the challenges of managing complex wounds within the RACH environment.

The Wounds Innovation program has just commenced with immediate uptake from over 30 different facilities within the first week.

The innovative design solutions HSII is creating to improve country South Australians access to primary health and well-being is integral to bridging the gap in health inequity for those of us living in rural and remote parts of our state. It is this sort of innovative thinking that assists us to find ways to provide country South Australians with increased access to health and wellbeing services no matter what their postcode.

This audit is a facilitated education and audit activity aimed at GPS and General Practice teams. This activity incorporates reflection, self-directed activity, education and mentoring within the framework of a clinical audit process. 

Audit timeframe

This is a 5-stage audit activity to be completed over 5-6 months from Jan/Feb 2025 to June 2025.

The majority of the audit is self-driven reflection and action. There are two mandatory group discussion/reflection meetings held in February and May.

Mandatory requirements

To successfully complete the audit and have your CPD hours allocated, you must:

• Attend both mandatory online Zoom discussion/reflection meetings to be held on Wednesday 26 February 2025 and Thursday 29 May 2025 from 7.00pm -8.00pm ACDT via Zoom.
• Identify a minimum of 10 patients aged 15 years and above who have Smoking status recorded as “Yes” in your patient database following the recommendations regarding patient selection criteria for this audit   
• Complete all 5 stages of the clinical audit.

CPD

On completion of this Clinical Audit, participants will be allocated 4.5 hours of measuring Outcomes and 3.5 hours of Reviewing Performance CPD hours.

Completion certificates will be provided.

Learning outcomes

• Review current practice and processes for screening, assessment and management of patients who have smoking status recorded as "Yes" in your patient database
• Develop strategies to proactively engage patients in discussions about smoking and vaping status during general practice visits
• Apply current RACGP recommendations and clinical guidelines for smoking and vaping cessation and provide evidence-based assessment and support to help patients in quitting smoking and/or vaping
• Identify ways to incorporate multi-disciplinary and biopsychosocial care into routine practice for smoking and vaping cessation
• Develop and action plan for implementation to improve screening and initiating timely interventions, appropriate assessments and management aligned to best-practice recommendations

Presented by

• Andrew Schulz, Tackling Tobacco Lead, Cancer Council SA

Register online or email [email protected].

Tuesday 18 February 2025, 6.30pm - 8.30pm

Inviting GPs, Registrars, Nurses and other allied health providers to join us for an interactive workshop where the Adult Burns Centre team from the Royal Adelaide Hospital will share their invaluable knowledge and expertise on managing burns in rural areas.

Learning outcomes

• Recognise the signs and symptoms of inhalation injury and discuss the importance of the early recognition of airway compromise.
• Implement the Wallace Rules of Nines or Lund and Brouder Chart when performing burn injury assessment and so creating safeguards again harm to patients.
• Identify the transfer criteria for burn patients.
• Perform an assessment and appropriately manage minor burns.
• Outline appropriate methods of first aid, including the management of chemical and electrical burns.

Presented by

• Stuart Harper, Adult Burns Unit RAH
• Megan Baker, Adult Burns Unit RAH

Register online or email [email protected].

Saturday 15 March 2025, 9.00am - 1.30pm

This workshop will improve participants knowledge and practical skills to better recognise the essential requirements for quality-assured spirometry measurements and reliably evaluate and interpret test results.

Learning outcomes

• Discuss practical aspects of spirometry testing and advice and troubleshooting patient-related issues.
• Demonstrate steps for ensuring quality-assured spirometry including evaluation of test quality.
• Apply a stepwise and standardised strategy to interpret spirometry test results.
• Summarise changes to spirometry interpretation recommended by the 2021 ERS/ATS technical standard on interpretive strategies for routine lung function tests including use of z-scores, new severity classification and updated assessment of bronchodilator responsiveness.

Presented by

• Richard Parsons, Respiratory Scientist

The workshop will run from 9.00am - 1.30pm. Please arrive at 8.30am for registration.

Register online or email [email protected].