CURRENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

Immunisation Program

The Immunisation Program includes visits to urban, rural and remote GPs to support them and their staff in maintaining best practice in immunisation, practice education workshops and CME events. A key outcome of the program's support activities has been the development of the TEDGP Childhood Immunisation Network, education, and distribution of the introduction to the new Australian Standard Vaccination Schedules and 7th Edition Australian Immunisation Handbook. The program focuses on childhood immunisation, adult influenza, and pneumococcal and measles vaccination programs. A community immunisation information program and a poster specific to the Northern Territory have been developed, a publicity program carried out and resource and practice support kits developed.

Continuing Medical Education Program

The Division provides educational sessions, with Continuing Medical Education (CME) points attached, to GPs and practice staff. This includes sessions that are a part of the Family Support Weekends funded through the NT Remote Health Workforce Agency and includes sessions held in remote locations such as Nhulunbuy and Katherine. In addition, the Program has supported various other educational activities for GPs hosted by external agencies. The urban CME reference group generated possible CME topics and Dr Justine Mayer has developed a six-month calendar to include sessions addressing women's health, psychiatric emergencies, orthopaedics, dermatology, sports medicine and wound dressing. As a result of the success of the Urban CME Reference Group, it was decided to form a Rural/Remote CME Reference Group.

Information Management/Information Technology Program

GP technical assistance has included training, website maintenance, electronic initiatives and the NT Health Information Network, developing an Intranet service to link GPs across the Top End and providing email and Internet access. The Health Information Network has recruited other health providers in pathology, imaging and the Royal Darwin Hospital and THS to help improve access to pathology and imaging results, discharge summaries, specialists' letters and other essential areas. The TEDGP employs an Information Technology (IT) officer who is assisting in the review of Information Management and Information Technology (IM/IT) needs in the Division and General Practice in the Top End.

Practice Support Service Program

The Division has coordinated direct practice support to GPs in Accreditation, GP Membership and Practice Staff Education. Frequent Nurses Forum sessions are regularly attended by 15-20 practice staff. Most of the sessions focus on specific education and training. In addition, the Division has run a series of education and support sessions for a number of practices involved with the Accreditation process. With the introduction of the initiatives associated with the Commonwealth's Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) Package , the activities in this Program have focused on developing ways to support GPs to utilise the new MBS items.

Collaboration Program

The Pregnancy Care Project produced a report outlining options to collaborate with external agencies to further activities into 2000-2002, to be taken to Territory Health Services for consideration. The Schedule 8 Group focuses on contributing to the Ministerial Guidelines for Methadone. The Yolgnu Translation Project is working on translations for the 10 patient education sheets.

The Palliative Care Project continues to subsidise GP training. The Top End Primary Health Care Network meetings have continued. Hospital Liaison Officers Drs Karen Stringer and Katye Evans continue to work with Royal Darwin Hospital staff on a range of GP-related issues. There is ongoing participation and collaboration with various organisations as requested by the Urban and Rural/Remote Chapters.

Mental Health Program

The Mental Health Working Group has proposed activities in three key areas; GP education, integration with local and national initiatives, and the implementation of two special projects. The GP education component includes the development of a GP professional support network, helping GPs utilise the enhanced primary care MBS items (case conferencing and care planning) and targeted education such as cognitive behaviour therapy.

The working group has progressed options to integrate with national strategies on academic detailing of the Depression in Young People guidelines, the Mind Matters Program (Mental Health in Schools), the Positive Parenting Program and the National Youth Suicide Prevention Program.

The working group has developed initial local links for collaboration on Shared Care Arrangements, NT Mental Health Week, the Anxiety Group Treatment Program and integrated professional development with other service providers. Primary andpreventative health care services within Darwin's community psychiatric centre are planned to target the most socially and financially disadvantaged group of people with serious mental illnesses who do not currently receive regular general practice services.

Dr Bauer's project GPs and Aboriginal Mental Health Worker -Learning Both Ways aims to hold education sessions where Aboriginal Mental Health Workers will assist GPs to fill gaps in training and knowledge of cross-cultural mental health issues to support GPs in their work with very difficult and demoralising management problems.

Chronic Disease Program

The Working Group has met a number of times to discuss how the Division might contribute to solving the seemingly insurmountable issues associated with chronic diseases in the Top End, and has proposed to the Committee of Management that Chronic Disease activities have a focus across most programs. This would include integration with the Division's activities related to the utilisation of the enhanced primary care items (Health Care Assessments, Case Conferencing and Care Planning).

Following discussion with NTDGP, THS, Diabetes Australia, Heart Foundation and the Chronic Disease Network the Working Group has proposed that the Division collaborate with the NT Heart Foundation to improve cardiac rehabilitation services.

Tropical Health Program

The Working Group has investigated a number of options for activity within a Tropical Health Program including education activity involving supporting Aboriginal communities to offer a treatment and education program for the eradication of scabies. This activity has been undertaken at Maningrida. The Working Group has proposed that the Division support one community a year to undertake this activity in the future. Other options were the development of a Tropical Health Handbook and, as a follow-on from an education session on parasites at an NTRHWA Family Support Weekend, a clinical audit on Strongyloides.

PREVIOUS PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

• Intestinal Parasite Education and Prevention Project
• Anxiety Disorders Project
• Community Liaison Project
• Framework for Allied Health Therapy Services in Aged and Disability Care in Remote Aboriginal Communities of the NT
• Intestinal Parasite Education and Prevention Project