CURRENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

GP Liaison

The integration of services and GP/Hospital Liaison continues to be a priority. There are clear advantages in improving the interface between GPs and hospitals. Patients benefit from improved continuity, consistency, and comprehensiveness of care.  Hospital admission is probably one of the most significant interruptions to a patient's medical care and, with the focus on shorter hospital stays, day only surgery and hospital in the home, better care management strategies are being developed in collaboration with the GP community.

The review process has shown that many services exist within the current local district health system  and it is the integration of services and the need to improve referral processes that are of utmost priority. This program has been the one of the most successful program undertaken by the Division in terms of being able to improve patterns of communication between GPs and other health service providers and a willing acceptance of the change processes.

Youth Health Program

The Youth Health Program aims to break down barriers between GPs and young people, address the identified youth health needs, and encourage young people to be in control of their choices and to guide the direction of this program. 'GP Talks in Schools' are undertaken in Townsville High Schools. Focus has been on the training of GPs, the development of quality resource and teaching materials for GPs and encouraging as many practices as possible to undertake a Youth audit.

The program  has also yielded positive sustainable results in that Queensland Education Department has approved its inclusion as a part of the Life Skills Curriculum for North Queensland. In the development of the training module a brochure was produced for young people on how to obtain a Medicare card and this has been taken on board by the Health Insurance Commission which will produce it for National distribution.

Alcohol and Drugs

The Division is working closely with Townsville Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Services to recruit and train GPs as Methadone prescribers and will be involved in developing an education program for partners of substance abusers. Research has been undertaken in NSW which indicates that by empowering partners to deal with substance abuser's behaviour differently, up to 50% of them subsequently seek treatment. GPs are ideally placed to deliver similar methods of motivational counselling, and training modules will be developed over the next twelve months.

Information Management and Information Technology

Information Management and Information Technology (IM/IT) support is a key area where Divisions can provide a service to Divisional members. This Division has played a supporting role for General Practices in the move to computerisation by providing the link with technical support, providing advice on individual practice needs, and by facilitating training. The admission/discharge database is also being used by both private hospitals in Townsville to ensure a standardised transfer of information to all GPs. The database has been extended to include all health service providers and community agencies. A comprehensive Health Service Directory has subsequently been printed and disseminated widely to 1500 providers. A generic GP to Hospital referral form was trialed and is currently in use.

Sexual Assault Response Reference Group

Townsville GPs have maintained their commitment to the Sexual Assault Response Roster. Police records show that Townsville community members have increased confidence in the system, whereby an increase of 58% more reports were made over the past twelve month period, of which 98% of these were historical cases. The Sexual Assault Response Reference Group continues to meet monthly and has been approached by a number of other agencies in other regions to give advice on setting up similar networks. Funding was approved by Queensland Health  to evaluate the processes and protocols to enable the group to do that.

Other Programs

• Integration of Services
• Continuing Medical Education (CME)
• Workforce Support Issues/ EPC Case Conferences
• Prostate Cancer
• Female Incontinence
• Palliative Care Case Conferencing
• Continuation of Ante Natal Shared Care, Immunisation and Aged Care Initiatives
• Townsville Health Services Directory
• Breast Cancer Services Development
• Screening for Domestic Violence in AnteNatal Patients

Subscribe to Page