e-news 26 Feb 2010
Welcome to NWQPHC's electronic newsletter! Each Friday we will email a link to the latest news and updates. If you would prefer your update to be faxed, please contact your local Practice Support Officer
- One Hundred Years of Tropical Medicine Conference - Townsville June 11th – 13th 2010
GP’s and Practice Nurses will find plenty of educational and interesting topics to update their knowledge at the 100 years of Tropical Medicine Conference (more) - Survey: Collaboration in Maternity Care in Queensland
Obstetric and midwifery staff are invited to participate in a study about Experiences around Collaboration in Maternity Care in Queensland. In response (more) - Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI)
Advice on the Interchangeability of Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Vaccines used in Australia and Overseas. It is not advised to mix swine (more) - IT'S LIVE!
Following many months of development, The National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance is proud to announce the launch (more) - World Health Care Networks Conference - Auckland
The first early bird closing date for the Inaugural World Health Care Networks Conference will end this Friday, 26 February 2010.(more) - TTH Referral Reform Changes (more)
- Orientation manual for Practice Nurses now available online (more)
- The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is recommencing. (more)
- Allied Health Visits (more)
- Health Services Newsletters (more)
- Education and Training Opportunities for this Month (more)
- One Hundred Years of Tropical Medicine Conference - Townsville June 11th – 13th 2010
GP’s and Practice Nurses will find plenty of educational and interesting topics to update their knowledge at the 100 years of Tropical Medicine Conference in Townsville this year. The conference is being held over the June Queens Birthday Weekend at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre and Jupiters, running from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th June. The GP Network will be advising on the scientific program based on feedback to ensure it addresses members’ needs. CME points will be allocated accordingly. Local experts will be joined by their colleagues from around Australia and overseas to provide updates on the range of conditions encountered in tropical general practice. Topics will include; microbiology and infectious diseases, envenomation, diagnostic pathology, cancer research and treatment, travel medicine, tropical public health, nursing practice, chronic disease, transfusion medicine and indigenous health. The Governor of Queensland, her Excellency Penelope Wensley expressed a great interest in tropical medicine and has been formally invited to open the conference at the opening ceremony on Saturday morning . The keynote presentation will be delivered by Emeritus Professor David Warrell from the School of Tropical Medicine at Oxford University. Professor Warrell is considered a living legend in the world of Tropical Medicine. He has lived and worked as a physician, teacher, researcher and expedition doctor in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Tanzania, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. The conference forms part of James Cook University 40th anniversary celebrations and the10 years the establishment of the School of Medicine. A number of academic staff and clinicians are involved in the conference planning and will be presenting at the various sessions. Plenary session presentations will be given by the James Cook University Vice Chancellor Sandra Harding, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Health and Medical Sciences Professor Ian Wronski, Head of the School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences Professor Peter Leggat, AIMS Tropical Division Chairperson Dr Jeffrey Warner and current Director of the Anton Breinl Centre Professor Rick Speare. It was exactly a century ago that Dr Anton Breinl arrived in Townsville to take up his role his role of inaugural Director of the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine. This was Australia’s first medical research institute, established in 1910 with the primary goal of determining if white people live and work successfully in the tropics? Dr Breinl, came originally from Austria. At the time of his appointment he was one of the most promising medical scientists then working in Britain. He had discovered an organic arsenical cure for sleeping sickness in 1904 while working at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool – a discovery which was later exploited by Ehrlich to produce salvarsan for the treatment of syphilis. The outbreak of the First World War created problems for Breinl who was subjected to harassment as a “hun”. In addition to his role as Director of the Institute, he served as Medical Superintendent of the Townsville Hospital and Quarantine officer. His appointment was cancelled in January 1916 and he continued to practice medicine in Townsville. His son John was a highly regarded General Practitioner who practised in Townsville for many years. The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine (ACTM) and Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS) are convening the conference with a number of partner organisations also involved. The abstracts call for proferred papers and poster presentation abstracts has just gone out, These and other conference details may be found on the conference website http://aims.iamevents.com.au/index.php. David Porter January 30th 2010 david_porter@health.qld.gov.au
- Survey: Collaboration in Maternity Care in Queensland
Obstetric and midwifery staff are invited to participate in a study about Experiences around Collaboration in Maternity Care in Queensland. In response to the findings of the 2005 Rebirthing Report, The Queensland Centre for Mothers and Babies is conducting a survey to explore how to improve collaborative approaches to care in maternity services. Part of this requires investigating current collaborative practice in maternity care and professionals’ attitudes to collaboration and other maternity care professionals. We are specifically asking GP Obstetricians, Obstetricians and Midwives to participate. Whilst we recognise many other health professionals provide care in the perinatal period, we are most interested in those groups who provide universal care to women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. If neonatal staff feel strongly about filling in the survey we will not exclude you, but ask that you fill in the survey thinking of the collaboration practices between obstetric and midwifery staff rather than their own experiences as neonatal staff, where collaborative practices appear to be different. Information about the project, including a link to a voluntary and anonymous online survey, is provided in the Information Sheet. It should only require 10-15 minutes of your time to complete. It would be greatly appreciated if you could take the time to fill in this survey. Your opinion is valuable and will contribute to the future of maternity services in Queensland. A higher response rate will also ensure appropriate representation of all maternity care. This study has been cleared by one of the human ethics committees of the University of Queensland in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council's guidelines. If you have any further questions, or would prefer a paper version of the survey, please contact Sue.Kruske@uq.edu.au.
- Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI)
Advice on the Interchangeability of Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Vaccines used in Australia and Overseas. It is not advised to mix swine flu vaccine schedules as there are no data (safety or
immunogenicity), particularly on mixing a non-adjuvanted with an adjuvanted vaccine or a live attenuated with inactivated vaccine. Therefore, where feasible, the same type of vaccine
should be used in a two-dose schedule. However, if a child has had a non-adjuvanted swine flu vaccine from another manufacturer, a second dose in Australia of Panvax® H1N1 vaccine would be anticipated to provide a good boost response (and vice versa). If the first dose has been with an adjuvanted or live attenuated swine flu vaccine, a second dose with Panvax® H1N1 vaccine should, on first principles, give a good boost and likely a satisfactory protective response. www.healthemergency.gov.au is still the place to get up to date information on H1N1.
- IT'S LIVE!
Following many months of development, The National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance is proud to announce the launch of their new website. You will find a user-friendly navigation structure, up-to-date news, new fact sheets, immunisation resources, current research activities, with multiple links to other relevant sites. The new website will be maintained on a regular basis, providing visitors with relevant and interesting information. We appreciate your patience while we continue developing some pages. In addition, we encourage you to contact us via our new website regarding any comments, suggestions or improvements. We've also simplified the website address to www.ncirs.edu.au. The old address (www.ncirs.usyd.edu.au) will re-direct visitors to the new website until March 31, 2010. We hope you enjoy the new website and don't forget to add www.ncirs.edu.au to your 'favourites'.