Children’s health Archives | Page 12 of 12

16 February 2021

Butterfly’s Youth Program, a skills-based group therapy treatment program for young people aged 18 to 25, is open for referrals. The program is based on Enhanced Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT-E) and Butterfly’s clinicians are trained to work with young people living with body image issues and eating disorders. The program is currently delivered via Zoom and is open to anyone aged 18 and 25 years, anywhere in Australia.

In a safe, supportive and recovery-focused environment, trained clinicians will aim to help patients:

Develop skills to manage stress and emotions
Manage relationships
Increase mindfulness
Learn self-compassion
Improve body image
Reduce symptoms of their eating disorder
Build a healthier relationship with food

The program runs for two hours a week for 12 weeks and can supplement treatments participants may be already receiving.

Next daytime program starts: 5 April 2021
Next evening program starts: 22 March 2021

To find out more

19 October 2020

NSW Health has requested the below message and attached protocol be shared with GPs:

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, some four-year-old children are at risk of missing out on the crucial monocular visual acuity test prior to the start of school that has typically been provided by the NSW Health StEPS Program at preschools and childcare centres. The intent of the StEPS program is to detect vision problems at an age when reliable vision screening can be achieved and treatment for childhood ocular conditions is more effective than when they are older. There is a current media campaign encouraging parents to book their child in for a screen before they start school.

The GP leads of NSW Health’s Primary Care Community of Practice are in agreement that GPs and practice nurses are well placed to encourage parents to book their child in for a screen, refer children to their local StEPS Co-ordinator for more information on where to access screening, or to directly provide vision screening for four-year-old old children who have not been able to access the StEPS Program this year.

Please see:

• www.health.nsw.gov.au/StEPS for contact details of your local StEPS Coordinators to enable referrals to catch-up StEPS clinics

• The clinical protocol for four-year-old vision screening should you need further guidance on the screening process.

If you need more information about the StEPS Program, please contact your local StEPS Co-ordinator. If you would like to speak to the Ministry of Health about this approach, please contact Caroline Holmes, Principal Program Officer, Health and Social Policy at Caroline.Holmes@health.nsw.gov.au or on 9391 9961.

14 August 2020

The Wollondilly Health Alliance has challenged local schools to adopt a healthy canteen menu.

We all know children are influenced by what they see around them, including what food is on offer, what they see their friends, family and other role models eat, and how food is advertised.

A healthy school canteen is one way to create a healthy food environment and the NSW Education Department’s Healthy School Canteen Strategy aims to make healthy choices easy for students.

The Wollondilly Health Alliance, a partnership between Wollondilly Shire Council, South Western Sydney Local Health District and South Western Sydney Primary Health Network, has been supporting local schools by offering prizes for those taking on the healthy school canteen challenge.

So far, 12 of the 14 public primary schools in Wollondilly have put in a fantastic effort and are now offering a range of healthy food and drinks to their students.

The canteen strategy has four key components: asking schools to fill 75 per cent of their menu with “everyday foods”; selling healthy drinks and no sugar-sweetened beverages; ensuring packaged foods meet portion limits and have a health star rating of 3.5+; and ensuring only healthier options are promoted to students.

Wollondilly Mayor Matthew Deeth said it was great to see the Wollondilly Health Alliance encouraging and supporting schools to provide healthy eating options for our kids.

“As a dad I certainly know how hard it can be to get your kids to eat healthy,” he said. “There are so many pressures and temptations on them to do otherwise, so having the right choices in our canteens is really important.”

Through this initiative almost 2,700 students across the Wollondilly Shire now have access to healthy food in their school canteen.

All Education Department schools were required to adopt the strategy by December 2019, with all school sectors (including Catholic and Independent schools) encouraged to adopt the guidelines.

04 February 2020

GPs are being advised of changes to our STAR4Kids Program which provides free psychological therapies to children. Since the program began in July 2017, 1866 children across the region have been supported through the program.

As part of a regular review, eligibility for the program has been refined to children who experience barriers to accessing the Better Access to psychiatrists, psychologists and general practitioners through the MBS (Better Access) initiative through Medicare. When referring children for psychological therapies, please first consider the Better Access Initiative.

Please find attached a letter with more information.

04 February 2020

Emerging Minds and RACGP Specific Interests are holding a webinar series focused on providing GPs with the knowledge and skills required during a child mental health assessment.

The webinars will be facilitated by Dr James Best, Chair RACGP Specific Interests Child and Young Person’s Health, and will include GPs and specialists working in the area of child mental health.

The webinars are free to RACGP members and available to non-members for $95. Non-members should contact RACGP Specific Interests Events to register.

The first webinar will be held on Thursday, 27 February at 7pm. To register.