Strengthening prevention & partnerships Archives | Page 2 of 4

28 February 2024

Healthcare providers are being called on to stay up-to-date on infectious syphilis, amid a significant rise in syphilis diagnoses in Australia.

In the past decade, rates of syphilis diagnoses in Australia have tripled, according to a recent report by the Kirby Institute.

The rate of syphilis has increased six-fold among women, while congenital syphilis cases rose 68 per cent.

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, said we’re seeing the re-emergence of congenital syphilis, when the infection is transmitted during pregnancy.

“This can have devastating health consequences for newborn babies, including death,” he said.

“Congenital syphilis is also entirely preventable. We must ensure everyone is tested for syphilis during pregnancy. All pregnant people should be tested at least once, and in many cases more.”

Read more or watch the video below

Healthcare providers are urged to:

review and follow the National STI Management Guidelines
stay up-to-date on syphilis by accessing ASHM’s resources, guidelines and training at org.au/syphilis
check out ASHM’s online Syphilis Decision Making Tool, easy-to-follow guide to syphilis treatment in common clinical scenarios

27 February 2024

Screening for gambling harm at general practices and community-based organisations could support a holistic approach to client care by addressing gambling as one part of a wider problem, and de-stigmatising gambling harm, a pilot study has found.

The study’s findings were published in a report, Exploring the feasibility of a gambling harm screening model in general practice and community service settings in Fairfield, in the Australian Journal of Primary Health last week (18 February).

The research was undertaken by the Fairfield City Health Alliance Gambling Working Group, a partnership between the three levels of government – SWSPHN, South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) and Fairfield City Council – the multicultural gambling service, social service providers and academics.

It used a community-designed screening tool to detect and reduce harm from gambling in the Fairfield Local Government Area – an area where $1.7 million is lost to poker machines each day, and where people from all walks of life are represented in its diversity of cultures, religions and social backgrounds.

The screening tool, used by GPs and community workers in Fairfield for 13 weeks in 2020, was developed for multicultural communities and materials were translated into three languages (Arabic, Assyrian and Vietnamese).

More than 130 patients completed the online screening and were referred to help services.

Screening data showed 40 per cent of clients had no risk of gambling harm, 17 per cent were considered at-risk due to their gambling behaviour and 20 per cent due to someone else’s gambling behaviour.

Twenty-three per cent of clients were identified as being at risk of gambling harm from both themselves and someone else.

These rates of gambling harm are substantially higher than the 2019 NSW state prevalence survey.

The research findings suggest stigma poses a significant barrier to gambling treatment in multicultural communities, and that gambling screening in general practice could help overcome gambling stigma and support those communities.

The research also highlighted the complexity of gambling harm and treatments.

Community workers emphasised the need to prioritise other pressing issues, such as financial harm, domestic violence and homelessness, particularly for individuals affected by others’ gambling.

One worker ensured clients received emotional and mental health support while providing information about gambling help services.

“Therefore, addressing gambling-related concerns was often not the top priority, rather a secondary issue,” the report said.

The report’s conclusion: “Primary healthcare and community service settings can play a role in screening for and mitigating gambling harm within communities’’.

Read the article

27 February 2024

GPs piloting a screening tool to detect and reduce harm from gambling at practices in the Fairfield LGA say their involvement in the study, and the associated training, improved their understanding of gambling issues and increased their comfort in initiating conversations about gambling with patients.

The research was undertaken by the Fairfield City Health Alliance Gambling Working Group, a collaboration between the three levels of government – SWSPHN, South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) and Fairfield City Council – the multicultural gambling service, social service providers and academics.

It aimed to explore the enablers and barriers to implementing a co-designed screening tool in Fairfield – an area with high gambling expenditure.

The screening tool, used by GPs and community workers for 13 weeks in 2020, was developed for culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and materials were translated into three languages (Arabic, Assyrian and Vietnamese).

A training and resource kit was also developed for participants.

More than 130 patients completed the online screening and were referred to help services.

The screening data showed 40 per cent of patients had no risk of gambling harm, 17 per cent were considered at-risk due to their gambling behaviour and 20 per cent were at risk due to someone else’s gambling behaviour.

Twenty-three per cent of patients were identified as being at risk of gambling harm from both their own behaviour and someone else’s.

These rates of gambling harm are substantially higher than the 2019 NSW state prevalence survey.

Study participants said the tool was easy to use, the training empowered them to initiate conversations about gambling, and screening was a positive addition to holistic patient care.

One worker said they found the tool a “really good way to … start building on that relationship regarding gambling”.

Another said they used the tool to say “We’re here not to judge you. We’re here to support you’’.

One GP said they were now more comfortable bringing up, and even just having a basic discussion, about gambling after participating in the study.

Another GP suggested integrating questions about gambling harm into practices as part of an overall comprehensive approach, similar to asking about smoking or alcohol consumption.

The research found the screening tool showed real promise for addressing gambling in primary health and community settings, and was an entry point to:

identify the level of gambling harm within community settings
support active referral of those experiencing gambling harm to support services
support a holistic approach to patient care by addressing gambling as part of comorbidities
de-stigmatise gambling harm

Other findings from the study included:

stigma poses a significant barrier to gambling treatment in culturally and linguistically diverse communities
future implementation of screening in general practice and community services must have appropriate referral pathways in place to support patients
staff must be adequately trained to engage in conversations around gambling harm, recognise indicators of gambling harm, and provide the appropriate referral and help-seeking pathways
future research should examine the feasibility of embedding screening tools into practice management software systems

The report said: “In Australia, due to the high comorbidity between gambling harm and related issues addressed in primary care and community services, implementing gambling screening measures in these contexts is likely to be beneficial”.

Read the article

22 February 2024

Workers from community organisations in Fairfield city are invited to a capacity building workshop around tackling gambling harm, on Monday, 11 March from 10am to noon, at Fairfield Youth and Community Centre.

The free workshop, Tackling Gambling Harm in Our Community: Effective Strategies and Community Engagement, will:

present community concerns about gambling-related harm in Fairfield city
discuss evidence-based strategies to mitigate harm
provide a platform for idea exchange, information sharing, advocacy, and networking
explore opportunities for forming and strengthening local action groups that involve community workers and residents

The workshop is being presented by the Fairfield City Health Alliance Gambling Working Group, a partnership between Fairfield City Council, South Western Sydney Local Health District and SWSPHN.

A light lunch will be provided.

Reserve a spot

12 February 2024

Partnering to support and improve the health and wellbeing of the Wollondilly community, the Wollondilly Health Alliance has been re-launched with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The alliance is a formal partnership between Wollondilly Shire Council, South Western Sydney Local Health District and SWSPHN. It was initially formed in March 2014 to connect services and improve health outcomes for the community.

Following a review of the previous governance structure and focus areas, the refreshed Wollondilly Health Alliance aims to apply a fresh and coordinated approach to meeting the diverse health and wellbeing needs of people in the Wollondilly Shire.

The new priorities for the Wollondilly Health Alliance over the period of the MoU include:

Carrying out a health needs assessment for the growing Wollondilly community to support planning and advocacy for future health services
Strengthening access to, and availability of, an integrated network of health services across the Wollondilly Shire including telemedicine
Continuing to embed the principles of health and wellbeing into the council’s daily operations through joint training initiatives
Increasing awareness about the impacts disasters have on health and wellbeing, and how communities can better prepare themselves

Wollondilly Mayor Matt Gould said Wollondilly Shire would face significant challenges over the next few years due to its growing population.

“We will continue to strongly advocate for the health services we need for our current and future communities,” he said.

“I look forward to working collaboratively through the Wollondilly Health Alliance to improve health outcomes for all our community members.”

South Western Sydney Local Health District Chief Executive Sonia Marshall said the alliance would draw on each partner’s strengths.

“By working together and sharing our expertise, skills and resources, the alliance has the potential to achieve greater outcomes collectively,” she said.

“We will deliver projects aimed at improving social connection and health access for the community, including trialing innovative approaches to shape the health care of the future.”

SWSPHN Chief Executive Officer, Dr Keith McDonald PhD, said the new MoU reflected the alliance’s evolution into a more results-oriented partnership.

“With the Wilton and Appin expansions, the population of Wollondilly is set to triple in the next 30 years,” he said.

“The alliance is focused on identifying what health services are needed to support this growing population, and ultimately, what we need to do to improve the health and wellbeing of Wollondilly residents.

“The alliance will be looking to better coordinate our preparedness for, and response to natural disasters, and to improve how virtual technologies are used to ensure local health services are working smarter, not harder.

“The new alliance structure allows us to build on the solid foundation of work undertaken during the past decade.”

CAPTION:

Back row (left to right):

Peter Buckley, Wollondilly Shire Council, Director Shire Services

Ben Neville, South Western Sydney Primary Health Network, Integration and Priority Populations Manager

Matt Gould, Wollondilly Mayor

Dr Keith McDonald, South Western Sydney Primary Health Network, Chief Executive Officer.

Front row (left to right):

Mandy Williams, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Director of Population Health

Sonia Marshall, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Chief Executive

30 November 2023

Despite being a curable condition, hepatitis C remains one of the leading causes of liver cancer in Australia.

To meet the World Health Organization’s hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination targets by 2030, we need to increase screening and diagnosis, upskill the workforce, and implement innovative models of care.

Reaching people in rural and remote locations remains a key challenge in the HCV response.

The NSW Hepatitis C Remote Prescribing Program aims to address this.

The program utilises a nurse-led and patient-centred model of care.

Nurses perform the initial hepatitis C assessment and patient work-up then refer to prescribers who review the information and initiate direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy.

Several resources have been developed and/or tailored to facilitate the efficient exchange of clinical information and virtual prescribing.

Only patients who meet the Remote Consultation Criteria can be included in the program (ie patients must be non-cirrhotic or have compensated cirrhosis and have no significant co-morbidities).

The NSW Hepatitis C Remote Prescribing program was established in November 2020 to facilitate linkages between nurses and prescribers to increase access to treatment in regional areas.

Funded by NSW Health and coordinated by ASHM, the program has since been extended to other settings where treatment may otherwise be limited, including mental health services, alcohol and other drugs services, Aboriginal Medical Services and homelessness settings.

During the past three years, the program’s model of care has demonstrated highly successful outcomes, enabling more than 210 patients to be initiated onto treatment.

While all medical practitioners and authorised nurse practitioners can prescribe direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for the treatment of hepatitis C, the program can expedite and facilitate increased access to treatment in patients’ preferred settings.

Nurses participating in the program provide flexible, patient-centred, on-treatment support, harm minimisation education and individualised follow-up to help these patients through treatment and achieve hepatitis C cure.

For more information about the program, visit the program webpage at www.ashm.org.au/hcv/nsw-hepatitis-c-remote-prescribing-program or email NSWLinkages@ashm.org.au if you are interested in joining the program as a prescriber or referrer.

For more information about hepatitis C, see www.ashm.org.au/resources and the Reach-C website at www./reach-c.ashm.org.au which provides an online form for practitioners who are not already experienced in hepatitis C treatment to gain specialist approval within 24 hours to initiate DAA therapy.

ASHM also provides free online training and on-demand learning in HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexual health medicine.

For more details, go to www.ashm.org.au/learning-hub.

25 September 2023

Our Disaster Management team joined representatives from NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire & Rescue NSW, NSW SES, Wollondilly Shire Council, the Rapid Relief Team and the NSW Police Force on Saturday for the Wollondilly Emergency Services Expo at Picton.

Community members had some fun – experiencing the sensation of handling an active fire hose, climbing into a fire truck, and watching oil and fire demonstrations. These engaging experiences were designed to underscore the very serious message, the importance of preparing for a disaster.

Our team chatted with community members about the disaster preparedness flyer which focuses on highlighting the five simple steps to follow to ensure your health and wellbeing are be prioritised during disaster.

The flyer – which can be found here – seemed to resonate with the community, making them think about how they should start preparing to ensure they could still access their medications or their doctor during an emergency.

Our stall was also an opportunity to raise awareness about the role of SWSPHN and the programs and services we fund.

21 September 2023

NSW Health Pathology will be introducing standardised, electronic reporting of pathology test results to GPs, medical specialists and other clinicians working outside the public health system across NSW.

This work is part of a statewide transformation program which will standardise NSW Health Pathology’s technologies, processes and workflows to help NSW Health improve service delivery and patient care.

This work is also part of NSW Health’s Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) program which will provide a secure, holistic and integrated view of the care a patient receives across the NSW public health system.

By introducing standardised electronic reporting, NSW Health Pathology will enhance its provision of timely pathology results in a format which supports patient care and reduces reliance on paper-based systems and manual processes.

During the next three months, NSW Health Pathology is consulting with GPs, practice managers and other clinical partners to get feedback about the format and functionality which is valued in electronic pathology reporting, so a reporting solution can be developed which best meets your needs.

Face to face or virtual sessions

The NSW Health Pathology team will be contacting a range of GP practices in coming weeks, inviting you to take part in a short (15 to 30 minute) session either face to face or virtually. If you are interested in participating, please contact the team at NSWPATH-Fusion@health.nsw.gov.au

Short survey

If you’re not able to meet, you are invited to complete a short survey about pathology reporting to provide your feedback.

NSW Health Pathology really values your input.

20 September 2023

This week has been a timely reminder extreme heat can have a serious impact on people’s health.

Heatwaves and hot weather have killed more people in Australia than any other disaster.

Extreme heat can be dangerous for anyone, however it is particularly dangerous for those:

over the age of 75
babies and young children
overweight or obese
pregnant or breastfeeding
poor mobility
who are homeless
socially isolated, living alone
working in a hot environment
have a chronic illness (such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, mental illness)
have an acute illness (an infection with fever or gastroenteritis)
taking certain medications

Heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency.

It occurs when the body temperature rises about 40.5 degrees.

Immediate first aid is critical to lowering the body temperature as soon as possible.

The effect of heat on chronic conditions

Most heat-related morbidity and mortality is due to the exacerbation of chronic conditions.

Conditions which most commonly contribute to death during a heatwave include:

cardiac events
asthma or other respiratory illness
kidney disease
diabetes
nervous system diseases
cancer

Dehydration and subsequent medication toxicity may exacerbate:

altered mental state
kidney stones
cardiovascular impairment
falls

Heat and medication

Some medications can increase the risk of heat-related illness. Some can also be less effective when exposed to high temperatures.

The following medications can be impacted by heat. (This list should be used as a guide only)

Interference with sweating, caused by:

anticholinergics, for example tricyclic antidepressants and benztropine
beta blockers
antihistamines
phenothiazines
vasoconstrictors

Interference with thermoregulation, caused by:

antipsychotics or neuroleptics, for example risperidone, clozapine, olanzapine
serotoninergic agonists
stimulants, for example amphetamine, cocaine
thyroxin

Decreased thirst, caused by:

butyrophenone, for example haloperidol and droperidol
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors

Dehydration or electrolyte imbalance, caused by:

diuretics, especially loop diuretics
any drug causing diarrhoea or vomiting, for example colchicines, antibiotics, codeine
alcohol

Reduced renal function, caused by:

NSAIDS
sulphonamides
indinavir
cyclosporine

Aggravation of heat illness by worsening hypotension, caused by:

vasodilators, for example nitrates (GTN) and calcium channel blockers
anti-hypertensives

Levels of drug affected by dehydration (possible toxicity for drugs with a narrow therapeutic index), caused by:

digoxin
lithium
warfarin
antiepileptics
biguanides, for example metformin
statins
altered state of alertness, caused by any drugs which alter the state of alertness, for example alcohol, benzodiazepine and narcotics

Resources to help you prepare for heatwaves

At-risk community members can prepare for heatwaves and heatstroke using the resources below:

Heatstroke – Health Resource Directory

Preparing for a heatwave – Health Resource Directory

Healthcare providers can find more information at:

Beat the heat (nsw.gov.au)

19 September 2023

GambleAware Week, 16 to 22 October, is an annual initiative to increase awareness of gambling and gambling harm.

It’s an opportunity to increase our community’s understanding of risky gambling behaviour, encourage gamblers to recognise when their gambling may place them at risk of harm, and provide information on practical ways to keep their gambling under control.

This year’s theme What’s gambling costing you? is encouraging people to think about the costs of gambling not only on their finances but also the impacts on health, relationships or careers.

As we near GambleAware Week, this special feature looks at gambling in South Western Sydney and where our community can turn for support.

Gambling harm impacts not only individuals but communities around them.

SWSPHN’s 2022 Needs Assessment found there are high levels of gambling harm in South Western Sydney, particularly in the Fairfield Local Government Area (LGA)¹.

The NSW Gambling Survey² showed one in two adults in NSW gamble, with lotteries and instant scratch lottery tickets comprising 50 per cent of the total gambling methods.

However, 16 per cent of the total are gaming machines², and are considered to present the greatest risk of harm¹.

It is estimated one per cent of adults in NSW fall within the severe end of problem gambling and are experiencing harm related to gambling such as financial harm, breakdown of relationships, psychological distress, impaired functioning at work and are more likely to commit criminal activities.

For each person experiencing gambling harm, five to 10 others are impacted³.

According to Liquor and Gaming NSW⁴ as of April 2023 there are a total of 3,788 gaming machines in clubs and hotels in Fairfield LGA.

Between June and November 2022, gambling profits for clubs only in the Fairfield LGA were more than $225 million.

These are the highest profits in NSW, followed by Bankstown LGA with more than $204 million, Cumberland LGA with over $132 Million and the Central Coast LGA with over $121 million.

It is noted both Bankstown and Cumberland LGAs border Fairfield LGA, with the combined gambling profits for clubs of more than $562 million.

Although specific profits for gaming machines in hotels are not listed, it is noted three out of 10 of the top-ranking hotels for gaming machine profits for NSW are in Fairfield LGA⁴.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics⁵ in 2021, Fairfield LGA was one of the most disadvantaged Local Government Areas in Australia.

Is gambling affecting your life, get help by speaking with your GP or visit one of these sites for support:

Sources:

2022 South Western Sydney Primary Health Network Needs Assessment, SWSPHN 2022
NSW Gambling Survey 2019, Office of Responsible Gambling NSW, 2020
Enhancing gambling harm screening and referrals to gambling support services in general practice and community service settings in Fairfield LGA: A pilot study, Nguyen, McGhie et al 2020
Six-Monthly Gaming Machine Data – Liquor & Gaming NSW
Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)