Topic: Workforce

The Strengthening Medicare GP Grants program is closing on 30 June 2024. 

Practices are strongly encouraged to spend all funding prior to this date, as funds cannot be rolled over into the next financial year.  

If you require guidance on how to spend your grant funding, please see some examples of investment activities under each stream.  

At the end of the program, practices are required to complete an online financial acquittal form, listing grant funding expenditure and an online self-evaluation form to indicate how the grant has improved your practice, in line with the program objectives.

We encourage practices to make every effort to complete the online forms as soon as practicable after the grant funding has been spent on eligible activities, and no later than 31 July 2024 for completion of all reporting against the program.

Links to the forms can be found below: 

• Financial Acquittal Report Form
• Self-Evaluation Survey Form

When completing the above forms you will need your Agreement ID number. This can be found at the top of page 3 of your Agreement from SWSPHN.

You will also need to select which Primary Health Network (PHN) your practice is in – for your practice, please select South Western Sydney.

SWSPHN will follow up with general practices involved in the GP grants program who have not completed these steps.

For more information, contact enquiries@swsphn.com.au.

Nominate a Medicare Champion

To mark the 40th anniversary of Medicare, the Department of Health and Aged Care is holding the Stronger Medicare Awards to honour the significant contributions of those working in the primary care sector and to showcase the vital role they play in Australia’s healthcare system.  

The awards recognise and honour Medicare Champions – outstanding individuals and practices which provide exceptional care, embrace innovation, and work together to improve the health of their community.

Medicare Champions are individuals and practices which go above and beyond in caring for benefit patients.

Nominations are open to individual health professionals, practices or health centres, as well as multi-disciplinary teams working across the full range of primary care services.

Nominations are also open to the many hard-working people who do not have professional qualifications in healthcare, but work for primary care services to help patients access the care they need, when and where they need it.

Practice managers are invited to the first of SWSPHN’s annual brainstorming workshops aimed at equipping practice managers with the knowledge, tools and strategies to run their practices more efficiently.

All practice managers across the region are invited to PM Efficiency Tips & Tricks, face-to-face workshops to be held at Bowral and Warwick Farm in April and May.

Director and Practice Coach, Kim Poyner, from the Practice Excellence Institute, is guest speaker at both events and will focus on supporting practice managers to facilitate change within their practice during the first half of the workshop.

Ms Poyner will:

• explore the starting points by identifying key areas and initiatives where change can be effectively introduced in general practices.
• cultivate a change mindset by discussing the importance of embracing change as an opportunity for growth and learning, and how to foster a positive attitude towards change within the team.
• co-designing next steps with your team by engaging participants in collaborative exercises and discussions to co-create actionable plans for implementing change initiatives in a manner aligned with the needs and aspirations of the team.
• provide tips to communicate change with your team by sharing practical strategies and tips to effectively communicate change to the team, ensure understanding, manage resistance, and promote ownership and commitment.

In the second half of the workshop, practice managers will be invited to join a group discussion to brainstorm ideas about the areas in which they would most benefit from upskilling, and how SWSPHN can best support them through continuing professional development (CPD) activities throughout the year.

Workshop details:

Date: Thursday, 18 April

Time: 6pm for 6.30pm to 8pm

Venue: Highlands Specialist Hub, 113 Bowral Street, Bowral

Date: Thursday, 2 May

Time: 6pm for 6.30pm to 8pm

Venue: Holiday Inn, Warwick Farm, 355 Hume Highway, Warwick Farm

Parking available at the rear and light refreshments will be provided.

GPs are invited to a series of SWSPHN-organised CPD sessions focused on managing stress, and creating a more effective and fulfilling work environment.

Four non-clinical education activities, called GP Living 101, will be held this year for general practices in our region, with topics including:

• tax and property (Zoom) – 9 April
• personal wellbeing (Holiday Inn, Warwick Farm) – 23 May
• MyMedicare (Zoom) – 24 July
• Medico-Legal (Zoom) – 11 September

GP Living 101 recognises the importance of providing holistic support to our GP workforce, which is increasingly under pressure from growing workloads.

It aims to share localised, practical advice on running practices more efficiently, and the tools to improve the wellbeing of staff.

If you would like to submit questions for the presenters before the meetings, please click this link.

GP Living 101meeting details

Webinar: Tax and property – Tuesday, 9 April, 7pm to 8.30pm

Presenter Sam Kayal, Director, Kayal Partners (chartered accountants and tax agents), will discuss:

• updates on tax changes
• maximising tax investment opportunities
• legally managing tax affairs

Presenter Roy Halabi, GPS Properties, will discuss:

• updates on where the property market is at
• investment opportunities
• buyer’s agent opportunities

Register for this webinar

Face-to-face, Holiday Inn Warwick Farm: Reflective writing for clinician wellbeing – Thursday, 23 May, 7pm for 7.30pm start, to 9.30pm

Presenter, Dr Hilton Koppe, author of One Curious Doctor. A Memoir of Medicine, Migration and Mortality, will offer participants the opportunity to experience the benefits of reflective writing.

During the session, brief but fun reflective writing exercises will be explained, and participants will have fun playing with words on the page.

The session aims to highlight reflective writing as an easily accessible tool which can assist in improving clinician wellbeing.

Webinar: Navigating MyMedicare, a guide for general practice – Wednesday, 24 July, 7pm to 8.30pm

Presenter Wendy O’Meara, Associate Education Consultant, will provide an overview of MyMedicare, the changes expected in 2024 and what general practice staff need to know to make the most of the program.

The session will discuss the importance of planning for the changes within the practice and provide guidance on resources to assist with preparing for the changes to maximise available incentives and improve efficiencies.

Webinar: Medico-Legal, requirements and legislation – Wednesday, 11 September, 7pm to 8.30pm

Speaker to be advised.

SWSPHN is seeking expressions of interest from experienced GPs to take on a GP advisory role in the Primary Care Workforce Team. 

GP Advisors will facilitate stakeholder engagement and consultation and provide guidance on the planning and implementation of SWSPHN initiatives as required.

GP Advisors will also provide local clinical input into the GP Workforce Planning and Prioritisation program, a national program to advise the Department of Health and Aged Care on priority locations for GP registrar training placements to meet current and future GP workforce needs.

This will inform the future distribution of the GP registrar workforce across communities in South Western Sydney and support broader workforce engagement, development and strategy planning.

To apply for this role, you must:

Essential

• Have a minimum of five years’ experience working as a GP in ACT/NSW and have a sound understanding of PHNs and their purpose
• Have highly effective advocacy and stakeholder engagement skills including experience in small group facilitation and delivering presentations

Desirable

• Be an accredited GP Supervisor with RACGP or ACRRM and have relevant and current knowledge of the Australian General Practice Training Program and the emerging challenges and opportunities related to GP training in Australia

Time commitment and remuneration:

Work will be assigned to GP Advisors on an as-needs basis and will vary according to business requirements.

GPs Advisors will be given notice of work at least four weeks in advance to ensure the timing and expectations of the tasks are appropriate.

GP Advisors will be engaged as independent contractors and will invoice SWSPHN for hours of engagement at a rate of $150/hour (GST and superannuation inclusive).

How can you be involved?

If you are interested in becoming a Primary Care Workforce GP Advisor for SWSPHN, please see the full Job Description and fill in the Expression of Interest form.

EOI closes Friday, 9 February.

For more information please contact:

• Bianca Lean – Primary Care Workforce Manager (bianca.lean@swsphn.com.au)
• Yin Li – Workforce Strategy Team Lead (yin.li@swsphn.com.au)