College round-up: Seeking GP feedback on mental health care

14/10/2021 Written by

This article is over 2 years old

College round-up: Seeking GP feedback on mental health care

This round-up includes a new college position statement on GPs’ role in aged care, new patient resources on healthcare costs, and upcoming program application deadlines.
 
Have your say on mental health and general practice
The General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration (GPMHSC) has invited a selection of GPs to complete a short 10-minute survey on mental health and general practice.
 
GP feedback will help the GPMHSC understand the different attitudes towards, and views on, the uptake of mental health training, as well as the use of relevant Medicare Benefit Schedule item numbers. The information collected from the survey will also assist the GPMHSC to advocate on policy development and reform for general practice and mental health care.
 
Selected GPs would have received an email inviting them to complete the survey. For further information, the GPMHSC can be contacted on 03 8699 0554 or gpmhsc@racgp.org.au
 
RACGP position on sustainable GP-led aged care
For the past three years, the college has been actively advocating for greater support for GPs working in aged care, including submissions to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and ongoing engagement with government around key announcements in this sector.
 
Most recently, the RACGP has developed a position statement on GP-led aged care. The position statement addresses the barriers faced by GPs providing services to older people and highlights the critical role of GPs in aged care.
 
It also makes recommendations to improve access to primary care for older people, enhance continuity of care for this group, and support GPs to continue to provide high-quality care in this sector.
 
The position statement is available on the RACGP website.

New patient resources on healthcare costs
The RACGP has developed new patient-focused resources that highlight the ongoing lack of investment in general practice and rising healthcare costs.
 
The resources include a printable poster and patient fact sheet to display in general practices, advising patients to ask their GP about how they can write to their local MP. The college has also developed a letter template that can be pre-filled by GPs and given to patients to send to their local MP.
 
Further information and resources are available on the RACGP resources to help you manage your billing webpage (member login required).
 
Any feedback can be emailed to healthreform@racgp.org.au
 
Practice Experience Program
Applications are now open for the Practice Experience Program (PEP) for non-vocationally registered doctors who plan to sit the RACGP Fellowship exams.
 
From January 2022, rules around exam eligibility are changing and only those on an RACGP-approved program or those who have satisfactorily completed the PEP will remain eligible to sit.
 
Under the current Federal Government funding scheme there are only two more application periods remaining:

  • 4–25 October 2021 − program start date 1 April 2022, program end date 31 March 2023
  • 10 January – 1 February 2022 − program start date 1 July 2022, program end date 30 June 2023
More information is available on the RACGP website.
 
Applications open for the RACGP Future Leaders Program
The Future Leaders Program is designed to give RACGP Fellows the confidence to lead change in their community, through helping to develop leadership skills, identify strengths, guide strategic thinking and produce beneficial change for the health community.
 
Further information is available on the RACGP website, where GPs can also apply for the 2022 program.
 
More spaces available for AOD Treatment Skills Training
The Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) GP Education Program − Treatment Skills Training is a practical course focusing on consultation skills and AOD clinical knowledge, designed to enhance GPs’ ability to talk about alcohol and drug use with their patients.
 
The training aims to provide busy GPs with practical tips that can be incorporated into practice.
A $1200 grant payment will be awarded on completion of training.
 
More information and to apply is available on the RACGP website.
 
General Practice: Health of the Nation 2021 report
The RACGP’s General Practice: Health of the Nation 2021 report is launching on Thursday 21 October at 10.00 am (AEDT).
 
With almost 22 million Australians visiting a GP each year, a well-supported, accessible and high‑quality general practice sector is vital to the health of communities across Australia.
 
Providing a glimpse of the future of general practice, this year’s Health of the Nation report shines a light on a number of critical issues impacting GPs and their patients, including treating multimorbidities, the increasing mental health burden on general practice and the challenges of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
 
The report also identifies some of the critical challenges faced by general practice and what must be addressed to ensure Australians can access the care they need, when they need it.

The 21 October launch and full Health of the Nation report will be available on the RACGP website.

RACGP appoints new CEO
RACGP challenges DoH over ill-timed compliance

Featured article

Announcing RACGP’s new Chief Executive Officer

Announcing RACGP’s new Chief Executive Officer

23/02/2024

The RACGP Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Georgina van de Water as our new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

More
All news