Primary Care at the Frontline: Tackling Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease in NSW

Originally recorded:

3 December 2025

Join us for an essential webinar on acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) in NSW. Learn how to identify early signs, manage long-term care, and support high-risk patients—especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Maori and Pasifika young people and pregnant women. This session is designed to empower GPs with practical tools and insights to improve outcomes and prevent disease progression. Don’t miss this opportunity to strengthen your clinical impact.

Learning outcomes

Identify the signs and symptoms of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
Define the epidemiology of ARF and RHD in NSW, including priority populations.
Outline the importance of primary prevention of ARF in priority populations.
Describe the considerations for managing patients with ARF and RHD.
Demonstrate how to notify a patient with ARF or RHD and enrol them on the NSW ARF/RHD Register.

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Facilitator

Dr Marion Tait
General Practitioner

Dr Marion Tait is a GP working in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation sector now for more than 18 years. She is currently based in Northern NSW, working at Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation Richmond Valley. Marion has been involved with medical education, the PHN, the Lismore Sexual Assault service, and is currently co-chair of a Clinical Working party – an innovative group of Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) GPs and Directors of Departments at Lismore Base Hospital who meet monthly to problem solve current barriers to good clinical care for patients moving between the AMS and the local Health district. Developing an Acute Rheumatic Fever-Rheumatic Heart Disease Clinical pathway was their first successful project.

Speakers

Dr Jascha Kehr
Paediatric and Fetal Cardiologist

Dr. Jascha Kehr is a staff specialist Paediatric and Fetal Cardiologist at John Hunter Hospital and the Newcastle Adult and Paediatric Heart Centre. Originally from Germany, he completed most of his training in New Zealand, where he gained extensive experience in the diagnosis and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. This exposure shaped his career focus on equity in paediatric cardiac care. Jascha is passionate about improving access to quality cardiac services for rural and remote communities across the health district, as well as strengthening care and cross-border collaboration for patients in the Pacific Islands.

Dr Coen Butters
Infectious Diseases Physician and General Paediatrician

Coen is a staff specialist Infectious Diseases Physician and General Paediatrician at John Hunter Children's Hospital. He is a member of the Hunter New England Rheumatic Fever Clinical Reference Group. He completed a Bachelor of Medicine at the University of Newcastle before training at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne and in the Solomon Islands. He lives in sunny Newcastle with his family and is completing a PhD to improve supportive care for children with cancer.

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