January 2025

Welcome back to a new year! I hope you have had a chance to rest, spend time with loved ones, and recharge your batteries over the summer break ready for an exciting year ahead. A new year presents exciting opportunities, and I look forward to everything we are set to achieve in 2025.

At the end of last year, the NSW&ACT Faculty Council set our strategic objectives for 2025. You can read more on these in my December report. These objectives will guide me and the faculty in all we set out to achieve for you, our members, this year. These objectives also guided the NSW pre-budget submission, that was provided to the NSW government on 17 December 2024. Once again, we reminded the state government of the importance of investing in GP care. The full submission is available here. 
I’m looking forward to more opportunities to engage with members this year, including those in regional and rural areas. Planning is underway for some trips across NSW and ACT and more information will be available soon. 

I am hopeful for ongoing collaboration with both the NSW and ACT Ministers for Health, Ryan Park and Rachel Stephen-Smith this year, with planned meetings in early February.  I will be talking to them about the NSW budget submission and the need to commit to the election promises made, respectively, and highlighting the importance and value of general practice. I’ll also be making the most of my visit to Canberra as I join my colleagues for the RACGP National GPs @ Parliament event scheduled for the same week. 
Together, we can make 2025 a year of positive change and continued progress for general practice in NSW, ACT, and across Australia.  

Until next month, take care. 

Dr Rebekah Hoffman
RACGP NSW&ACT Chair
 

Event	Date	CPD Hours
Peer Group Learning Session – Project ECHO: NSW Opioid Treatment Program	13 February 7.30 – 8.30 am (AEDT) – Early prescribers 5.30 – 6.30 pm (AEDT) – Advanced prescribers Venue: Online	0.7 RP & 0.3 EA hour
Managing hepatitis C in general practice settings	10 March 7.30 – 8.30 pm (AEDT) Venue: Online	1 EA hour
Syphilis Overview in NSW: Risk, Testing, Treatment & Support	8 April 7.30 – 8.30 pm (AEST) Venue: Online	1 EA hour
Sexual health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients in NSW	15 April 7.30 – 8.30 pm (AEST) Venue: Online	1 EA hour

Between 5–11 March the RACGP is holding events across Australia to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women in general practice and beyond, and we’d love for you to join us. 

At our International Women’s Day event in Sydney you’ll hear from inspiring women in general practice who will lead meaningful discussions on driving change and achieving equality. Together, we’ll celebrate the incredible women shaping the future of healthcare.  

This special event will provide networking opportunities and a chance to reflect on the 2025 International Women’s Day theme ‘March Forward’.   

This inclusive event welcomes everyone to join the celebration of International Women's Day.

Location: North Sydney office, Level 12, Pacific Highway, North Sydney
Time: 6.30 – 9.00 pm
Cost: Members – Free | Non-members – $45  
 

Register now

Can’t make it in person? Join us for our online meet-up on Wednesday 5 March. Find out more here. 

The NSW public mental health system is facing a significant crisis, with more than 200 of the state’s 295 public hospital psychiatrists resigning, effective 21 January, due to pay disputes. This will leave just 60–90 psychiatrists to manage mental health care across the state, placing greater pressure on GPs to support patients with complex mental health needs. 
 
The RACGP is aware of the increased demand this will likely place on the primary care system and is continuing to highlight the essential role of GPs in providing mental health support during this critical time.  
 
We encourage members to prioritise their own wellbeing. The RACGP GP Support Program offers free, confidential assistance to help manage stress. There are also a variety of other resources available.

• Mental Health Line – 1800 011 511. Staffed by trained mental health professionals who can make recommendations for appropriate care, including referral to NSW Health mental health services. Operating 24/7.
• GP Psychiatry Support Line – 1800 161 718. GPs can receive instant expert advice regarding the mental healthcare of their patients. Operating Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm.
• DRS4DRS – 1300 374 377. Providing tailored support for medical professionals. Operating 24/7.
• Lifeline – 13 11 14 is also available 24/7.

Supporting your patients starts with taking care of yourself. Please reach out if you need support. 

‘Mr Fluffy’ sounds innocuous, but in Canberra, it can evoke memories of fear, loss and regret. This was the name for the business that installed loose fill asbestos insulation between 1968 and 1980 in Canberra and surrounding areas.  

More than 1000 homes in Canberra have been identified as containing ‘Mr Fluffy’. The latent nature of asbestos-related diseases means the impact can continue for years. Knowing this history can help patients who raise concerns about loose fill asbestos insulation. 

More information on the history of ‘Mr Fluffy’ can be found here.

Information on health studies is available here.

Daniel Dascombe	Priya Shroff
Anitha Devara	Saviz Sasani
Emma Harvey	Marta Matic
Jessica Fardon	Larissa Prior
Shruti Sarkar	Mohamed Faheem Ibrahim
Abraam Hanna Aziz Hanna	Sorayya Cooper
Natasha Stark	Erica Danieletto
Youssef Ghonemi	Wekumbure Gedhara Senavirathna
Ayesha Riaz	Arsina Nausheen
Carina Smith	Zach Natoli
Rui Feitosa Junior	Avneet Brar
Melissa Herbert	Jo Yanagisawa
Monique Hayes	Samuel Hogg
Muhammad Munir

check is a learning program published 11 times a year to help general practitioners earn their required CPD hours. check is highly valued as a source of guidance on the diagnosis, treatment and management of common presentations in general practice.
 
Each unit contains hypothetical case studies crafted by contributing authors to explore the salient points of the given topic. Subject matter experts play a crucial role in ensuring the accuracy and quality of the content.
 
We welcome your contribution to check. To propose unit topics or to find out more about contributing as an author or subject matter expert reviewer, please contact the team at checkproduction@racgp.org.au

Upcoming check units (subject to change)

January – February: Skin health: Managing the skin microbiome
March: Medical dermatology
April: Military medicine and veterans’ health
April: QUM Supplement 3: Antidepressants and older adults
May: Cervical screening and cancer survivorship care
June: Gender and gender diversity

Are you interested in exploring tech-based solutions to common issues in general practice? Apply for this year's RACGP Hackathon!  Applications are open now until midnight AEDT on Thursday, 30 January. 

RACGP Hackathon 
When: 28–30 March 
Where: Microsoft Reactor Sydney, Level 10, 11 York Street Sydney NSW 

Find out more and apply here. 

The NSW Police Force Firearms Registry has introduced new measures to enhance firearms licensing, focusing on public safety and responsible firearms ownership. Key changes include: 

• Comprehensive Health Risk Assessments: The NSW Firearms Registry requests health assessments only when relevant health information is available. The new assessment format now also covering non-psychological conditions such as dementia and serious head injuries, ensuring a more thorough assessment of all potential risks. Health_Risk_Assessment_-_Form.pdf. 
• Guidelines for Delegates & Health Professionals: These guidelines will assist in assessing an individual’s suitability to possess and use firearms, ensuring decisions are appropriate, proportionate, and consistent. Health Risk Assessment - Guidance for Health Practitioners.pdf 
• Role of GPs: Recognising that many individuals with a history of mental illness are primarily under the care of GPs, the new system allows GPs, preferably with a minimum of five years of treatment history, or access to the applicant’s medical history to complete the risk assessment. 
• Notification System: The Firearms Registry will now notify medical practitioners when a firearms licence is issued following a health risk assessment. 
• Special Conditions for Reassessment: For individuals with health considerations, reassessment will focus on the severity and management of their condition, allowing those who can safely manage their condition to possess firearms. 

In Australia, suicide is the leading cause of firearm-related deaths. The goal of the new health risk framework is to ensure we have all relevant information necessary to make informed decisions about firearm safety, ensuring community safety and wellbeing.  
Health practitioners should report changes in a patient’s status if they have access to firearms. If a health practitioner has immediate concerns regarding someone's safety, it should be treated as an emergency and reported by calling Triple Zero (000). For non-emergency situations, use the police assistance line at 131 444 for welfare concerns that do not require immediate intervention but still need to be addressed by the police.

Go4Fun Online is a free 10-week healthy lifestyle program for NSW primary school-aged children and their families, by NSW Health.  
Parents/carers and their kids do the program together and can start at any time. They create healthy habits by: 

• getting active 
• choosing healthier food 
• drinking more water 
• improving their wellbeing 
• reducing screen time 

Health coaches are trained in cultural competency to ensure their approach supports Aboriginal families. 
Families can also access bi-lingual health coaches and interpreter services.  
Refer via: 

• the Go4Fun Online website.   
• using the referral form on your practice software   

Referring GPs receive a participant report on program completion.