February 2020

Regional roadshow

A few times each year, I take time out from my practice (and all the other stuff that comes up as RACGP Queensland Chair) to travel around the state to meet RACGP members and other key stakeholders.

At the beginning of February I was lucky enough to travel to Bundaberg. I saw firsthand some of the problems of chronic under-resourcing of general practice in regional Queensland, and the ongoing difficulties with recruitment. I dropped in to say hi and good-luck to the 25 members sitting their AKT/KFP exams. I visited the local PHN and several local practices, including Bundaberg West Medical Centre, and Ashfield Country Practice, the RACGP 2019 practice of the year (pictured with me at Ashfield is Dr Brad Murphy, Practice Principal).

I was overwhelmed with the kindness and hospitality of my colleagues. It was great to see the fabulous job they do under often-difficult circumstances. Thanks so much Bundaberg. I look forward to getting around to other parts of our great state in 2020.

Novel Coronavirus – COVID-19

I am aware of the problem with the varying state and federal responses to COVID-19 around the nation. The RACGP has sought to avoid this problem by centralising the coronavirus response and information.

Information is updated regularly on the RACGP website.  

This page includes links to the state and federal health department updates, as well as a number of other useful links including a section on managing suspected cases in general practice, caring for yourself and colleagues, and poster resources for your practice.

Patients with a suspected case should be encouraged to call before visiting their GP, while those who are at high risk of having contracted COVID-19 and have severe respiratory symptoms should be directed to the nearest public hospital for assessment. Other patients may be assessed in general practice, however, arrangements should be made for them to be isolated within the practice according to the public health guidelines. Please refer to the GP workflow released by Queensland Health.

RACGP Queensland faculty Facebook group

The RACGP has launched faculty-based private Facebook groups. The RACGP Queensland faculty group is a place for GPs to ask questions, seek support and share and receive up-to-date information. The RACGP encourages healthy, respectful debate. As such, all comments should be in line with the member code of conduct. Commenting is open to all RACGP members who are part of this faculty group.

Request to join the group by clicking the + Join Group button on the RACGP Queensland faculty Facebook group page.

Cheers,

Dr Bruce Willett
Chair, RACGP Queensland

Event	Date	Location
CPR workshop	Saturday 22 February 2020	Eatons Hill
Obesity: lifestyle interventions	Thursday 27 February 2020	Webinar
CPR workshop	Tuesday 3 March 2020	Brisbane
New Fellows Committee: Hot topics	Saturday 7 March 2020	Brisbane
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease	Wednesday 29 April 2020	Webinar
Allergy/immunology workshop	Saturday 9 May 2020	Brisbane
Social sundowner	Friday 29 May 2020	Toowoomba
Point-of-care ultrasound workshop	Saturday 30 May 2020	Toowoomba

Saturday 7 March 2020

Back by popular demand, the RACGP Queensland New Fellows Committee is again hosting a ‘Hot topics’ workshop.

This event is open to all members and includes six one-hour presentations on topical issues, including:

• genetic testing

• cardiovascular risk assessment and management

• childhood obesity

• focused psychological skills

• environmental health

• technology in general practice.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in discussion with the presenters towards the end of each topic. This activity is pending approval for 12 RACGP CPD Activity points.

You are welcome to stay for a glass of wine, a bite of cheese and some conversation following the event. Mingle with colleagues and meet representatives from your RACGP Queensland Council to tell us what other events you would like from your faculty.

You can also challenge your colleagues or have your family and friends join us for a round of mini golf, or just enjoy an evening meal overlooking the greens and parklands with the Brisbane CBD in the background.

Register to attend

RACGP New Fellows are GPs who are within their first five years of Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP).

The New Fellows Committee acts in an advisory capacity to the RACGP Queensland Council, and facilitates the delivery of a number of educational and career-focused programs relevant to New Fellows.

Anyone who is interested is always welcome to join the committee, which meets four times per year via teleconference. Please email qld@racgp.org.au with your current CV, explaining that you would like to join the RACGP Queensland New Fellows Committee.

And keep an eye out for upcoming new Fellow-focused activities.

RACGP Queensland will host two Fellowship and Awards ceremonies in 2020. The first will be held on Friday 4 September at Brisbane City Hall, and the second on Friday 25 September at Tanks Arts Centre in Cairns.

These events are a highlight on the annual calendar as we recognise and celebrate the achievements of our GPs. Further information and official invitations will be emailed to eligible New Fellows, with registrations opening July 2020.

Session	Date	Event	Location
2020.2	29 March 2020	AKT/KFP 2020.2 workshop	Brisbane
2020.1	30 March 2020	Pre OSCE webinar	Online
2020.1	4 April 2020	Mock OSCE	Brisbane
2020.1	18 April 2020	Mock OSCE	Cairns
2020.2	19 April 2020	AKT/KFP 2020.2 workshop	Cairns
2020.1	23 May 2020	OSCE	Brisbane, Gold Coast, Townsville
2020.2	27 June 2020	AKT/KFP 2020.2 workshop	Brisbane
2020.2	28 June 2020	AKT/KFP 2020.2 workshop	Brisbane

The RACGP’s Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee summary aims to provide members with a quick and easy reference to item numbers relevant to general practice. It is revised and published annually, or as major updates to GP-specific MBS items are announced.

Accompanying the fee summary is a short guide covering the most commonly used items in general practices. We welcome your views on how these resources can be improved to help ensure they remain useful for members’ daily practice. Please let us know your thoughts by completing this short survey via the RACGP website.

Thank you for your feedback.

The State Government is encouraging all Queenslanders to prioritise their mental wellbeing with a few simple everyday activities, such as time with family and friends, learning new things, being active and spending time outdoors.

Good mental wellbeing creates resilience, which leads to safer and healthier families, schools, workplaces and communities, higher educational achievement, and improved relationships and self-esteem.

For ideas and inspiration to help improve mental wellbeing, visit the Queensland Government website.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a relatively uncommon cause of disability, but those affected are high healthcare users. Management of the complex issues associated with SCI often requires specialised knowledge and, understandably, GPs may feel underprepared to support these clients.

Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service (QSCIS) considers the role of GPs as crucial to achieving positive outcomes for people with SCI. Engagement with and education of GPs are key focal areas for QSCIS, and feedback on how the service can better support GPs in this area is invaluable.

SCI causes multi-organ dysfunction. Management issues include neurogenic bladder and bowel, autonomic dysreflexia, pressure areas, chronic pain, spasticity, sexual dysfunction, musculoskeletal complications and psychosocial disorders. In addition, people with SCI have higher rates of health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and sleep-disordered breathing.

With a systematic approach and awareness of how to access specialised expertise in this field, many SCI-related issues can be effectively managed in the general practice setting.

QSCIS is a state-wide service that provides a continuum of care to patients with SCI:

• The Spinal Injuries Unit, based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, delivers primary rehabilitation for clients with acute SCI of traumatic or non-traumatic etiology.
• The Transitional Rehabilitation Program is a multidisciplinary team that supports patients’ transition into the community.
• The Spinal Outreach Team is a consultation and liaison service that can be accessed by patients, their families and health professionals across the lifespan. Equity of access for patients across Queensland is further achieved through the team’s regular regional visits or telehealth consultations with a spinal rehabilitation physician.

The QSCIS website has fact sheets for GPs and consumers on common topics in SCI.
Transitional Rehabilitation Program: 07 3176 9508
Spinal Outreach Team: 07 3176 9507

_{*This article was provided by Dr Claire Panagoda, Staff Specialist, Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service}

The annual General Practice Medical Education Inc. (GPME Inc.) two-day conference will be held in Melbourne on 14–15 May 2020. The event is open to registrars and Fellows currently engaged in, or with an interest in, medical education. For further information visit www.gpme.asn.au or email gpme.exec@gmail.com

GPs play an important role in influencing patients to quit smoking. Queensland Health provides free nicotine-replacement therapy to eligible smokers, combined with specialist cessation support from the Quitline (13 78 48) service.

Evidence has shown that quitting with behavioural support and pharmacotherapy significantly increases rates of smoking cessation.

GPs can help with just three steps:

1. ASK – Make the most of all opportunities to identify smokers, have conversations about their smoking and record their smoking status.
2. ADVISE – Advise that quitting is the best thing they can do.
3. ACT – Refer them directly to Quitline or advise them to visit QUIT HQ

_{*This article was provided by Queensland Health}