Surgeons are now operating and consulting in Pimlico and would be delighted to chat with GPs and their patients about their comprehensive plan for a healthier, longer life.

Dr Garth McLeod and Dr Benedict Mackay are Weight Loss Solutions Townsville, a surgical team, offering their experience and commitment to patients in North Queensland.

The surgeons recognise that obesity is a complex disease, and this requires a comprehensive long-term approach. The procedure itself is seen as only the beginning of the journey for weight loss surgery patients. The team offer a robust support plan after surgery is over.

This plan begins with around-the-clock cover in the early days after surgery and extends to helping patients inhabit a lifestyle that supports long-term health and weight loss. Good diet and nutrition, exercise and mental health are nurtured through a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care.

For more information, view Weight Loss Solutions' flyer or visit their website www.weightlosssolutionstownsville.com.au

These include:

• Using the Clinician Vaccine Integrated Platform 
  Wednesday 31 March 2021 
  5.30pm – 6.30pm (AEST)
   
• Nurse digest session 3/5 – COVID Vaccine and the role of My Health Record
  Thursday 1 April 2021
  12pm – 1pm (AEST)

• Active Script List – Panel Discussion 
  Tuesday 13 April 2021
  5.30pm – 7.30pm (AEST) 

For further enquiries regarding these webinars, contact the Australian Digital Health Agency at help@digitalhealth.gov.au

The Department of Health is asking for health care professional's help to guide and inform the prioritisation of a digital health blueprint and investment through the completion of a survey. 

Your views are important as they bring valuable insights and ideas from ‘frontline experience’ on how to create a more efficient and usable digital health system.  

To access the survey and for more information, please click the following link: http://go.srnet.com.au/CDHB33  

The survey will take approximately 12 minutes to complete, depending on your responses.  

The survey is being conducted by a Melbourne based market research company, EY Sweeney, commissioned by the Department of Health to conduct independent research. As such, the survey is completely anonymous and confidential. You are encouraged to provide open and honest responses as reporting and analysis will be done in aggregate only and no responses will be attributed to any individual. 

The survey closes on Sunday 4 April 2021. 

For queries about this survey please contact Fiona Purcell at EY Sweeney at fiona.purcell@au.ey.com

Some, but not all general practices in North Queensland, have opted in to deliver COVID-19 vaccines for the next stage of the vaccine rollout, called Phase 1b, with many commencing vaccinating today and over the next four weeks.

In addition, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and GP-led respiratory clinics are also part of this next phase, which begins as a progressive rollout today (22 March).

Phase 1b is for the over 70s, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over 55, adults with a specified medical condition, healthcare workers, and critical high-risk workers.

Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) Chief Executive Officer Robin Whyte said that there has already been a high demand for the COVID-19 vaccine, not just from people who are eligible for Phase 1b, but from people in general. 

“We’ve been really pleased that so many residents are keen to get vaccinated in this next phase, however it's important to take the time to check your eligibility in this round, before making an appointment or calling your doctor,” Ms Whyte said.

“The Australian Government is leading a staged, gradual roll-out of the vaccine, with the most vulnerable populations being prioritised for an early vaccination.

“Please be assured that all eligible people across Queensland will have their turn to be vaccinated in the coming months.”

To check your eligibility for Phase 1b, or that of a loved one, visit the Vaccines Eligibility Checker: (https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility) or if you prefer not to use the online option, you can call the National Coronavirus and COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline on 1800 020 080.

“And if you have a regular GP who is part of the vaccination program, you may be contacted by the practice, when it is timely, about receiving your vaccination,” Ms Whyte said.

“We’re heartened by the fact that there is a low risk of contracting COVID-19 in Queensland at this current time, and all eligible Australians will have the opportunity to have this vaccination in the coming months.

“In the meantime, we encourage residents to ensure their Medicare details are correct, continue to practise good hygiene, physical distancing and adhere to local restrictions and understand how to isolate if you need to.

“As ever, if you're feeling unwell, don't go to work, avoid group activities, and get tested.”

The proposed initiatives should promote positive lifestyle behaviours that contribute to overall wellbeing, target risky behaviour, and/or create supportive environments that assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to take control of their health and minimise their risk of chronic disease.

Health promotion and prevention initiatives should aim to embed positive community attitudes and behaviour and provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in the region with an improved health literacy level to support them to make healthier choices.

Furthermore, proposals should consider multi-faceted health promotion approaches that encourage positive change across healthy public policy, supportive community environments, community development and action, health education, and reorienting health services.

Initiatives that use strong collaborative partnerships, service integration, and that mobilise existing resources will be favourably considered.

The need for health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiatives for First Nations residents in Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands was identified through NQPHN’s Health Needs Assessment (HNA).

NQPHN Chief Executive Officer Robin Whyte said that NQPHN is aiming to commission culturally safe services that empower First Nations people with knowledge in how to look after their health to lower the chances of developing chronic disease.

“NQPHN is committed to closing the gap in health outcomes between non-Indigenous and First Nations people,” said Ms Whyte.

“This tender provides opportunities for providers to support the modification of risk factors that contribute to chronic disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) region.

“The NQPHN HNA highlights cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and chronic respiratory disease among the top contributors to the overall burden of disease in the TCHHS catchment.

“These chronic conditions are largely preventable and may be attributed to lifestyle risk factors such as obesity, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, smoking, and alcohol consumption, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations nationally having a higher prevalence of these behaviours compared with non-Indigenous Australians.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations consider good health as more than just the absence of disease and illness, and encompasses social, physical, emotional, cultural, spiritual, and ecological elements.

“We are looking for tender proposals that incorporate a holistic approach to health with demonstrable understanding and application of culturally appropriate and safe practices.

“Proposed initiatives should be tailored to the communities in which they are to be carried out, with an explanation of how communities have been, and how they will continue to be, involved throughout project delivery.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with the successful applicant/s to help First Nations residents in Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands to live happier, healthier, longer lives.”

The geographical scope of the procurement is for the TCHHS catchment, with services providing benefits exclusively or predominantly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in Cape York and/or Torres Strait.

Applicants interested in applying for the tender should visit NQPHN’s online procurement portal at www.nqphn.com.au/commissioning/etenderbox

The tender closing date is 19 April 2021 at 2pm.