News.

Advanced & Extended Skill Posts
EV is keen to support registrars who wish to further develop skills in an area of special interest or to strengthen their existing knowledge by undertaking an advanced (AST/ARST) or extended skill (ES) subject to availability.
Rural pathway registrars can undertake both advanced and extended skills posts.

Rural Pathway
Registrars in the rural pathway also have access to Advanced procedural skills which includes:
RACGP Extended Skills posts (ES) and Advanced Rural Skills Training (ARST)
ACRRM Primary Rural and Remote Training (PRRT) and Advanced Specialised Training (AST)
In addition to working towards the FRACGP/FARGP or FACRRM, registrars will also be expected to achieve an end point (Certificate level or above) for their chosen discipline.

For more information:
Registrars are strongly encouraged to plan ahead and consult with an EV Medical Educator/Training Advisor regarding their training plan.
ASTs and ARSTs posts in Gippsland will be available (subject to funding and availability) via the Victorian Rural Generalist Program for 2021. Interested registrars on the rural pathway must seek approval and obtain a letter of eligibility from EV prior to applying for post(s). Please contact EV ‘s Churchill Office for further details and an ‘Expression of Interest’ pack.
Contact EV Staff:
Rural Pathway (Gippsland Region) Julieanne McLuckie, 03 5132 3100

Thursday 23 July 2020
ACRRM welcomes further investment in Rural Generalist training
The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) welcomes the announcement the government has committed further funding to support Rural Generalist training as part of its commitment to deliver better health outcomes for rural communities. Regional Health Minister Mark Coulton today committed $27 million to establish Rural Generalist Coordination Units (RGCUs) across all states and territories as part of the National Rural Generalist Training program. ACRRM President Dr Ewen McPhee says the College played a key role in the RGCU’s establishment and will continue to be part of their governance structure ensuring they focus on high-quality Rural Generalist (RG) training. “We welcome all investment in a RG workforce and, as the body responsible for setting the standards and national training program for the RG profession, we expect the RGCUs to work closely with the College to deliver the comprehensive training our registrars expect. “For rural and remote communities to have access to the healthcare they deserve, they need doctors who are trained across hospital and general practice settings to attain the skills to provide primary care alongside specialties such as emergency medicine, obstetrics, anaesthetics and mental health care,” Dr McPhee says. “The RGCUs are part of the National Rural Generalist Pathway (NRGP) which is being driven by National Rural Health Commissioner Associate Professor Ruth Stewart. “The NRGP is designed to attract more doctors to rural and remote areas to improve patient access, reduce hospital admissions and local service reliance, and minimise the need to travel for services.” It aligns with the College vision of having the right doctors in the right places delivering high quality healthcare to rural and remote communities. “When fully functional, these RGCUs will also enable ACRRM junior doctors and registrars to move easily between the hospital system, which is mostly run by state health services, and community-based clinics and services. “While we still have more to learn on their operational strategies, we are looking forward to continuing to be a part of the RGCU implementation process and developing a purpose-built training pipeline,” Dr McPhee says.

FIELD EMERGENCY MEDICAL OFFICER PROGRAM (FEMOP)

STATE HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN (SHERP)
The role of the Field Emergency Medical Officer (FEMO) program in any disaster is to assist in coordinating health resources, and provide support and advice to any in-field health personnel or other agencies.

The Field Emergency Medical Officer;

• Provides advanced medical and clinical advice to ambulance services
• Provides advanced medical care to patients
• Liaises with the Health Commander to determine the appropriate casualty receiving hospital(s)
• Assesses the need for, activates and manages VMAT (Victorian Medical Assistance Teams)
• Refers casualties to alternative care options (such as GPs)
• Manages health and medical volunteers
• The FEMO will usually be based near the scene of the disaster.

The program is auspiced by St Vincent’s Health and funded by the Victorian Government’s Department of Health. Contact: St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne 41 Victoria Parade Fitzroy VIC 3065. Reception: Tel: 03 9231 2211. Fax: 03 9231 3399

The State Health Emergency Response Plan (SHERP) outlines the arrangements for coordinating the health response to emergency incidents that go beyond day-to-day business arrangements. This includes mass casualty incidents and complex trauma events. SHERP provides scalable arrangements to manage pre-hospital and hospital responses to emergency incidents. SHERP identifies Victorian Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT) as an organisational element that supports this scalable response.

The requirement for VMAT assistance at the incident will be determined by the Incident Health Commander (Ambulance Victoria) on advice from the Field Emergency Medical Officer (FEMO). The FEMO will advise the Health Commander (Ambulance Victoria) of the need to request a VMAT.

Caches of VMAT equipment have been deployed to the following Gippsland Regional Trauma Centres: Central Gippsland Health– CGH Sale Campus and Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH -Traralgon).

As stated in SHERP, medical and nursing resources are required where:

• Transport will be delayed and extended care is required in the field
• A patient is unable to be moved and specialist clinical skills are required
• There are large numbers of patients who require specialist expertise (such as children)
• There are large numbers of low-acuity patients who could be discharged from the scene after medical assessment
• A temporary clinical facility (such as the Field Primary Care Clinic) requires staffing.

Primary Health Awards winners announced November 20, 2019

Gippsland Primary Health Network (Gippsland PHN) announced the winners of the 2019 Gippsland Primary Health Awards at its Annual General Meeting in Sale on November 20th. The awards recognise and honour individuals and teams who work together to bring better health to the Gippsland region and in its second year, exceeded all expectations with quality applications in four categories including: