Annual Report 2007 - Melbourne Sexual Health Centre

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OVERVIEWThe MSHC has been in operation since 1917 as aspecialised unit for the diagnosis and treatment of sexuallytransmissible infections (STIs). It is the only centre thatprovides full-time, free sexual health services to thepeople of Victoria. The Centre’s funding is assured underan agreement between the Commonwealth and StateGovernment. The services provided by MSHC includegeneral clinics for the management of STIs and a varietyof specialist clinics.The team of health care providers at MSHC includes26 doctors, 34 sexual health nurses, 2 counsellors, anda dietitian. The clinicians play an instrumental role inscreening and testing for STIs, STI prevention, educationand counselling. The health care team is supported by 17other staff members in administrative or clerical roles, ITsupport, 2 pharmacists and 3 medical scientists.As rates of STIs have increased in Victoria, so too hasdemand for the Centre’s services. MSHC has continuedto place importance on the provision of services thatmaximise access for members of the public. This hasbeen achieved through the continued provision of servicesthat are free of charge, have greater flexibility through theuse of walk-in triage and additional gains from clinicalefficiency. This will be further enhanced by the introductionof extra clinical services targeting men who have sex withmen (MSM), who currently constitute a major risk groupfor STIs in Victoria.One of MSHC’s key roles is to promote public healthand education. It aims to provide material that is freelyavailable to both the general public and health careproviders, particularly general practitioners (GPs).MSHC provides support to GPs as well as the publicthrough its recently updated web based services (www.mshc.org.au) and a free-call telephone service wherebyGPs can receive specialist clinical advice directly froma sexual health physician. The Centre also fulfils animportant role as a principal centre for the training ofhealth professionals in Victoria.The Sexual Health Unit of the University of Melbourneis situated at MSHC and conducts epidemiological,public health and clinical research aimed at improvingthe services offered at MSHC and public health morebroadly. In collaboration with the School of PopulationHealth the Centre offers a number of postgraduatecourses, postgraduate subjects and short courses insexual health.MSHC places a premium on the provision of high qualityservices that are responsive to client needs. To this end,the Centre is active in quality assurance activities, whichinclude an annual client satisfaction survey, where 98%of clients have consistently expressed satisifaction withthe service.Special services provided by MSHC:4• Medical care and community welfare support forpeople living with HIV• Colposcopy clinic for women with abnormal Pap tests• Vulval clinic for medical assessment and managementof women with vulval disorders• Dermatology clinic for specialist dermatologicalmanagement of genital skin disorders anddermatological conditions in HIV positive and negativeclients• Counselling services with qualified counsellors thatare available for individuals or couples withconcerns about sexual health and STIs, including HIV• Outreach services for street based sex workers andmen who attend sex on premises venues• On-site pharmacy• On-site laboratory service provided by the PublicHealth Laboratory - Microbiology Diagnostic Unit(PHL-MDU), University of Melbourne whichprovides assistance to clinicians to make sameday diagnoses and treatment
DIRECTOR’S REPORTWelcome to our 2007 annual report. We are veryfortunate to have an enormous depth of highly trainedand committed staff. For the forth year in a row we haveachieved outstanding results in our client satisfactionsurvey which fundamentally is a refection of our staff whohave yet again performed brilliantly. An added bonus wasthe staff survey which showed overwhelmingly that stafflike working here and providing an exceptional clinicalservice under considerable strain.The Centre also appreciates the importance of improvingSTI services throughout the state in addition to providingexcellent on site clinical services. In 2007 we made anumber of important additions to our IT services tostrengthen our support to the Victorian community.Welaunched the GPassist component of the web site (www.mshc.org.au/GPassist) which was a culmination of DrTomnay’s PhD studies. Our superb IT team captured theresearch findings and developed the GP assist web sitethat provides contact letters, treatment guidelines andclient brochures for all common STIs. Most laboratoryservices in Melbourne provide a link to this site on theirreports of positive test results for STIs. This providesGPs with immediate access to these tools at the exactmoment that they are seeing the client. The researchdemonstrated that GPs found the documents to be ofpractical value and were commonly used when providedin this way. In recognition for her contribution and thatof the IT team, the Centre received the 2007 VictorianHealthcare Award in the category of IT innovation.In 2007 we were also extremely pleased to launch ourcompletely rebuilt web page. After many long hoursand extraordinary efforts, our staff have created anoutstanding web page. It provides strong support topractitioners outside the centre with clinical photographs,case studies, videos of common procedures, treatmentguidelines and many other highly innovative onlinefeatures. It represents the culmination of the work ofmany highly dedicated, resourceful and imaginativeindividuals who have a common focus on improving thesexual health of Victorians. There is also an interactiveonline service for members of the public (Check your Risk:www.checkyourrisk.org.au), which enables individualsto receive automated online recommendations for STIscreeningMSHC continues to be one of Australia’s powerhousesfor STI research. This is in no small way a result of theenormous support provided by the Centre’s dedicatedclinical, IT and administrative workforce who provideunending support for innovation. In 2007 the Centrepublished more than 20 scientific articles and had fourresearch students complete their theses including threedoctoral students. The work these individuals undertookwas not ivory tower academic material, but has laid thefoundations for continued innervations in the provision ofservice excellence.Dr Tideman’s thesis for example has provided thenecessary data to allow the implementation in 2008 ofcomputer assisted interviewing that will both increase theefficiency and quality of the service the Centre provideswhile Dr Sidat’s work has improved the provision of HIVservices through the development of “Health Map” toassist clients with HIV (www.healthmap.org.au).The Centre and its staff received a number of importantawards in 2007. Dr Bradshaw was the recipient of oneof four highly prestigous L’Oreal For Women in Sciencefellowships. The Centre’s HIV service received theVictorian AIDS Councils Presidents award and the GPassist program the 2007 Victorian Healthcare Award forIT innovation. These awards highlight two things. Firstlythe calibre and commitment of the individuals who workat the Centre and secondly the Centre’s constant drivefor innovation to improve the efficiency and quality of theservice it provides. A clinical service that does not focuson improving, effectively moves slowly backwards.This year we celebrated the enormous contribution ofNilofar Rizvi, who after nearly three decades of dedicatedservice retired. We all have very fond memories of hertime at the centre and I in particular am grateful to her forher support since 2001 when I started.None of what we have achieved would be possiblewithout our staff. These individuals perform at a simplyastounding standard as evidenced by some of ourachievements above. I am immensely grateful to eachand every one of them, and to the Victorian Departmentof Human Services who fund this service, and to BaysideHealth whose support, year after year allows us to makethe contribution we do, to the health of our Victoriancommunity who we serve.5
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