Report of Operations - South West Alliance of Rural Health

Service Achievements 2008-201113DentalAdvocacy for outreach dentalservices has resulted in researchbeing conducted by the Dept ofHealth in Apollo Bay and Lorne todetermine dental health needs inschool children.Results indicate that many ApolloBay children are not receivingregular dental care.A mobile dental service for Lorne,Apollo Bay and Winchelsea hasbeen included in the Oral HealthPlan for the Barwon South WestRegion.‘Smiles for Miles’ is a smallfunded dental hygiene programintroduced for Preschool childrenby Otway Health staff that hasbeen implemented in ApolloBay and Lavers Hill. The OtwayHealth Service Directory nowincludes information about howto access public dental services inColac.MedicalProvision of 24/7 cover in UrgentCare Unit has been maintainedand improved accommodationhas been provided for permanentGeneral Practitioners contractedto Otway HealthA Chronic Disease ManagementService was established 2009utilising Community HealthNurse. Emergency Asthmaeducation has been provided forschool students in our catchmentand in Colac (as there is a largecatchment of older students thatattend Colac Trinity College).Specific Programs include:WorkHealth Screening Program,WorkHealth Program for OtwayHealth Staff, LIFE! DiabetesProgram for pre-diabetesparticipants.The Better HealthSelf Management Program hasbeen introduced to assist thoseliving with Chronic Disease tounderstand and manage theirsymptoms. Most chronic diseasemanagement programs and fallsprevention programs require GPreferral or clearance and thuspartnerships between primarycare staff and GPs are paramountto the success of programs.The location of the newAmbulance station on site, with apermanent paramedic stationedin Apollo Bay, has resulted in thedevelopment of a good workingrelationship and the provision ofeducation to the nurses for theUrgent Care Unit. The UrgentCare Unit and Nurses Station hasbeen upgraded to provide greatersecurity and privacy for nursingstaff.Clinical training has beenimplemented through the agedcare channel and SOLLE, anonline learning program andlinks have been made with Lornecommunity hospital for advancedlife support training.Service IntergrationFalls prevention assessment andprograms are provided to the frailaged residents by communityservices staff. Integration ofservices for falls prevention in thecommunity was undertaken aspart of a partnership project withHesse Rural Health and funded bythe DHS ‘Make a Move’ funding.An integrated Maternity Serviceis provided to mothers with newbabies in Apollo Bay and includesthe services of a lactationconsultant, provision of deliveredmeals and home care services aswell as maternal and child healthnursing services.The Active Service Modelmandated by Department ofHealth is being implemented inthe HACC team which improvesservice pathways for better clientoutcomes and utilises servicesoutside the HACC Team. G21Service Coordination Projectreviewed referral and progressupdate pathways for servicecoordination and resulted ininternal and external caseconferencing mechanisms.Multidisciplinary CaseConferences occur: Six weeklywith Apollo Bay General PracticeGPs, Six weekly with internalprimary healthcare team andMonthly via Clinical AdvisoryCommittee Quality Workgroup.