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Caroline Brettingham-Moore
News Articles
General practice nurses’ roles not being fulfilled
THE Government’s proposed practice nurse incentive will have little impact on the use of practice nurses in general practice, unless there is a cultural shift away from traditional beliefs about their role, new research has found. The study, conducted by researchers at the Australian National University and Melbourne East General Practice Network, found practice nurses were not being used to their full potential due to hierarchical structures in general practice. The three-year study of 25 general practices revealed that despite MBS rebates being available to practice nurses, only 6% of nurse activities generated such a fee. ...
Rural practice a family-friendly move
JUNIOR female GPs have been urged to consider working in rural Australia as a family-friendly alternative. WA-based GP Dr Rebekah Adams, herself a young mother, will next week address delegates at the 11th National Rural Health Conference in Perth on the issue of young female GPs delaying their plans to start a family in order to build a career in general practice. According to Dr Adams, while it may not be “the norm yet”, some rural Australian towns were leading the way in providing well-supported, flexible practices for young mothers. “I had basically been told in ...
Patients flood in for chlamydia screening trial
A PHARMACY-BASED chlamydia screening program – which offered young patients $10 to provide a urine sample for testing – has proven a major success, with researchers collecting 900 samples in just one month. The pilot program, a collaboration between the University of Canberra, Australian National University and ACT Health, was intended to run over six months. But the collection phase was declared closed after just one month when researchers met their target, five months early. Lead researcher Professor Rhian Parker said she was “astonished” by the results. “The lab certainly hadn’t expected all these samples ...
Staying home won’t cure predicted aged care shortfall
DOCTORS have warned against keeping older Australians in their homes longer as a solution to a predicted 279,000 shortfall in residential aged care places by 2050. The warning follows a new report by Access Economics, revealing the scale of the shortage faced by healthcare providers as Australia’s population ages. AMA aged care spokesperson Dr Wayne Herdy said if a Productivity Commission recommendation in the report that aged patients be kept in their own homes longer was adopted by government, it would create “even greater problems with healthcare for older Australians”. Dr Herdy said the commission’s recommendations did not consider ...
Misconduct 20 years ago catches up with GP
A NSW GP has been suspended for six months after being found guilty of inappropriately supplying narcotics and developing an inappropriate relationship with a patient and her family. Dr Elizabeth Millard was found guilty of professional misconduct last month for the offences, which occurred more than two decades ago, between 1986 and 1989. According to evidence presented by the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC), Dr Millard became attached to the patient and her family because she “yearned for the comfort of family ties”. Dr Millard stayed overnight at the patient’s house on two occasions, and ...