The role of the Queensland Strategy for Chronic Disease 2005-2015 Steering Committee (QSCD SC) is to oversee the implementation of the Strategy and to provide strategic direction and advice to the Strategy sponsor
Specific responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the processes associated with the implementation of the Strategy and providing key recommendations as required;
• Ensuring that the implementation of the Strategy aligns with stakeholder needs and expectations;
• Identifying and providing advice about key issues that may require resolution, particularly those may emanate from the broader environment and may impact on the success of the implementation of the Strategy;
• Monitoring implementation to ensure alignment with the Strategy and that agreed deliverables are achieved; and
• Actively supporting and advocating for implementation of the Strategy, including communicating with relevant members/stakeholders in a transparent manner.

Development and adaptation of program components (eg, program modules)

Meetings held quarterly. Next meeting date to be advised

The scope of the Community Health Services Reform Project is to review:

• All community health services that are funded by or through Queensland Health; and
• The interface of Queensland Health and other health services.

The Terms of Reference for the Advisory Council are as follows:

• Provide advice to the Community Health Services Reform Project Team and Project Management Committee in relation to developing strategic directions and reforms for community health and ambulatory care services in Queensland;
• Establish smaller working groups if required that address specific issues to progress the work of the Reform Project within the prescribed time frames;
• Provide information for the various reports/ papers including the broad strategic directions paper and the issues papers on existing services;
• Provide advice on the options for reform in the final report to the Project Management Committee.

Representative

•  Discussion of current Community Health Services infrastructure and interstate initiatives and areas of reform.

The roles and responsibilities of the group are to provide high level advice in relation to:

• All policy, planning and implementation activities for the establishment and implementation of the Primary Health Care Partnership Councils at a state wide level;
• All policy, planning and implementation responses to the Government’s agenda on strengthening primary health care though partnerships with the Divisions of General Practice and other non-Government agencies aimed at reducing the burden of chronic disease on the health system;
• Identifying those Partnership Councils eligible for Incentive Program and Innovation funds to deliver initial priorities and initiatives in September, 2007 and then again in March, 2008;
• The review of the 20 Partnership Councils in 2009; and
• Policy, planning and implementation responses to the 2009 review of the Partnership Councils.  

Dr John Kastrissios, GPQ
Ms Ann Maree Liddy, GPQ

For more information about the CHIC Initiative please visit www.chicpartnerships.com.au 

TBA

Established to guide the implementation of the Map of Medicine for use within Queensland Health facilities. The scope of the committee examines the referral processes between General Practitioners and Queensland Health Specialist Outpatient Services.

The release of the Government Response to Re-birthing: Report of the Review of Maternity Services in Queensland has provided the framework for reform and endorsement of a range of priorities and strategies which target specific challenges in the current maternity system.

These priorities include: poor outcomes among babies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, care for women in rural and remote areas, lack of post natal care in the community and the transition from hospital to community care and recruitment and retention of the maternity care workforce.

The purpose of the group is to provide a forum for consultation and communication with stakeholders regarding the progression of the reform agenda.

• Issues of concern relating to Maternity Services for health service providers and health service recipients
• Feedback provided regarding proposed service changes

• Thursday 4 December 2008

Meetings held quarterly, next meeting TBA

The purpose of this Ministerial Taskforce is to review the current and future issues, as well as to provide advice to the Minister for Health on mechanisms to enhance the medical staffing, education and training and the provision of sustainable medical services in targeted facilities in Queensland.

For the purpose of the Taskforce, regional hospitals are taken to mean – Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg and Hervey Bay Hospitals.

The objectives of the Taskforce are as follows:

• Document the current medical staffing levels, specialty, qualifications, and seniority mix and long standing vacancies within these hospitals.
• Document current local medical capacity particularly at specialist levels.
• Identify specific medical staffing issues for each hospital including recruitment, medical staff turnover, retention and training.
• Identify local initiatives to address medical staffing.
• Identify barriers to expanding local medical training places at intern through to specialist level.
• Review local medical leadership strengths and weaknesses.
• Identify factors impacting on current medical staff workload including overtime, fatigue and on-call.
• To identify from the current medical staff what attracted them to place of work, what keeps them there and what would make them leave.
• To recommend approaches to improving the capability and capacity of medical staffing in regional hospitals including approaches to better engaging private specialists not currently involved in the public hospital system.

Preparation of a preliminary report is required by the end of January, 2009. Final report due by end of April 2009.

As key partners in the implementation of the Queensland Strategy for  Chronic Disease 2005-2015, the Non-government Chronic Disease Leadership Team (NGCDLT) aims to:

• Provide statewide leadership, coordination and support to the implementation of chronic disease prevention and management strategies;
• Build the evidence base for chronic disease prevention and management through the development, implementation and evaluation of models of intervention and service delivery;
• Support local planning processes to identify strategies in priority areas at the local and regional level;
• Facilitate and support the development and maintenance of regional and local health and community service provider partnerships;
• Work with regional partnerships and local health and community services to support the integration and development of chronic disease prevention and management services and programs for the Queensland community;
• Provide an interface between community-based and government implementation strategies; and
• Other initiatives as determined by the Chronic Disease Steering Committee

A Queensland Children’s Hospital – General Practice interface group was established in mid 2007 for the development phase of the Queensland Children’s Hospital (2007-2011)

The terms of reference for the group are as follows:

• Act as a main link between the QCH program development team and General Practice;
• Help monitor, guide and provide ongoing input in to the development of the QCH Health Service Plan;
• Support the development of integrated and appropriate models of care between QCH and general practice in the treatment of children and adolescents;
• Work with the QCH program team to develop and monitor communication and information management systems between QCH and General Practice; and
• Identify opportunities for joint research, education and training

To ensure effective implementation of the CoAG National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006-2011, it was agreed that the Premiers or Chief Ministers department in each State and Territory convene a CoAG Mental Health Group, which will report to CoAG Senior Officials. The groups will provide a forum for oversight and collaboration on how the diverse initiatives put forward by the Commonwealth, State and Territories will fit together and be delivered as a coordinated package. The QLD CoAG Mental Health Group has two objectives:

Ms Ann Maree Liddy, GPQ

General Practice Queensland is also represented on a number of the QLD CoAG Mental Health Group Subgroups:

• Care Coordination (TBA)
• Rural and Remote (Ms Ann Maree Liddy, GPQ)
• Suicide Prevention (TBA)

• Uptake and coverage rates for health workers versus residents of aged care facilities
• Current strategies used by residential aged care providers to promote coverage
• Access to flu vaccination providers/ services
• Target groups – utilisation of agency staff
• Literature available – awareness and promotion strategies
• Myths among health care workers
• Follow up survey of residential aged care providers currently underway

• TBA

• Ongoing monitoring and advice regarding strategies for achieving the Centre’s mission and objectives
• Identification of opportunities in research and education to enhance and add value to palliative care services in Queensland
• Ensuring the highest standards of research governance
• Maintaining a close relationship with consortium members and the palliative care community

TBA

The study aims to answer the question – ‘Does early notification to Public Health Units reduce the extent and/or duration of GI outbreaks in Residential Care Facilities (RCFs)?’

Additionally, data on use of control measure and other possible outbreak modifiers will be collected and analysed to identify other factors that might affect duration and extent of outbreaks.  

• Factors that modify the extent and duration of GI outbreaks in RCFs
• Retrospective data review
• Outbreak identification, notification and intervention
• Outbreak closure and analysis 

The Phase Two roll-out of the EDS project is commencing in November 2008 and should be completed by April 2009.  There are eight hospitals involved in Phase Two – Gold Coast, Robina, Cairns Base, Toowoomba Base, Ipswich, RBWH, RCH and Nambour.  GPQ is continuing to provide advice and liaise closely with the EDS team during the implementation phase. 

11:00am, 14 November 2008

Project 1: Emergency Departments and Older People
Background: To identify and implement strategies to improve the care of older people accessing Emergency Departments.

Project 2: Developing a standardised assessment process for people over 75 years of age.
Background: To ensure that the broader care needs of acutely ill older people are identified at or before hospital admission, and appropriate steps are put in place to address those needs. 

• Tool development – screening and triage
• Development of care pathways
• Development and implementation of a training program
• Demand management strategies. 

The purpose of the network is to:

• Improve the quality of dementia services
• Develop an open and supportive environment for clinicians and other government and non-government personnel involved in the care of dementia patients
• Foster education and research. 

• Access to web based system
• Assessment tools
• Database development
• Consume resources
• Research 

TBA 

The Statewide Diabetes Clinical Network was convened in 2005 and is a multidisciplinary collaboration. Members share a common goal for a coordinated statewide approach to identify gaps between evidence and practice in order to improve aspects of patient care.

• Development of an Inala Chronic Disease Management Service
• Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating and QLD Type 1 Group
• Ambulatory based community project to manage patients with diabetes at risk of developing foot complications
• Standardised Paediatric Diabetes Ketoacidosis Treatment Protocol
• Improving clinical practice through delivery of an education program for health care providers involved in the care of people with diabetes
• Improving outcomes for Far North QLD women with diabetes in pregnancy/gestational diabetes
• Improving outcomes of diabetes in pregnant women and their babies (Statewide)
• Diabetes transition project – from paediatric to adult care

Monthly-every 2 months

• Provision of assistance with development of statewide service plans
• Review and advice on the implementation of service improvement initiatives
• Definition of targets for improvement
• Identification of appropriate clinical indicators for monitoring
• Development of strategies to achieve service improvement
• Review and authorisation of evidence-based standards of care

• Reducing variation in practice – clinical pathways, evidence-based models for care
• Stroke care standards in Queensland Health facilities
• Dysphagia screening within 24 hours of presentation to hospital
• Data collection

TBA

• Standards
• Quality
• Planning
• Workforce
• Research
• Clinical Information Systems
• Advisory

The role of the Queensland Pandemic Expert Advisory Group (QPEAG) is:

• To advise the Manager, Communicable Diseases Unit, on appropriate policy and planning issues in relation to preventing and managing potential outbreaks of infectious diseases;
• As the nominated representative of their discipline, liaise as necessary, on relevant issues with their peers; and
• Identify extra expertise as necessary to respond to arising issues.

• Pandemic Influenza Planning project progress
• Draft anti-viral stockpile plan
• Population Health Service Pandemic Planning progress
• Avian influenza update
• Review of the QPEAG Terms of Reference and membership list

TBA

Perinatal and infant mental health is a key action area for Mental Health Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention under the Queensland Plan for Mental Health 2007-2017 and as such the Statewide Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Advisory Group has been established.

The Advisory Group focuses on mental health issues in the antenatal and perinatal periods and on the mental health and development of infants and young children 0-5 years and the mental health of their families.

• Clinical Services Capability Framework for Mental Health.
• Statewide Model for Mental Health services delivery.

• 19 November 2008
• 17 December 2008

QPMHCC membership consists of representatives from government, non-government, general practice, consumer and professional organisations. The mission of the Collaborative is to form stronger links between member stakeholders around primary mental health care issues. It aims also to:

• Provide a forum for discussion of key primary mental health care issues and priorities,
• Identify opportunities for partnership,
• Promote a shared commitment to collaboration,
• Understand and respect each others roles and perspectives. 

The QPMHCC is the statewide reference group for the Partners in Mind (PIM) project and is currently overseeing the PIM Framework demonstration project across seven District Mental Health Services/ Divisions of General Practice sites in Queensland.

A number of Working Groups have been established to progress the work of QSMA, including:

• Member’s Needs – identifying the needs of members, coordinating a member’s forum;
• Policies & Procedures – developing templates, policies and procedures for QSMA business;
• Communication – developing a strategic communication plan to support QSMA’s strategic direction and work;
• Strategic Partnerships and Alliances – identifying key stakeholders to partner with in order to progress QSMA priorities for self-management in QLD

Monthly meetings held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.

Ms Cathy Beck, GPQ
Ms Karen Hale-Robertson, GPQ (proxy)

General Practice Queensland is also represented on a number of the QLD Statewide Mental Health Group Subgroups:

• Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention (Mrs Tonita Taylor)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Mrs Karen Hale-Robertson)
• Eating Disorders (GPQ has organised GP representation via GPpartners)
• Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (GPQ has organised GP representation via GPpartners)

Committee: Statewide Anaesthesia & Perioperative Care Clinical Network

Background

The Network aims to achieve a coordinated, yet flexible strategy that supports local workplace activities and targets service improvements that lead to efficient quality patient care. 

The Network will address service improvement, planning and delivery of services and associated workforce issues. 

Additionally, the Network will provide support for clinicians to achieve change at a local Health Service District/community level and will in the future develop and promote clinical research activities and sponsor the development of relevant clinical information systems.

Current Issues

• Terms of Reference for the Network
• Standardised forms
• Standardised procedures
• Clinical indicators

Meeting Dates

• 9 December 2008