Parents in the south west say farewell to the innovative Parenting Support home service.  For the past two years, the program has been piloted through many towns in the south west with great results for participating families. 
 
This was a new service delivery model, aimed at providing home-based intensive parenting support to families. The goal was to help children aged 0-5 years (birth to school entry) to successfully achieve all significant health and developmental milestones and be ready for school.
The first few years of children’s lives are key to their development and provide a lasting foundation.  This time can also be overwhelming for families who are adjusting to a new way of life and may not have a support network around them. 
 
Edith Cowan University has conducted a two-part evaluation of the pilot program and has reported that the  program has successfully passed through an implementation stage to become well-accepted by referrers and clients. It recruited more clients than anticipated, has had a high level of client engagement, and is reported by clients to be delivering benefits to them and their families.
The pilot was funded by WACHS and developed by GP down south in conjunction with WACHS SW.  Services conclude on 31 March 2020.
 

The Australian Diabetes Educators Association Western Australian Branch hosted the state conference last week .  Over 125 delegates registered for the two-day conference, which was held in Bunbury.

GP down south sponsored the Networking Evening on Friday the 13th and the Chronic Conditions team were in attendance at the conference with a display table, advising diabetes educators about the range of services we provide. 

Program Coordinator, Nicola Hilyard, said that the conference was extremely successful, providing excellent education opportunities for staff along with networking with delegates. 
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You can find information on how we can help you with your diabetes or other chronic conditions here.

An equal world is an enabled world.
Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day.

We can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women's achievements.
Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world. 

This was the message shared with 15 women on Friday 6th March at an IWD workshop event hosted by Down South Aboriginal Health.  The women enjoyed information presented on cervical and breast cancer, health and wellbeing.  They got together to  celebrate women’s achievement and talk about the importance of International Women’s Day.
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The best dressed lady received a bunch of flowers and only lucky attendee got the door prize hamper which was donated by a local business. 
Let's all be #EachforEqual.
The 2020 #EachforEqual campaign runs all year long. It doesn't end on International Women's Day.

More than 50 GP down south staff came together from near and far, for a whole of organisation development day held on Friday 14 February in Mandurah.
 
The day commenced with Malcolm Dix delivering BULLSHIFT a thought provoking, humorous and entertaining presentation to help people get more openness, honesty and straight talk at work through effective communication and teamwork, which was well received by all involved. For the afternoon segment the team was joined by Jess Vati from Street Net who led everybody in an energising, uniting and mindful drumming session.

Rob Pollard has joined GP down south as a Social Worker for the Peel Youth Medical Service (PYMS). Robs role will be a pivotal component to support the GP’s and nurses as well as the counselling and psychology services already provided by PYMS.

Rob will work closely with the PYMS staff and the young person to support the best possible health outcomes for the individuals.

GP down south appreciates the funding support from WAPHA which has enabled the implementation of such a vital component of PYMS services.

GP down south’s application for the Grant was successfully submitted in December to have an external Community AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) placed at the Peel Health Hub.

An AED is fully automatic and has simple audible and visual commands that anyone could use. If someone calls 000 they can be guided to the nearest Defibrillator, St John will give them a code to open the cabinet and from there commence using the Defibrillator. The call will also trigger St John to have an ambulance attend the site.

We are pleased to announce this has now been delivered, installed to the exterior of the Peel Health Hub and registered with St John. Placement of the cabinet is near the Main Foyer entry which is the most accessible position for community members to find.

There is a St John First Responder app that can be downloaded to your smart phones via Apple or Google Play Store that will give you access to the nearest Defibrillators, Medical Centres and handy tips and if you register yourself as a First Responder, will notify you when someone within 500 metres is in need of your assistance. To find out more, we encourage you to look at this link: https://stjohnwa.com.au/lifegoeson/app

At our Annual General Meeting held on 29 November 2019, directors said farewell to Dr Mostyn Hamdorf who retired from his long-standing position on the GP down south Board and welcomed new director Dr Russell Wallis.

We would like to thank Mostyn for his leadership and valuable contribution as director and former long term Chairman of the Organisation.

Dr Russell Wallis was elected unopposed to the Board and we look forward to his insights as a practicing GP in the Bunbury region.  Dr Russell has recently completed a project term with our Organisation as GP within the Chronic Conditions Care Coordination Service based at Bunbury Regional Hospital and we are delighted to welcome him back as a member of the Board.

Dr Mark Monaghan was also elected unopposed to the role of director bringing with him an extensive knowledge of emergency medicine.  Ms Tricia Scaffidi and Ms Kirsten Cadle were both appointed by the Board as directors following the AGM for further terms.

Dr Rupert Backhouse, GP,  is continuing as Chairman of the Board with David Barton taking on the role of Deputy Chairman and Tricia Scaffidi continuing her role as Company Secretary. 

Above: Dr Russell Wallis joins the GP down south Board.