A new program is being trialled in Condobolin, Forbes, and Parkes, to address local needs in primary health care. The Collaborative Care Program is a community-led planning approach to improve access to primary health care services. Primary health care includes general practice, primary care nurses, pharmacy, and allied health.

Collaborative Care is a joint initiative between Western NSW Local Health District, Western NSW Primary Health Network, NSW Rural Doctors Network, and many local stakeholders.

Wellington Digwa is the community contact for the Lachlan Valley project. He works with Western NSW Local Health District.

“I believe that people from the community are experts in their community. They have a better understanding of the challenges that their community face and they have lived experience of what works and doesn’t work,” he said.

As part community consultation, a virtual workshop is planned with community representatives from Forbes in the coming weeks.“I am planning face to face visits to the region to speak to more people who did not attend the workshops,” said Wellington.

“We want to consult with General Practitioners, practice managers, non-medical clinicians, allied health practitioners, local councils, and community representatives.”

The aim is to identify opportunities for service providers to strengthen services and to improve community health outcomes.“The partner organisations involved in the Collaborative Care Program are exploring better ways to deliver primary health care in the Lachlan Valley,” said Wellington.

“We need to engage communities to understand from their perspective the gaps and challenges in primary health care and how these can be addressed.”

The Collaborative Care Program received funding through the Australian Government and is expected to run until mid-2022.

The NSW Government is trialling Rapid Antigen Home Testing (RAHT) kits to reduce disruption at schools and halve the time close contacts need to isolate.

Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said a pilot program of the test kits would begin from this week.

“I want to see disruption to our students’ education from COVID reduced, while still keeping schools safe places to learn. This requires us to deploy every tool available to balance the risk,” Ms Mitchell said.

“We will be trialling the tests in two ways: a broad surveillance approach, along with close contact testing to reduce initial positive cases on school sites and reduce the amount of time close contact students need to spend away from school.”

The surveillance method will see the kits distributed by schools for use at home by staff and students who are asked to do a test twice a week as part of community surveillance.

“People with a positive result would need to follow up with a regular (PCR) test at a NSW Health testing centre and those who test negative will go on with their normal day-to-day routines assured that they are not infected or at risk of spreading the virus,” Ms Mitchell said.

Unvaccinated students who are close contacts of a positive case will also be able to reduce their isolation time by using the kits on a daily basis.

“NSW Health has advised us that close contacts of COVID positive cases will have their isolation period halved to seven days provided they receive a consistent negative result,” Ms Mitchell said.

BIG VAX UPDATE: Aboriginal people from across the WN-SWLHD have been queueing in record numbers since the Delta variant infected 60% of the indigenous population in the region and accounted for half of all Aboriginal deaths recorded. Photo courtesy of WNSWLHD.

COVID-19 vaccination rates for Aboriginal people in Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) are among the highest in NSW and continuing to climb, according to the latest data from the Australian Immunisation Register.

Among those who identify as Aboriginal in WNSWLHD, data until the end of October shows this demographic ahead by the state average by at least 10 per cent in single and double doses for adults and children 12-15yrs – a remarkable effort after what the region has endured.

Brendon Cutmore, WNSWLHD Executive Director of Aboriginal Health and Well-being, said he is very proud of how communities have responded to the need to get vaccinated, particularly after the latest Delta outbreak.

“Around 11 per cent of our District’s population identify as Aboriginal, yet we made up more than 60 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in this outbreak and sadly around half of the deaths recorded,” Mr Cutmore said.

“With the help of our Aboriginal Health Workers, community leaders and partners such as local Aboriginal Medical Services and Land Councils, our region has managed to bring the Delta outbreak under control and reach even some of our most remote communities with vaccine.”

Western NSW Local Health District are returning with the Australian Defence Force to deliver second doses of Pfizer and will be standing up clinic in Forbes tomorrow Saturday 30th October by invitation only. People who received their first vaccine doses at our previous Forbes ADF walk-in clinics will be contacted by Western NSW Local Health District by either text or telephone to confirm their second dose, as well as date, time and location of clinic.

The NSW Government is investing $21 million to expand the Aboriginal mental health and suicide prevention workforce as part of $131 million mental health recovery package. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Don Harwin said the four-year investment will allow for the recruitment of 18 FTE Aboriginal Care Navigators and 18 FTE Aboriginal Peer Workers across NSW.

Anna from Equine Osteopath NSW will be doing the rounds again across the region for those with horses or dogs that need attention.

If your horse suffers from reduced performance, gait issues, short stride, stiffness, reluctance to trot/ canter, problems with heads carriage or changes in behaviour – Anna at Equine Osteo can help.

Those interested in booking are encouraged to do so early. Dates for October are as follows:
• Eugowra/Forbes: Tuesday the 19th
• Cowra/Canowindra: Thursday the 21st
• Bathurst/O’Connell: Tuesday the 26th
• Dubbo: Thursday the 28th
• Orange: Every Wednesday

Current COVID rules apply. Masks and social distancing will still be required and full vaccination is encouraged for those who seek a consultation appointment.

If you’d like to book horses or dogs in for a treatment, call Anna 0469 949 131 or email anna.prins@hotmail.fr. Or visit the website www.equine-osteo.com.au