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Introduction: Employment of occupational therapists in generic roles in public mental health services (PMHSs) constrains capacity to undertake discipline‐specific activity meaning consumers may be unable to access valuable occupational therapy assessments and interventions that could promote recovery. Establishing a dedicated occupational therapy clinic has been identified as one way of improving care provided and outcomes for organisations, therapists, and consumers. To inform such developments, this paper reports evaluation of feasibility, acceptability, and sustainability of a pilot clinic established within a PMHS. Methods: An observational evaluation was used combining quantitative and qualitative data collected from service documents, clinic records, and in semi‐structured interviews with 42 stakeholders. Quantitative data were used to describe referrals and flow through the clinic. Framework analysis of qualitative data examined the process and outcomes of referrals and enabled understanding of acceptability, perceived impact and areas for improvement. Results: Substantial ground work, particularly stakeholder engagement, and redistribution of resources enabled establishment and successful operation of an assessment clinic for 12 months. Assessments were completed for 68% of the 100 accepted referrals, with the remainder in process or unable to be completed. Stakeholders agreed that the clinic enabled clinicians' timely access to specialist assessment, improving care for consumers. Occupational therapists valued the opportunity to deploy and develop discipline‐specific skills and when there was some impact on work flow of occupational therapists' 'home teams', team managers judged the investment worthwhile. Strong leadership by the discipline lead and support from team managers who enabled allocation of occupational therapists to the clinic were critical to success. Conclusion: An occupational therapy assessment clinic can be established and operate successfully within a public mental health setting. Redistribution of resources supported increased efficiency and consumer access to specialist interventions that support their recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SHPA thanks its Opioid Advocacy Working Group for their contributions to this paper and the original report: Jane Booth, Thuy Bui, Annabel Calder, Christine Coorey, Michael Dooley, Paul Firman, Kerry Fitzsimons, Marisa Hodgkinson, Jacinta Johnson, Margaret Jordan, Miriam Lawrence, Daniel Lim, Duncan McKenzie, Peter Samios, Benita Suckling, Penelope Tuffin and Jason Waddell, supported by Johanna de Wever, Jerry Yik, Courtney Munro and Maria Khokhar from the SHPA secretariat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is strong rationale for improving care for people with chronic conditions, including osteoarthritis (OA). Successful implementation of healthcare reform requires new concepts and directions that are strongly supported by policy, new models of care (service redesign) and changes in day-to-day practice (healthcare provider and patient practice). In this paper we discuss the extent to which policy about management of OA of the hip and knee has been translated into new service models in Australia. A structured search of government and other key health websites in Australia was performed to identify policy, funding initiatives and new services models for managing OA of the hip and knee. This search was supported by a literature review. Musculoskeletal conditions were designated a National Health Priority in Australia in 2002. Under the Better Arthritis and Osteoporosis Care initiative, Australia has developed a national policy for OA care and national evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for management of OA of the hip and knee. Only two well-described examples of new chronic disease management service models, the Osteoarthritis Clinical Pathway (OACP) model and the Osteoarthritis Hip and Knee Service (OAHKS) were identified. Primarily focused within acute care public hospital settings, these have been shown to be feasible and acceptable but have limited data on clinical impact and cost-effectiveness. While policy is extant, implementation has not been systematic and comprehensive. Clinicians have evidence-based recommendations for OA management but are poorly supported by service models to deliver these effectively and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A core consideration in the care of Indigenous patients at the end of life is their place of death. Dying in community can be of paramount importance to Indigenous people. This paper reports the experiences of the Top End Palliative Care Service with respect to the barriers and solutions in the return of Indigenous patients to community for end-of-life care. These barriers include not only those associated with the significant distances and remoteness in the Northern Territory but, also, spiritual and cultural factors, which often influence healthcare delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports related to emergency medicine published within the issue on topics including the use of analgesia intervention in improving patient satisfaction and emergency department (ED) pain management, the ED services in Victoria and the production of emergency physicians in Australasia.

Objective The objective of this study was to compare rates of hospital utilisation in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples before and after hospital admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods This was a longitudinal cohort study from 2002 to 2014, which was conducted in all hospitals in Western Australia. The participants of this study were Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients with a principal diagnosis of heart failure, type 2 diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, on admission to hospital, where such an event had not occurred in the previous 3 years. Inpatient days and ED presentations were the main outcome measures. Results Among the patients with chronic disease, Aboriginal people have similar inpatient days for all causes compared to non-Aboriginal people. However, they have much higher ED presentations in comparison. Age of onset of cardinal events occurs 15-20 years earlier in Aboriginal patients with chronic disease. Although age has little influence on ED presentations in non-Aboriginal chronic disease patients, younger Aboriginal people with chronic disease present far more often to ED than older Aboriginal people. Conclusions Aboriginal people use health services in a different manner when compared to non-Aboriginal people. In a subset of patients with chronic disease, high use may be reduced with better access to primary healthcare. Policy-makers and healthcare providers should examine healthcare use from primary to tertiary care among the Aboriginal population, with a particular focus on ED presentations; investigate the underlying causes driving specific patterns of health service utilisation among Aboriginal people; and develop interventions to reduce potential deleterious impacts, and enhance the potential benefits, of specific patterns of healthcare use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To examine how the rates of the use of particular face-to-face primary mental health care services changed in the first 4 years (2006-2010) of the Better Access initiative in both urban and rural regions of South Australia. Design Time-series analysis of the number of psychology session, psychiatry assessment and general practitioner care plan services recorded in Medicare Australia data. Setting South Australia. Pre-existing data set of South Australian residents who accessed Medicare between 2006 and 2010 Main objective measure Number of services per 100 000 population (service rate). Results Psychology session service rates increased in all regions, but continued to follow a 'location gradient', being higher in areas closer to Adelaide and lower in areas more distant from Adelaide. Psychiatry assessment service rates increased in Adelaide but did not change in other regions. Rates in remote areas were subject to substantial variation over time. General practitioner care plan service rates increased in Adelaide and in the Riverland, but declined in the Murray Mallee region. Conclusions Overall, service rates increased in Adelaide and nearby regions, but the results for rural and remote regions were mixed. Possible explanations for the geographical variability include population characteristics (such as socio-economic status), methods of service delivery (visiting practitioners, telepsych), the relative proportion of total health services provided by general practitioners versus other practitioners, or real variations in the need for primary mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are at risk of having developmental problems go undetected prior to starting school, and missing out on early intervention. Our aim was to explore the family and service characteristics, beliefs and experiences that influence the journey of families from CALD backgrounds in accessing developmental surveillance (DS) and early intervention services in south‐eastern Sydney, Australia. Design, setting and participants: This qualitative study used in‐depth interviews conducted with 13 parents from CALD backgrounds and 27 health and early childhood professionals in Sydney. The Andersen Behavioural Model of Health Service Use (BM) was the underlying theoretical framework for thematic analysis. Results and discussion: Family and service knowledge about early childhood development (ECD), community attitudes, social isolation and English language proficiency were dominant themes that impacted on the probability of families accessing services in the first place. Those that impeded or facilitated access were resources, extended family and social support, information availability, competing needs, complex service pathways and community engagement. There were variable practices of early detection through DS. Children from CALD backgrounds with developmental problems were perceived to miss out on DS and early intervention despite language delay being a key issue identified by participants. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of increased community and family awareness and professional training in ECD; better coordination of health and early childhood services, with simpler referral pathways to early intervention to prevent children from CALD backgrounds ‘slipping through the net’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic skin disorder characterised by fragility and blistering of skin and mucous membranes. Skin can blister and shear away from minimal friction, trauma and every day activities. The disease causes a wide range of complications but wound care is the major challenge to severe EB, and good wound care is an essential part of wound management. The goal of wound care was to choose a product that protects the fragile skin, limits friction, decreases pain and promotes healing. However, access to wound dressings for those people living with EB is challenging. This article discusses the availability of EB dressings in a number of countries around the world and also describes an innovative National Epidermolysis Bullosa Dressings Scheme (NEBDS) in Australia, which aims to improve the quality of life of people with EB, by reducing the financial burden associated with the provision of dressings accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The objective of this study was to assess the implementation of a novel ED model of care, which combines clinical streaming, team-based assessment and early senior consultation to reduce length of stay. Methods A pre-post-intervention study was used to compare ED performance following an extensive clinical redesign programme. Clinical teams and work sequences were reconfigured to promote the role of the staff specialist, with a focus on earlier decisions regarding disposition. Primary outcome measures were ED length of stay and National Emergency Access Target (NEAT) compliance. Secondary outcomes included referral and workup times, wait times by triage category, ambulance offload times, ward discharges and unit transfers within 24 h of admission, representation within 48 h, and Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) calls within 24 h of admission. Results Two seasonally matched 26 week intervals were compared with adjustment for demographics, triage category and arrival by ambulance. Overall, there was an 18.4% rise in NEAT performance (95% confidence interval ( CI): 17.7-19.1) while ED length of stay decreased by a total of 86.8 min (95% CI: 83.6-90.1). Time series analysis did not suggest any preexisting trends to explain these results. The average time to referral decreased by 74.7 min (95% CI: 69.8-79.6) and waiting times decreased across all triage categories. Rates of MERT activation and unplanned representation were unchanged. Conclusion A facilitated team leader role for senior doctors can help to reduce length of stay by via early disposition, without significant risks to the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]