Gold Coast Medical Community / Medical Network / Medical Conferences

A NOTE FROM THE GCMA PRESIDENT

June 2022

Dear GCMA Colleagues,

We are now getting to half way through this year.  Time moves on so fast!  The GCMA continues to provide independent commentary on current medical and health matters and is sought out as a reliable source of public and professional information. 

Our monthly dinner meeting speakers program has been a great success so far this year.  In April Prof David Ellwood, Medical Dean gave us an update on the Griffith University Health Program and in May we had Prof Simon Broadley speak on new developments in Multiple Sclerosis.  Did you know that a vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus is likely to prevent most cases of MS?  I did not, but Simon gave a convincing case that this is the next step in preventing this debilitating condition.  This month (June) we have Prof Peter Silburn give us an update on the treatment of Parkinson’ disease. 

From July onwards we hope to have interesting presentations from Dr David Green (Emergency Medicine), Dr Rhea Laing (breast surgery and encouraging diversity in the RACS), Dr Hanlon Sia (new hematology and oncology clinical trials), Dr Hal Rice (radiology), and we hope our new Governor, Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM, will accept our invitation to join us later this year.  We are nearing the final stages of planning a GCMA Gala Social Event for November for members and partners.  Keep a lookout for more about this later in The Medical Link and in email distributions.

Planning for our Pacific Island joint conference with the local Samoan Medical Association and medical schools continues.  The meeting will be held in Apia, Samoa in late September 2023.  I hope many GCMA members will offer their services as speakers for this meeting.  A ‘fact finding’ tour of Samoa is being planned for later in 2022 to begin local planning for this conference.  Any GCMA member who is interested in participating in this preparation visit is welcome to be involved.  Please contact A/Prof Stephen Weinstein (stephenweinstein@bigpond.com) or me for details.  

We are always looking to expand our membership.  I encourage you to invite your doctor colleagues to join the GCMA.  It is very easy to do.  Just go to the GCMA website (www.gcma.org.au) and click through to the ‘Become a Member’ page to join.  The registration page can take credit card payments.  The $150 annual membership is extremely good value.  It covers 10 monthly evening meetings where salient updates on clinical and professional matters are presented as well as a two-course meal and complimentary beverage, and the opportunity to interact with colleagues from all professional disciplines. 

I am so pleased we have had two junior colleagues join our GCMA executive team – Dr Cassie Joyce (now our treasurer) and Dr Amy Doumany.  These two excellent doctors will give the GCMA a connection to our junior colleagues and a path to the future.

I look forward to seeing you at our next GCMA meeting.

Yours sincerely,

Prof Philip Morris AM President GCMA

 

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A note from the gcma president
MARCH 2021

Dear Colleagues, the GCMA is ‘up and running' in 2021! We had our first Thursday evening meeting in February. A packed audience (well, as much as Covid restrictions allow) listened to our three speakers on ‘Travel in the Covid-19 era’. 

Dr Simon Thatcher gave a medical review of what will be needed for travel including vaccines and other precautions when considering local and international travel. Mr Chris Mills, CEO of Queensland Airports spoke about commercial aviation challenges and the opening of regional ‘travel bubbles’. Mr Andy Von Zeppelin spoke about the potential reopening of cruising and international travel and travel insurance arrangements. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the optimism of the speakers about international travel resuming, at least to regional destinations (New Zealand, Pacific Island nations, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong for example) in the second half of 2021. We shall see. I guess it will all depend on the rollout of the vaccinations in Australia and international destination countries.  

Talking about vaccination, it seems that the vaccination needs of our local specialist medical practitioners and their practice staff, as well as other community health workers not attached to general practices or Queensland Health, has been overlooked, at least for the moment. All these individuals will be classified as ‘1b’ in the vaccination priority list. But advice or guidelines about when these health workers will be vaccinated in the 1b rollout is not clear.

On further investigation, it seems that these individuals will have to pursue several different strategies to get vaccinated against Covid-19. They may approach their general practitioner for vaccination. Or, arrange to visit a respiratory clinic (there are four on the Gold Coast) to be vaccinated. Or, take advantage of the Queensland Health Hospital and Health Service vaccination program focusing on immunizing health workers more broadly in the community when this service becomes available. Or, finally, asking for vaccination through local private hospitals they might be affiliated with. I hope as vaccine supplies improve and more locations for vaccination become available that our medical colleagues and their staff can be immunized as soon as possible.

This month (March) is the GCMA Annual General Meeting and Annual Dinner. The meeting will be held on 18 March at Southport Golf Club. The dinner will have a South Pacific Island theme with three speakers talking about health service and medical education partnership opportunities for the GCMA in the South Pacific. The menu and beverages will have a Pacific Island theme too. And a Polynesian Duo singing traditional and popular Pacific Island songs will entertain us. I look forward to seeing you there.

The next meeting in April will cover the health of indigenous and first nation peoples. This dinner meeting will be on Thursday 22 April. Please make a note in your diary to reserve the date. You will be very welcome.

Please remember memberships of the GCMA are now due for renewal. Please go to the GCMA website to renew your membership, or send us your membership subscription by electronic funds transfer (EFT) to our GCMA General Account at our Westpac Ashmore bank branch, BSB 034-230, account number 203845. Make sure you put your identification on the transaction so we can send you a receipt. 

Please encourage your medical colleagues to join the GCMA! It is very easy – go to the GCMA website membership form section at https://www.gcma.org.au/becoming-a-member.  

Yours sincerely,

PROF PHILIP MORRIS OAM (GCMA PRESIDENT

 

A note from the gcma president
january 2021

Dear Colleagues, most of us are relieved to see the back of 2020.  But as much as we hope for a brighter 2021 we will still be facing Covid-19 restrictions until the community is vaccinated to the level of immunity that stops onward spread of the virus.  This will mean ongoing vigilance, maintenance of personal hygiene (and use of personal protective equipment as appropriate for medical professionals), physical distancing, taking a Covid-19 test at the sign of any symptoms however mild, avoiding workplaces when unwell, avoidance of super-spreading events, and wearing of masks as required when mandated by the government health authorities. 

Vaccine roll-out will be first to older individuals and those with vulnerable health co-morbidities, and health care workers, aged care workers and to emergency services personnel.  Then vaccination will proceed on to the wider community.  This may take some time, so I expect Covid-19 awareness and precautions will be with us for the majority of 2021.  The GCMA will do its part to support the profession and the community as the year progresses. 

Not all that happened in 2020 was on the negative side.  I was so encouraged by the way we as a medical and wider community managed the pandemic in Queensland.  The low overall rate of infections and the very limited mortality was a blessing.  This just goes to show how much can be done when citizens join together and cooperate under the guidance of public health advice.  We have a lot to be thankful for.  But the cost of all this caution has been a burden for business and employment.  The focus on economic recovery must continue.

The GCMA has been active in preparing a schedule of meetings for 2021 now we can meet in person again.  Our first Thursday evening dinner meeting will be on February 18 at 6.30 pm at the Southport Golf Club.  The topic is one that is on everyone’s mind – ‘Travel in the age of the Covid pandemic’.  We have three excellent speakers lined up.  I hope you can join us for this event.  Meetings planned following February are outlined below.

18 March: Annual General Meeting and dinner, and update on the Vanuatu Hospital Rotary project, plus wine tasting tutorial

22 April: Indigenous Health, panel

20 May: The eyes have it: update on what’s new in ophthalmology

17 June: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder overview

15 July: Interventional radiology – an update

19 August: Mental Health in the time of Covid-19

16 September: Public Health, with Dr Jeanette Young, Covid and Climate change

14 October: Oncology update

18 November: Careers advice for young doctors, panel

16 December: Christmas Party

At this early time of the year, our memberships of the GCMA are now due for renewal.  Please go to the GCMA website to renew your membership, or send us your membership subscription by electronic funds transfer (EFT) to our GCMA General Account at our Westpac Ashmore bank branch, BSB 034-230, account number 203845.  Make sure you put your identification on the transaction so we can send you a receipt.  Please encourage your medical colleagues to join the GCMA.  It is very easy – go to the GCMA website membership form section at https://www.gcma.org.au/becoming-a-member

All the best for 2021!  I look forward to seeing you again this year.

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris oam (gcma president)

 
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A note from the gcma president
november 2020

Dear Colleagues, we are now coming towards the end of 2020.  This year has been one of a kind!  I hope we do not have a repeat any time soon.  In Queensland at least the fear of a pandemic sweeping all before it has been replaced by a quiet determination to keep the Covid-19 virus in check and to remain vigilant until an effective vaccine becomes available.  I am sure we are all thankful the Victorian second outbreak is now back under control and the prospect of all state and territory borders being open before Christmas will be eagerly anticipated. 

Our GCMA monthly Thursday evening meetings have continued.  Prof Nicholas Zwar from Bond University Medical School talked to our members at the October meeting.  Our final meeting for the year on Thursday 19 November will be with Prof Allan Cripps and Dr Nic West from Griffith University on vaccine development for Covid-19.  This is a timely presentation as Pfizer have just announced a 90% effective vaccine for Covid-19. 

Our first monthly evening meeting in 20121 will be on 18 February at Southport Golf Club.  The topic will be on a matter close to many doctor’s hearts – when and how can overseas travel begin? 

We plan to have our AGM and dinner speaker meeting in March next year.  Until then our executive team will continue to serve the association and its members.  I would like to thank our management committee of Dr Katrina Mclean, Dr Maria Coliat, Dr John Kearney, Dr Geoff Adsett, Prof Gordon Wright and Dr Daisy Swindon for their contributions this year.  Dr Stephen Weinstein provided wise counsel to the president.  Serena Mills has provided valuable assistance as our administrative officer.  Please encourage your medical colleagues to join the GCMA.  It is very easy – go to the GCMA website membership form section at https://www.gcma.org.au/becoming-a-member

As we come up toward Christmas and other religious celebrations, as well as the holiday and festive season, let me wish all our GCMA members and their families and friends a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris oam (gcma president)

 
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A note from the gcma president
july 2020

Dear Colleagues, this unusual journey with the Coivd-19 pandemic continues to surprise us.  We have done very well in Queensland with a lower than expected infection rate and few hospital admissions.  While some patients have needed ICU care, we have been blessed in that no patient has died from this virus here on the Gold Coast.  This result has been in no doubt due to the wise advice and diligent efforts of our public health experts, the forward planning and preparation of our public and private hospital services, the valuable contribution of our general practice and specialist colleagues, and the wonderful cooperation of our Gold Coast community in following the health advice.

But as the recent outbreak of infections in Victoria has shown, we cannot be complacent.  The virus can rear its ugly head at any time and we must be vigilant in order to stop a spike of infections.  The release of restrictions must be done cautiously and while this can be frustrating the reward of a virus suppressed environment will be worthwhile.  I am confident any outbreaks that may occur on the Gold Coast will be well managed and controlled by our public health services.

We hope a vaccine is developed to protect the population against this virus.  But this is not certain.  In the meantime I suspect we will get better at living with the Covid-19 virus and limiting its effect on our health and our economy.  This will require changes in community behavior to prevent spread of the virus to be consolidated.

During the pandemic the GCMA has been active.  We have continued our Thursday evening monthly meetings, at this time via Zoom webinars!  In April we invited members to discuss how they and their patients were coping with Covid-19.  In May Dr Andre Wattiaux, senior public health physician, addressed us on the epidemiology and public health response to the pandemic.  In June Dr John Gerrard, senior infectious diseases physician, spoke to us on the nature of the Covid-19 virus, the treatment of this illness, and the way forward including vaccines.  The GCMA has provided important information to our members on health notices about the pandemic in Queensland and how to source personal protective equipment.  The GCMA has contributed speakers to webinars run by the Gold Coast Primary Health Network on various aspects of the pandemic.

If the Queensland response to the pandemic continues to be successful, we plan to hold our last Zoom webinar on Thursday 16 July.  I hope we can then meet face-to-face for our next monthly meeting in August.  Email notices will be sent to members with the details as they come to hand.  The postponed AGM is likely to be held in September or October.

I would like to thank our executive committee for their hard work and support throughout this period.  And special thanks to our administrative secretary, Serena Mills too.  Please encourage your medical colleagues to join the GCMA.  It is very easy – go to the GCMA website membership form section at https://www.gcma.org.au/becoming-a-member.

I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris (gcma president)

 
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A note from the gcma president
MAy 2020

Dear Doctor Colleagues so much has changed since my last President’s Report in March this year. Covid-19 has transformed the medical and social landscape massively. But, our basic tasks remain the same: to care for our patients, our community, and each other as best we can. The GCMA is determined to assist our members and other medical professionals during this emergency period.

Due to social distancing restrictions, we have had to postpone the Annual General Meeting until later this year. I am pleased to inform you that our current executive has agreed to serve until an AGM can be arranged. I am grateful for their support and their hard work for the GCMA. The executive committee until then is:

Prof Philip Morris – president

Dr Maria Coliat – secretary

Dr Geoff Adsett – treasurer

Dr John Kearney – specialist vice-president 

Dr Katrina Mclean – GP vice-president

Prof Gordon Wright – academic representative

Dr Daisy Swindon – junior doctor representative

Serena Mills is our secretarial executive officer.

The GCMA has been active in linking our membership into the wider medical community dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Our members are able to join the second-weekly Wednesday webinar updating doctors on Covid-19 developments on the Gold Coast. This webinar is a joint endeavour of the Gold Coast Primary Health Network, Queensland Health, General Practice Gold Coast and the GCMA.

On Wednesday 29 April the GCMA conducted its own web meeting with members via a Zoom connection. This was a success and the next monthly clinical meeting of the GCMA will be run this way on Thursday evening 21 May at 7 pm. I hope you can join in then.  

Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been difficult to source for specialist and GP doctors during this pandemic. Masks and some other forms of PPE can be obtained by GPs through the local PHN. But this source is not available to specialists in office-based practice. The GCMA has been able to identify private company sources of PPE and made these contacts available to our members. 

The GCMA recognized very early that telehealth consultations would be necessary to treat patients during this period. We advocated strongly to the government on this matter (along with others). It is good to see that the commonwealth government Medical Benefits Scheme now has items that provide payments to doctors for telehealth (video and phone) consultations. Now that elective surgery is slowly being re-started it will be important that our specialist surgical and anaesthetic colleagues are offered appropriate contracts for public sector patients treated by private practitioners. If in doubt about contracts, please contact AMAQ. 

The GCMA has made its contribution to informing the community about the challenges of the pandemic over recent weeks with contributions to local newspapers, television newscasts, and morning and afternoon radio programs. More media work is planned.

At these times of change and heightened anxiety, it is absolutely essential that doctors support each other and their families and present a unified voice to the community. I encourage you to do just this by remaining an active member of the GCMA, or if you are not a member, please accept my invitation to join and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Joining is easy – just visit our GCMA website and go to the membership form section (https://www.gcma.org.au/becoming-a-member).

I look forward to seeing you at our next evening meeting.

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris (gcma president)

 
The Gold Coast Medical Association remembers our Anzacs on this Anzac Day 25 April 2020. We thank all our brave service men and women who have defended Australia in wars and deployments from World War I to Afghanis.png
 

TO SCHOOL OR NOT TO SCHOOL - THAT IS THE QUESTION

APRIL 2020

To close schools or not? We are getting conflicting messages. Prime minister Morrison wants all children to return to school, including his own. But the premiers of Victoria, NSW, and Queensland are recommending parents not send their children to school, at least for the next five weeks (the exception is children of essential workers (including health personnel) and children with special needs).  

Why the difference in approach? It depends on how you look at the epidemiology and public health strategies. And context is important. If the virus spread mitigation interventions were in a ‘light touch’ mode there would be little argument about schools remaining open. But now that Australia has moved to a much more severe ‘lockdown’ of community, social and commercial activity, the question of closure of schools becomes a much more important matter.  

Individuals and families are now told to avoid unnecessary contact with others, avoid leaving their homes except for undertaking essential activities (health care, pharmacy, supermarkets, and exercise directed activity) or going directly to and from work when work cannot be undertaken from home. Physical distancing from others and meticulous hand and personal hygiene, as well as disinfecting surfaces, are all expected behaviours. Many parents are no longer working and are at home with their children.  

These actions are designed to prevent the spread of the virus from person to person and to keep uninfected families safe. With this in mind, it seems strange to me that the prime minister wants to send children back to school as soon as possible.  

Children can acquire the Covid-19 infection from other children or adults. Fortunately, most children only have a mild illness (although some have died overseas) and recover. Some children are infected but show few or no symptoms. At the moment we do not test school populations for Covid-19. Therefore, we do not know how many children are reservoirs of infection in schools. And trying to get children of all ages in busy schools to physically and socially distance and carry out scrupulous hand and personal hygiene behaviours is virtually impossible. So spread of the virus from child to child is likely.  

Children who go to school in this setting are an infection risk to the households they return to. As parents do not know if their child has picked up the infection at school they are unlikely to ask the child to self-isolate at home. One can imagine the children arriving home and kissing and hugging parents and other family members. In this situation, Covid-19 infections are likely to spread to otherwise healthy families who have remained virus-free by carefully following public health advice about how to avoid infection. This would be a tragedy.

The risk of children returning to school en masse is not so much a risk for the children but to the older members of the households they come from. This risk will disproportionally weigh on households where multiple generations reside as older family members are at greatest risk. In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and newer immigrant families are very vulnerable. Perhaps before schools are opened up again governments will need to consider how to overcome these risks to families.  

prof philip morris (gcma president)

pmorris@iprimus.com.au | ph 0422 545 753

 

CORONA VIRUS COVID-19

APRIL 2020

The coronavirus epidemic will be a major challenge for Australia.  Without intense public health interventions this illness is likely to take thousands of lives across Australia.  In Queensland the statistics are shocking.  On conservative estimates, one-quarter of Queenslanders are likely to be infected in the first wave of the epidemic.  That is over a million people in Queensland.  80% may have mild illnesses.  But 20% (200,000) will be worse off, with 10% (100,000) of the population needing hospital admission and 5% (50,000) requiring intensive care treatment.  If overseas figures are any guide, about half of the patients needing intensive care will die (25,000).  These are horrifying figures.  No Queenslander will be untouched by this virus.  It is clear that unless the epidemic can be contained or the rate of infection can be slowed dramatically the hospital and health system will be overwhelmed. 

Spread of this infection has gone from imported cases from overseas to now ‘community spread’.  Community spread means that people are contracting the virus from other local individuals with no direct contact to overseas cases.  This means that anyone on the Gold Coast can be infected with the virus and can infect others.  As it is known that individuals infected with the virus but not showing any symptoms can shed virus particles and infect others, this means that Gold Coast citizens must now consider all other people as potential sources of infection.  This includes brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, children, other family members, friends, and workmates as well as strangers. 

This situation makes the use of physical and social distancing and hygiene methods absolutely critical in all contacts with others.  The careful practice of hand washing, avoiding handshaking and other physical contacts with others, maintaining a safe distance from others, using a mask, practicing appropriate coughing and sneezing etiquette, avoiding crowds and gatherings of any size, holding any necessary meetings outside or using teleconferencing, frequent disinfecting of touched surfaces, working from home, limited food handling are but some of the necessary methods needed to avoid the individual-to-individual spread of the virus.  All members of the public must apply these interventions, with as much intensity as health professionals use them.  

We suggest all members of the public use facemasks for three reasons.  First, a mask will make it less likely a person with respiratory symptoms (cough, sneeze) will pass on infection; second, masks do reduce the chance of a healthy person getting infected and they inhibit individuals touching their face; and third, wearing a mask show solidarity with all in the community that we are trying to comply with distancing and hygiene advice.  It is imperative that governments immediately provide all needed personal protective equipment for health personnel and also provide masks for the general population.

Individuals infected with the virus (either confirmed by test or suspected) should be isolated so they cannot infect the public.  People with mild cases of the condition have been sent home to ‘self-isolate’.  However, we think that is not good enough.  These individuals must go to a government-provided secure accommodation location until they have recovered and are testing negative for the virus.  Individuals with more severe illness should be isolated in a hospital given over to the care of coronavirus patients.  On the Gold Coast, this would be the hospital with the most intensive care beds and operating theatres (as they can be converted to intensive care areas).  Contacts of these cases should be quarantined in government-provided secure accommodation until they have passed through the incubation period and testing negative for the virus.  

Countries in Asia that have adopted these methods have been able to get control of this epidemic (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea).  It goes without saying that extensive and repeated testing for coronavirus cases is essential for this approach.  Australia must lift its testing capacity immediately for all individuals who are unwell irrespective of recent overseas travel or contact with confirmed cases with tests that have a high level of accuracy.

In addition to prevent virus spread, governments must close down all ways citizens can interact directly with each other in order to stop the infection from spreading.  Apart from emergency services and medical, pharmaceutical and essential services (including supermarkets and water, power, garbage, and sewerage utilities), all other businesses, universities, sporting fixtures, clubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, churches, and all other places where people congregate will need to be closed.  Activity will need to move online as much as possible.  Individuals should not meet or congregate with others. 

Closing schools is a difficult decision.  Children sent home would need to be looked after.  Parents working from home or out of work because of business closures would be able to provide this supervision.  This task should not fall on grandparents in this situation because older members of our community are much more vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus.  A special case needs to be made for the children of health professionals if we want these individuals to continue to care for the sick.  For example, one or more closed schools could be used to provide supervision of the children of healthcare workers who agree.  The care of these children could be managed by stood down teachers who want to work.  On balance we believe pre-emptive closure of schools (before students or teachers test positive for the virus) is the most effective strategy of reducing virus spread.

The aim of all these steps is to suppress the epidemic to quickly get it under control.  This is more ambitious than a mitigation strategy that tries to reduce the peak of the epidemic and spread it out longer.  Mitigation is unlikely to protect the health system from being overwhelmed by very sick patients with coronavirus.  Suppression methods apply very severe restrictions on individuals and business and society in order to reduce the transmission rate of the virus.  The transmission rate is the number of people an infected person will infect on average.  At the beginning of an epidemic in an unprepared country (like Australia) the transmission rate is one infected person will pass the infection on to two to three others.  

Without any interventions the rise of the infected cases becomes exponential.  This is what was happening in Australia and Queensland at the moment.  If the transmission rate is above one the epidemic takes off.  If it can be lowered to below one the epidemic dies down.  The goal of the suppression strategy is to get the transmission rate to as close to zero as soon as possible.  New Zealand is adopting this approach.  This country hopes to eliminate the virus. 

It is unclear for how long the application of intense suppression methods is needed, but overseas experience suggests between one to three months.  After this, a gradual loosening of restrictions might be possible but the transmission rate must be kept under one for the epidemic to be controlled.

The good news is that this is possible.  A combination of each individual citizen applying physical and social distancing and painstaking hygiene practices, as well as extensive health department testing and isolation of cases and contacts, and government closing down citizen physical interaction can be very effective.  This approach was used to suppress the epidemic in Wuhan, China and is the method used to contain the epidemic successfully in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea (after a delayed start).  It is now the model adopted by New Zealand.  Suppression of the epidemic gives us time; time to identify effective treatments, and time to develop an effective vaccine.  There is no reason that suppression cannot be implemented in Australia.  It will challenge our social cohesion and require mutual support between all our citizens.  And it requires Australian governments to trust that the Australian people can respond to the challenge and the impositions involved in order to reduce the magnitude of the disaster that otherwise would rapidly overtake us. 

prof philip morris (gcma president)

pmorris@iprimus.com.au | ph 0422 545 753

References:

Coronavirus: The Hammer and the Dance

What the Next 18 Months Can Look Like, if Leaders Buy Us Time

Thomas Pueyo

20 March 2020

COVID-19: Imperial researchers model likely impact of public health measures

Dr Sabine l van Elsland, Ryan O’Hare

17 March 2020

 
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A note from the gcma president
MARCH 2020

Dear Doctor Colleagues, the New Year has begun in earnest.  The GCMA membership is increasing and we are in a better financial position than we have been in for some time.  However, we need to gain many more members to fully reach our potential of representing all doctors in the Gold Coast region as the ‘Independent Voice of Medicine’.  So I encourage you to join the GCMA and invite your colleagues to join too.  Joining is easy – just visit our GCMA website and go to the membership form section (https://www.gcma.org.au/becoming-a-member).

Our first clinical evening meeting was a great success.  Held on Thursday 20 February at the Southport Golf Club three topics were covered.  Dr Sue Moloney and Dr Penny Larcombe spoke about the development of adolescent health services at the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, and Dr Wai Ling Choi reviewed the condition of gender dysphoria in children.  I provided some remarks on the attempt by the Queensland government to introduce legislation banning ‘conversion therapies’ for children with gender identity concerns and gender dysphoria (see article included in this TML). 

Upcoming meetings

Our next meeting will be in March.  This is a combined meeting with General Practice Gold Coast.  Dr Dilip Dhupelia, President AMAQ, will speak about the current and future medico-political landscape in Queensland.  This meeting will be on Thursday 19 March at the Parkwood Village Tavern.  Notices about this meeting will be sent to members via email.  Spouses and partners of members are welcome to attend.

The GCMA Annual General Meeting will be held in April this year.  We will have an exciting dinner guest speaker.  Spouses and partners and guests of members are very much welcome to attend.  Details of the date and venue will be announced by email to members soon.

Coronavirus (aka COVID-19 virus)

The GCMA has been motoring developments in the medical response to this virus outbreak very closely with our GP partner association, General Practice Gold Coast. 

We have put out public messages that individuals who are concerned they have been exposed to COVID-19 virus or if they think they have symptoms of this condition, then they should contact their GP or doctor by phone first to see if the doctor is in a position to see the person.  Not all GPs have the required waiting room and personal protection equipment resources to see potential COVID-19 patients.  If the GP cannot see the individual, then the person should call ahead to the Gold Coast University Hospital and ask if they can be seen at the Fever Clinic there.  

This sensible advice reflects information given to NSW residents who are asked to call ahead before seeing their GP, or if they are very unwell, to call ahead before attending their local emergency department for assessment. 

The GCMA has pressed the local Primary Health Network, the state health department and the federal heath department to make more readily available stocks of personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, gowns, eye protection) for our general practice and specialist community.

The situation is changing rapidly, so it is prudent for doctors and potential patients to get up-to-date information from health department sources and phone numbers – in Queensland 13HEALTH (13432584) or NSW 1800 022 222.

Through pressure from the GCMA and other medical associations the Queensland government has now agreed to have a representative of primary care sit on the statewide health emergency committee (SCHECC).  This general practitioner reports back regularly to the AMAQ, Primary Health Networks, and local medical associations on emerging issues in the response to the virus outbreak. 

In addition, the GCMA is advocating for a Medicare payment for doctors for telephone or videoconference (eg. Skype or similar) consultations with patients about COVID-19 concerns.  It is unrealistic for governments to expect doctors to provide unlimited advice about the coronavirus to patients who are advised by governments to call their doctors without any financial compensation to the practices.

I look forward to meeting you at our upcoming functions.

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris (gcma president)

 

Coronavirus outbreak update

The Gold Coast Medical Association is developing a positive profile in the response to the coronavirus outbreak.  The GCMA draws attention to the inadequate resourcing of general practices across our region that are being asked to assess and treat individuals with potential coronavirus infections. 

See the segment on coronavirus with a response from GCMA President Prof Philip Morris in the Channel 9 News on Monday 3 January via the link below.

(Fast forward to 03:41 minutes)

https://www.9now.com.au/gold-coast-news/2020/episode-24

 

Griffith university school of medicine doctor and health in the community (dhc) prize ceremony 2019

GCMA is proud to be a continual supporter of the Gold Coast Griffith University School of Medicine DHC prize.

Seen here is Dr John Kearney from the GCMA with the dean of medicine Professor David Ellwood, and the deputy dean of medicine Professor Gary Rogers, presenting the 2019 winner Brad Loudon with his award.

Congratulations to Brad and we wish him all the best with his studies.

 
Dr John Kearney, winner Brad Loudon, Prof Gary Rogers, Prof David Ellwood

Dr John Kearney, winner Brad Loudon, Prof Gary Rogers, Prof David Ellwood

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A note from the gcma president
JAN 2020

Dear GCMA Colleagues, we enter the new year of 2020 with great expectations and much hope.  We start up our clinical evening meetings in February and continue to assertively represent the interests of the profession and our patients though the upcoming year. 

However, we also note the distress and burden the severe bushfire season and continuing drought is placing on the Australian community.  Our most sincere heartfelt thoughts and well wishes go out to our fellow Australians suffering from these calamities.  I am sure each of our GCMA members and our association will be doing all we can to assist and support those anguished by mental health problems, physical health consequences, and financial strains as a result of these events. 

The last clinical evening meeting of 2019 was held in November.  Icon Cancer Services provided and excellent presentation on the topic of new approaches to cancer care, and the topic covering repetitive trans cranial magnetic stimulation (r-TMS) was thoroughly reviewed by TMS Clinics Australia.  The GCMA also arranged a collegial social evening at the Southport Yacht Club that was well attended in early December. 

Our first clinical meeting of 2020 will be on Thursday evening 20 February at the Southport Golf Club.  The topics to be presented are on adolescent health services on the Gold Coast, the treatment of gender dysphoria in children, and the proposed Queensland legislation outlawing conversion therapies.  Our speakers will be Dr Sue Maloney (pediatrician) and Dr Wai Ling (child psychiatrist). 

In March we will be having a combined meeting with General Practice Gold Coast on Thursday 19 March.  We have invited Dr Dilip Dhupelia, President of AMAQ to talk about the current medico-political landscape. 

Finally, if you have joined or rejoined the GCMA recently then let me thank you so much for your support.  If you are not a member I sincerely ask you to consider joining the GCMA and participating in our membership-based activities.  It is easy to join!  Go to our GCMA website (https://www.gcma.org.au/becoming-a-member) and complete the membership form.  In joining you will become a member of an active local medical association that represents the interests of our profession and has monthly clinical meetings, social functions, and a very well respected bi-monthly medical magazine - The Medical Link. 

I look forward to meeting you at our functions.  

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris (gcma president)

 
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A note from the gcma president
NOV 2019

Dear GCMA colleagues, we are now coming to the close of 2019.  2020 is just around the corner!  This year has been challenging for the GCMA.  We have re-established our third Thursday of the month evening clinical meetings and put the association back on a financial solid footing.  I appreciate the strong support of our executive committee in this work during the year.

Our last clinical meeting for this year will be on Thursday evening 21 November at the Southport Golf Club, Slatyer Avenue, Southport at 6.30pm.  The two topics covered will be a presentation by ICON Cancer Services on new approaches to cancer therapy, and a presentation by TMS Clinics Australia on repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (r-TMS) as a new validated treatment for mood disorders.  Please attend this meeting.  You will be very welcome.  Go to our GCMA website and register your intention to attend via email or telephone.  If you have registered to attend but cannot make the meeting please let us know by telephone or email so we can modify our catering requirements. 

Next year the GCMA will re-start our Thursday evening clinical meetings in February.  Our AGM will be in March or April; depending on the time we have a conjoint clinical evening meeting with General Practice Gold Coast next year.

If you are interested in standing for election to one of the office holder positions (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, GP representative, specialist representative, academic representative, and junior doctor representative) please let me know.  The GCMA is always ready to welcome new members to the leadership team.  My phone number is 0422545753. 

In January we will begin a membership drive to increase our membership numbers.  I hope that in 2020 we can add an additional 200 local doctors to our membership list.  I encourage you to re-join the GCMA in January and invite your doctor colleagues to join the GCMA in 2020 as well.  It is very easy to do.  Just go to the GCMA website (www.gcma.org.au) and click through to the ‘Become a Member’ page to join.  The registration page can take credit card payments. 

Over the past few weeks my attention has been drawn to the important matter of children and younger adolescents being transitioned to a gender other than their sex assigned at birth (natal gender) as an approach to treating gender dysphoria.  The process of affirming the child’s wish to be of the opposite sex and then giving effect to changing the gender of a child involves the administration of puberty blocking drugs for prolonged periods and then sex hormones (e.g. testosterone or estrogen).  At a later stage (usually later adolescence or early adulthood) surgical interventions are often applied to change the appearance and function of the sex organs. 

There is much debate about the appropriate approach to this field of practice.  The effectiveness of transitioning treatments and the long-term adverse effects of the puberty blocking drugs and sex hormones used on children are not well known.  The welfare of children in this situation must be the primary focus. 

In view of this limited information on the treatment of gender dysphoria, it is my view that the commonwealth government set up a parliamentary enquiry into this matter.  I also think all medical colleges who have member doctors involved in treating gender dysphoria in children (paediatricians, general practitioners, paediatric and general surgeons, endocrinologists, gynaecologists, psychiatrists), as well as the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Medical Board of Australia, along with the Australian Medical Association, and other representative medical bodies, form a joint committee to develop a set of practice guidelines for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents under the age of 18 years presenting with gender dysphoria.

As this Medical Link magazine edition will be the last before Christmas and the New Year, let me wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2020!

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris (gcma president)

 

 A note from the gcma president
aug/sept 2019

Dear Colleagues, the new series of GCMA third Thursday of the month regular evening clinical meetings have been a great success!

On Thursday evening on 18 July at the Southport Golf Club, Slatyer Avenue, Southport we had the evening dinner meeting on the topic of 'Male Fertility Control’.

On Thursday 15 August we were informed about the new digital PET scanner at John Flynn Hospital that offers improved diagnostic accuracy and monitoring of cancer conditions.

In September we will be covering the welfare of younger doctors working in intern and resident positions. Our guest speaker is Dr Sam Hazeldine from New Zealand. He is an expert on optimizing and maintaining the mental and physical health of doctors, especially our younger colleagues. This meeting is a combined evening with General Practice Gold Coast. We anticipate many intern, resident and registrar doctors from our public hospitals will join us.

On 17 October we will have Icon Cancer Centre speaking to us on new developments in radiotherapy and chemo- and immune- therapy.

I look forward to meeting you at each of these important events.

In the Gold Coast Bulletin recently I noticed a story on the increasing attendances to the emergency department at our Gold Coast University Hospital. Apparently this emergency department is now the busiest in Australia!

We are so lucky to have such a good team working in this department with the professional commitment of so many excellent doctors and nurses. But this story highlights the growing health needs of our Gold Coast region. The explosion of housing developments and population increases at the northern end of the Gold Coast will soon necessitate the development of a new hospital and emergency department in that area.

Depending on the calculations used, the Gold Coast region has about 500 public inpatient beds less that what it should have based on conventional standards of bed numbers per thousand people.

The Labor state government has responded by funding an additional 40 general medical beds and 20 new mental health treatment spaces. While welcome, this is a very limited response given the large number of beds needed.

Until additional public emergency department resources are provided attention must be applied to support our public emergency departments. For those members of the public with private health insurance there are very good emergency departments at our private hospitals open to offer assistance.

However, a new model of corporation between general practices and emergency departments is under trial in Perth. The ‘Urgent Care Clinical Network’ has been designed to ease pressure on emergency departments by providing care at general practices for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions. The program is a partnership between the state health department and the WA Primary Health Alliance and the state AMA and RACGP. Patients with suitable urgent conditions are fast-tracked on the same day to GP office appointments between the hours of 8am to 11pm.

The Gold Coast University Hospital, General Practice Gold Coast and our local Primary Health Network (PHN) might consider running a similar project here on the Gold Coast. The GCMA would be willing to facilitate the process.

Your GCMA executive committee is now considering the form of a social function for members and their partners in November. If you have suggestions about this function please contact me on 0422545753, or our GCMA administrative officer, Serena Mills on 0415271474, or email us at info@gcma.org.au.

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris (gcma president)





 

phil

A note from the gcma president
Jul/Aug 2019

Dear Colleagues, the GCMA third Thursday of the month regular evening clinical meetings are again up and running! 

On Thursday evening at 6.30pm for 7.00pm on 18 July at the Southport Golf Club, Slatyer Avenue, Southport we are having an evening dinner meeting on the topic of 'Male Fertility Control’.  In August we will be covering the new and improved diagnostic accuracy of the digital PET scanner at John Flynn Hospital. 

In September we will be covering the welfare of younger doctors in intern and resident positions.  I look forward to meeting you at each of these important events.

The return of the Coalition government has clarified the medico-political landscape to some extent.  We hope the Medicare item number freeze for GP and specialist consultations will be terminated.  Unfortunately, it seems that compensation for the many years the freeze operated for will not be paid to doctors.

Your GCMA executive committee is now considering the topic for the October clinical meeting and the form of a social function for members and their partners in November.  If you have suggestions about either of these two functions please contact me on 0422545753, or our new GCMA secretarial officer, Serena Mills, on 0415271474.

Yours sincerely,

prof philip morris (gcma president)

 
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A note from the gcma secretary
Jul/Aug 2018

Dear GCMA Colleague, our President Dr Sonu Haikerwal is on a well-earned short break.  While she is away I have been asked to provide a brief message for this edition of the Medical Link.

Our regular third Thursday of the month medical meetings has illuminated important topics this year.  The last meeting on the federal government ordained electronic medical record – My Health Record – was no exception.  Despite good intentions, this initiative has many ‘doubting Thomases’ – and with good reason.  Not all doctors are convinced that the contents of each patient’s electronic medical record will be that useful clinically.  Many are suspicious of the government’s intent of using the data obtained for non-clinical purposes.  Some doctors are not convinced that the security of the system can be really protected against determined cyber criminals.  And both GPs and specialists are underwhelmed by the financial incentives for doctors especially in the private sector to spend the time and energy on summarising patient information, loading up the data and maintaining or curating it on the system.  Despite a passionate defence of the My Health Record by our invited speakers I wonder how many of the audience were convinced?  It will be interesting to see how many of our medical colleagues decide to ‘opt out’ of My Health Record during the three-month ‘opt out’ period starting this month.

The GCMA has developed an enviable record of assisting Pacific Island nations local medical associations and colleges develop medical education conferences.  The GCMA worked with the Fiji Medical Association in 2009, the Fiji College of GPs in 2015, and the Vanuatu Medical and Dental Association in 2017 to support and enhance their annual medical education meetings by partnering with each group by bringing in Gold Coast specialist presenters and international keynote speakers to bolster conference programs.  Our Pacific Island colleagues have appreciated these efforts and we have learned so much about the health concerns of Pacific Island countries.  At a personal and association level our closer ties with colleagues from the South Pacific has enriched us all.  The GCMA is now looking to partner with the Pasifika Medical Association based in New Zealand and with the local medical associations and medical colleges from the South Pacific to run a medical education meeting in 2020.  A proposed name of the meeting is the ‘Polynesian, Melanesian and Australasian Medical Conference’ to reflect the both common and unique health and clinical challenges across the geographical, cultural and ethnic diversity of our region.  Please keep a look out for further developments concerning this meeting.  When a date and venue is set please put it in your diary as a ‘date claimer’!  It is possible this meeting will be held on the Gold Coast.

Finally, recent media and medical news references to doctor suicide have personally confronted me.  I think we often try to avoid this topic as a form of defence against painful information.  Many of us will know of a colleague who died by suicide.  How it could have been prevented or stopped is the question we all want answered.  But the solution is not clear.  I recently read the thoughts of a doctor who has made a study of this sad phenomenon.  Dr Pamela Wible posted an article on her website on ‘What I’ve learned from 952 doctor suicides’ (http://www.idealmedicalcare.org/ive-learned-547-doctor-suicides/).  She lists 34 characteristics of doctor suicides.  While the setting of her observations is in the USA many of the factors she lists are applicable to Australia.  I encourage you to review her remarks – they may just help us all assist colleagues at risk of suicide.  

I look forward to seeing you at our next Thursday evening clinical meeting.

prof philip morris (gcma secretary)

 
 

gcma conferences

 

Fiji Conference

2015 conjoint medical conference of GCMA with the Fiji College of General Practitioners, Denarau Island, Fiji,

 
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vanuata conference

2017 conjoint medical conference of GCMA with the Vanuatu Medical and Dental Association, Port Vila, Vanuatu.

 
 
 

Representing the broad interests of the Gold Coast medical community

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MEDICINE

 

 
 
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