The role will help GPs in one state find appropriate care for their patients with eating disorders.
GPs in Victoria now have the support of the state’s first eating disorders service navigator.
North Western Melbourne PHN has appointed Catherine Roberts to the role as part of its pilot program called Right Care, Right Place: Eating disorder care in my community.
Ms Roberts is a former practice nurse with previous roles as a telehealth coordinator for headspace, an executive committee member at the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders, and with the Centre of Excellence in Eating Disorders.
The pilot focuses on early intervention and creates opportunities for people to receive low or no cost multidisciplinary treatment. It was developed in partnership with the National Eating Disorders Collaboration and is funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care.
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“In this position I help consumers and their families navigate the sometimes overwhelming and daunting health system to ensure they get the best quality treatment,” said Ms Roberts.
“I also help GPs to feel supported and valued in their work, so they can do their jobs safely and effectively. In turn, this will hopefully help them feel more confident and capable in supporting people with eating disorders, which will in turn improve health outcomes.
“I have seen firsthand the struggles of navigating the system of care for people struggling with body image issues and eating disorders, and I know the importance of early intervention, diagnosis and treatment,” she said.
“I also genuinely believe in the importance of engagement and people centred care and this role embodies all these things.”
Ms Roberts, she says, “is the friendly voice on the other end of an NWMPHN phone, or the person writing the calm, informed answer to an email”.
“This is the key part of my role,” she said.
“I will go through the options with the GP, and work with them on planning the best pathway forward.
“This might include chatting with them about how to have safe and supportive conversations with their patient, or what kind of blood tests, investigations and screening tools they may want to consider.
“Once consent has been confirmed, I will contact the patient to get a sense of their needs, their availability and any other factors that will go into linking them to a mental health professional and a dietitian.
“Finally, I will ensure each member of the treatment team are informed and communication between them is established so they can work effectively together.”
A key part of her job is to make sure that no one has to go through the process alone.
“My goal is to help alleviate the stigma, fear and ambivalence that exists in eating disorder treatment by being a point of contact that GPs can reach out to, ask questions, access resources and gain confidence in their work,” she said.
“I also hope to make them feel less isolated by linking them in with other professionals and colleagues through the multidisciplinary team approach and communities of practice.”
As part of the Right Care, Right Place project, NWMPHN is offering training and support packages for practices, with applications through an expression of interest process.
But while the number of packages is limited, Ms Roberts’ services are not. Any GP operating within NWMPHN’s 3200 square-kilometre catchment can take advantage of her skills, insight and knowledge, free of charge.
Health professionals can contact Ms Roberts via NWMPHN’s Referral and Access Team on (03) 9088 4277.
Healthy North Coast
Healthy North Coast’s community wellbeing and resilience program has been recognised for its efforts in building community health and wellbeing resilience in the face of increasing climate disasters, winning the Resilient Australia Mental Health and Wellbeing Award for NSW.
Healthy North Coast’s entry, titled “Climate Ready North Coast: Elevating the community service sector”, showcases the work being done as part of the community wellbeing and resilience program, which resources community-led, place-based initiatives that support better health and wellbeing through disaster recovery, and build community’s ability to face future challenges.
“Northern NSW is one of the highest disaster declared regions in the country for frequency and severity across all three measures of fire, flood and storm,” said HNC’s CEO Monika Wheeler.
“Together with southeast Queensland, our North Coast region has been labelled a disaster ‘hotspot’.
“For this reason, a connected, engaged and vibrant community who support each other in times of need is so important.
“It’s been wonderful to have this important work recognised at a state level. Congratulations to the terrific local community organisations doing great work for their communities on the North Coast through this program.
“Congratulations also to the other North Coast organisations who received an award.”
Since 2022, HNC’s community wellbeing and resilience program has supported 23 local community organisations to a total value of $5.3 million, through funding provided by the NSW and Australian governments.
Most recently, the 2024 funding round trialled an innovative participatory grant-making approach, which includes communities in the decisions that impact them, and prioritises trust-building over traditional competitive grant making approaches.
HNC will go on to become a finalist in the National Resilient Australia Awards, managed by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR), which will be announced in November at Old Parliament House in Canberra.
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Brisbane South PHN
Brisbane South PHN is supporting Metro South HHS in the co-design of a new shared care model focused on improving outcomes for patients who are unable to access surgical care due to obesity.
The Logan Hospital OPD Alternate Care Pathway Nurse Navigator service identifies patients referred to orthopaedic outpatient clinics for consideration of knee replacement surgery, but who are not ready for care due to their obesity-related surgery risk.
The nurse navigators support these patients by linking them to community-based weight-loss and lifestyle modification services to help facilitate rapid access to orthopaedic care once a safe body weight has been achieved.
The aim of this shared care model is to better support these patient cohorts in primary care settings by enhancing care coordination and communication between GPs and hospital-based clinicians to:
- aid the early identification of eligible patients to reduce time spent waiting for care;
- streamline access to support services that improve patient readiness for care; and
- empower patients to maintain a healthier lifestyle and improve their self-care and wellbeing.
The PHN is seeking local GPs with an interest in orthopaedic care, who will inform the development of the new shared care model.
The co-design process is expected to start next month and will involve attendance at two 90-minute workshops. GPs will be remunerated for their involvement.
For more details contact Jeremy Lindsay at jeremy.lindsay@health.qld.gov.au or phone 07 3176 9263.
