Senate Inquiry into National Registration and Accreditation Scheme

The design of the Federal Government’s national registration and accreditation scheme for health professions, has been referred by the Senate to the Community Affairs Committee for inquiry and report by 18 June 2009. This includes:

• the impact of the scheme on state and territory health services;
• the impact of the scheme on patient care and safety;
• the effect of the scheme on standards of training and qualification of relevant health professionals;
• how the scheme will affect complaints management and disciplinary processes within particular professional streams;
• the appropriate role, if any, in the scheme for state and territory registration boards; and
• alternative models for implementation of the scheme.

The ADA will be making a submission by the deadline of 30 April, and members are invited to forward suggestions for matters to be addressed in those representations.

Minister opens new teaching laboratories at Bendigo

Victorian Health Minister, Daniel Andrews officially opened new 'state of the art' dental clinical laboratories at the Bendigo campus of LaTrobe University on Friday 20 March.

The facility now has three teaching laboratories, including two simulation labs with 31 seats and mannequins. Each seat is fitted with audio visual and information technology facilities to allow a demonstrator to provide a close up view of the work to be done, which can then be replicated by the students.

The Bachelor of Oral Health Science course commenced at Bendigo in 2006, whereas the Bachelor and Masters of Dentistry program started in 2008. The first dentists to graduate from Bendigo will do so at the end of 2012.

During the launch the Minister announced that a further 10 teaching chairs will be established at the Bendigo Health Care Group at a cost of $2m. These chairs will augment those already being established in satellite clinics at Mildura, Wodonga and Melton. This brings the capital investment in regional dental training by the Brumby Government to $14.5m. In addition, the Government also provides LaTrobe with $400,000 p.a. for pre-clinical training for 60 students and $210,000 p.a. in scholarships for 30 students.

UNE Partnerships Pratice Management Courses 2009

In conjunction with UNE Partnerships, the education and training company of the University of New England, ADAVB is once again organising the highly successful practice management courses. Participants can enrol in either a Certificate IV or the Diploma of Practice Management, which are delivered as individual module workshops that run throughout the year. These nationally accredited qualifications are dynamic, up-to-date, industry relevant and designed to cover all the essential skills and knowledge required to manage a modern dental practice. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to enrol your staff. Courses this year will start on Friday, 22 May. For more information, contact UNE Partnerships at 1800 288 622, email practicemgt@unepartnerships.edu.au or click here.

Queries over national measures to protect patients

As part of the new national registration system, Australia’s Health Ministers have agreed on “safety measures” designed to protect patients.

They are:

• Mandatory reporting of professionals who are placing the public at risk of harm. This means that other practitioners or employers (like hospitals) must report conduct which puts patients at harm, including practising under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or sexual misconduct.
• Mandatory criminal history and identity checks for all health professionals registering for the first time in Australia. All other registrants will be required to make an annual declaration on criminal history matters when they renew their registration.
  

These rules will affect dentists, doctors, nurses, midwives, optometrists, chiropractors, osteopaths, physiotherapists, pharmacists and psychologists. The “protections” will take effect when the national registration scheme commences in July next year.

The Australian Medical Association and the NSW and WA Health Ministers have raised particular concerns about the move, including costs, political influence on setting training standards, and the potential impact on State complaints' procedures.

An Introduction to Lasers in Your Practice

The ADAVB and the Melbourne Dental School (MDS) is holding a not-to-be-missed joint event titled “An Introduction to Lasers in Your Practice”. Since the early use of lasers in dentistry over 25 years ago, the science and technology have advanced significantly.

Three expert practitioners – Dr Graham Milicich (NZ), Dr Robert Aslan (NSW) and Dr Timothy Johnston (WA) – will present this new course. Covering the fundamentals of dental laser physics and the clinical application of lasers in general practice, the program has been specifically designed for practitioners looking for their first insight into this treatment modality.

This combined lecture and hands-on course will provide a thorough overview of the technology and its clinical application, as well the opportunity to experience the use of dental lasers over a wide range of applications.

Registration for this highly anticipated course is limited to 40 participants only so book now to avoid disappointment.

Date: Saturday, 30 May 2009
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Venue: Melbourne Dental School, 720 Swanston Street, Carlton 3053
Fee: $850 per person (ADAVB Member)

For more information on this course, contact the Branch at (03) 8825 4600, email cpd@adavb.org or click here.

Infection Control Seminars Tailored For Dental Assistants

In the last few years the ADAVB has noticed a significant rise in dental assistants attending our infection control seminars. It is highly commendable that members are now including their team in such topics, especially when it is the dental assistants who are often the ones implementing the system in the practice.

While registrations for dental assistants have increased, it has been brought to our attention that the information at these seminars are far too academic and primarily aimed at dentists. Many dental assistants feel they need practical information that is directly relevant to their work.

With this in mind, the ADAVB is proud to be working in partnership with Mayfield Education to deliver a series of Infection Control workshops that have been specifically tailored to the needs of dental assistants. These highly informative full-day programs employ a variety of interactive training methods such as: demonstrations; case studies; group discussion facilitation; role-plays; structured individual exercises and trainer presentations.

There are four modules to choose from and while it is not essential to attend all of them, participants will find that the topics offered are highly useful in the practice. They are – Module 1: Staff Health, Module 2: Infection Control, Module 3: Sterilisation and Module 4: Cleaning and Packing Instruments. In addition, there is a 10% discount for those who sign-up for all four modules making it extremely worthwhile to attend.

Participants at these workshops will benefit greatly as Mayfield Education is Victoria's leading staff education and training centre for the health and community services sector. For over 45 years, Mayfield has provided health and community services training programs, courses and services that equip people with practical, work related skills. Their vast experience includes the development and delivery of specific health training certificate level and short courses in specialist health areas such us sterilisation, infection control, health management, allied health, nursing and aged care.

Details for the workshops are included in the March newsletter. For more information, please contact the CPD department at (03) 8825 4600 or email cpd@adavb.org or click here

Green tip - Use recycling service for light globes

With Earth Hour coming up on Saturday 28 March, many of us are considering what else we can do to reduce our environmental impact - beyond installing ISO 11143 compliant amalgam separators.

Flashback is a free service for households that allows the placement of used fluorescent globes in specially designed bins and boxes. The globes contain valuable materials such as glass and mercury, which can be reused to make other products.

Find out where to take your unwanted light globes by visiting the ResourceSmart website or call the Sustainability Victoria Infoline on 1300 363 744.

Both the Earth Hour and ResourceSmart websites provide tips and information on how to reduce our impact on the environment.

ADA welcomes nursing home dental plan

The Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot, has announced the preparation of the first oral and dental health care plan for nursing home residents. Federal ADA President Dr Neil Hewson immediately welcomed the plan.

"It demonstrates the first stage of a concerted effort to improve the quality of life of the aged who for too long have had to endure poor oral health and a poor quality of life due to dental pain and discomfort”, Dr Neil Hewson said.

Under the $3 million two-year plan, a staff member from each of Australia's 2,830 aged care homes will be trained in dental hygiene by next year.

The trained staff member will educate other aged care workers to help maintain the teeth of nursing home residents. The plan includes a “hands-on” training program on daily oral hygiene for aged care workers to help older people retain their teeth and reduce illness related to dental health.

Research quoted in ADA representations on this issue shows that in 1979, 60 per cent of aged care home residents had no natural teeth and by 1989, the proportion had fallen to 44 per cent. Within 10 years, it is expected to drop to 20 per cent.