Immunisation: Influenza

The 2011 seasonal influenza vaccine contains pandemic A(H1N1), seasonal A(H3N2) and B strains. While these are the same strains used in the 2010 influenza vaccine, Australians are still encouraged to receive this year’s vaccine as immunity lasts only one year. Healthcare workers are amongst the groups targeted this year for immunisation. The Government Web site on immunisation has good information  and includes commonly asked questions along with links to other relevant sites.

Under the National Immunisation Program,  the influenza vaccine is funded for the following groups:

• All persons aged 65 years and over;
• All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over;
• All pregnant women at any stage during pregnancy;
• Individuals at six months of age or older with conditions predisposing them to severe influenza:
  - Cardiac disease including cyanotic congenital heart disease, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure;
  - Chronic respiratory conditions including suppurative lung disease, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, cronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic emphysema, severe asthma (defined as requiring frequent hospital visits);
  - Chronic neurological conditions including mutiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other neuromuscular disorders;
  - Other chronic illnesses requiring regular medical follow up including diabetes mellitus, chronic metebolic diseases, chronic renal failure, haemoglobinopathies;
  - Impaired immunitiey including HIV infection, malignancy and chronic steroid use;
  - Children aged six months to 10 years on long term aspirin therapy.

Influenza vaccine is also strongly recommended (but not funded) for the following people.

• residents of nursing homes and residential care facilities who do not meet the criteria above; 
• homeless people and those providing care to them;
• health care workers;
• anyone who works in a nursing home or long term care facility;
• anyone who lives in a household with a person who is in a high risk category;
• people providing essential services eg. police, ambulance;\
• travellers.

Check out Q Health for more info on  the influenza vaccine for this year.

Radiation Fears: Sites to Access for Information!

Australians were shocked by the  visual images of the  earthquake and tsunami that struck on 11 March 2011 and damaged a number of nuclear reactors on the east coast of Japan resulting in  the release of radioactive contaminants to the atmosphere.

Regardless of the  area of healthcare in which you work, you may  be asked questions by your family, friends or clients about radiation.The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) provides  interesting information via their Media Release Update  and  ARPANSA web site.
People are also being encouraged to  visit http://www.smarttraveller.gov.au/ and read the travel advice and the travel bulletin for Australians in or returning from Japan.
Addtionally,  on 3rd of April 2011  the    website  has information  regarding   
.Advice on exposure to radiation
.Advice for Australians remaining in Japan on food and water precautions, the availability and use of potassium iodide tablets and on appropriate sheltering from radiation if required
According to the website;
 .ARPANSA and the Department of Health and Ageing are recommending , as a precautionary measure, that Australians within an 80 km zone from the Fukushima nuclear power plant move out of the area.
.Australians returning home from Japan are highly unlikely to be contaminated or exposed to significant radiation and will not require checks for radioactivity. However, if people wish to seek medical advice they should contact their local GP.
.ARPANSA and the Chief Medical Officer advise that iodine tablets are only required when exposed to substantial radiation doses from radioactive iodine.
There is no current need for those returning from Japan or those in Japan outside the Exclusion Zone to consider the use of potassium iodide tablets at this time.

Dengue Fever

We have experienced unparalleled rain fall in recent months that has created an environment for the rise of Dengue Fever. The best method to deal with the disease is prevention.

It is carried by the Dengue Mosquito and Asian Tiger Mosquito we need to prevent being bitten by these nasty little insects so screen your house if able, cover your arms and legs, and use insect repellent. we also need to prevent the spread of mosquitoes by ensuring that we do not create a breeding ground around our homes.

The attached link provides a guide to managing mosquitoes in your environment

Click here to read more

According to Queensland Health the symptoms of Dengue Fever include:

• "sudden onset of fever (lasting three to seven days)
• intense headache (especially behind the eyes)
• muscle and joint pain (ankles, knees and elbows)
• unpleasant metallic taste in mouth, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain
• flushed skin on face and neck, fine skin rash as fever subsides
• rash on arms and legs, severe itching, peeling of skin and hair loss
• minor bleeding (nose or gums) and heavy menstrual periods
• extreme fatigue"

You need to see your doctor immediately for treatment. In rare occasions the disease can progress to
Dengue haemorrhagic fever which can be fatal.

Immunisation;

Whilst health care  facility's have been provided with copies of the Australian  Immunisation Handbook and receive updates regularly, it is useful to  remember the Department of Health & Aging Website on  Immunisation . If you need to access information quickly it is easy to navigate and contains lots of great information  including fact sheets for  consumers and  detailed  information  for health care workers. A recent update which may be of interest is about  the rotavirus vaccines used in Australia, Rotarix® and RotaTeq®, and a small risk of increased intussusception. Read the information located at  Rotavirus immunisation update . 

Complaints about the Accreditation Agency and the role of the Aged Care Commissioner

There has been increasing interest and discussion by some managers regarding the role of the Aged Care Commissioner and the Accreditation Agency, particularly in relation to the investigation of complaints. There is an interesting document titled Protocol between the Office of the Aged Care Commissioner and the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency which is worth a read.

According to the document on the accreditation agency website, ‘ The Commissioner may examine complaints made about the conduct of accreditation bodies relating to the Accreditation Grant Principles 1999 or the conduct of persons carrying out audits, or making support contacts under those Principles. Division 6.2 of the Investigation Principles 2007 discusses complaints to the Aged Care Commissioner and the Commissioner’s discretion to examine complaints.

The document also reminds us that the core functions of the Agency are to:

• Manage the residential aged care accreditation process using the Accreditation Standards

• Promote high quality care and assist industry to improve service quality by identifying best practice, and providing information, education and training

• Assess and strategically manage services working towards accreditation

• Liaise with the Department of Health and Ageing about services that do not comply with the relevant Standards.

The document can be found at

http://www.accreditation.org.au/assessors/assessor-handbooks-and-resources/

Recent feedback from some managers has highlighted the importance of seeking clarification from Assessors if they make what appear to be strong recommendations during general discussion. For managers recently, upon seeking clarity, it was determined that the assessors were passing personal views, rather than making recommendations or providing additional information in reports. Non clarity of the content of the discussion would have resulted in managers assuming they had to make specific changes to internal processes, which for their facilities are working well and meet regulatory standards and guidelines.