News Hepatitis Australia News December 2021 Hepatitis Australia wishes you a safe and happy summer and a wonderful 2022! Thank you to everyone for the outstanding work you’ve done in 2021 for people impacted by viral hepatitis. We look forward to working with you again in the New Year, but in the meantime our staff will be taking a break and we hope you get one too. Our office will be closed from Monday 20 December 2021 and to Friday 14 January 2022, and we will not be monitoring emails. If you have a time critical matter over that period please contact our CEO, Carrie Fowlie, via SMS. Many of our member’s offices will also be closed for a period over this time, and the National Hepatitis Infoline may not be available. You can read about the State and Territory Hepatitis Organisation office closures below. Before we go, we wanted to share a couple of upcoming projects, events and opportunities you can look forward to in the new year: In this edition, you will find: Hepatitis organisation office closures Finding 50,000 National Project Invite your team to subscribe Hepatitis ACT is hiring: Executive Officer National Preventive Health Strategy released Save the Date – INHSU 2022 Expression of Interest – Clinical Advisory Group for STI-BBV Online Learning Module Review and Update Hepatitis Organisation Office Closures State and Territory hepatitis organisations will also be closing over the holiday period. While closed, the Hepatitis Infoline will be unavailable in that state or territory. Organisation Closes Reopens Hepatitis ACT 1pm, 24 Dec 9am, 10 January Hepatitis NSW 1pm, 24 Dec 9am, 4 January Hepatitis QLD 12pm, 24 Dec 9am, 4 January Hepatitis SA 5pm, 23 December 9am, 4 January Hepatitis WA Midday (AWST) 24 December 9am, 4 January LiverWell 5pm, 24 December 9am, 17 January NTAHC (Needle and Syringe Program remains open except for public holidays) 5pm, 24 December 9am, 7 January TasCAHRD 5pm, 23 December 9am, 5 January The Hepatitis Australia office will be closed 20 December to 14 January 2022. Finding 50,000 National Project In November 2020, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, Federal Minister for Health, committed to finding 50,000 people living with hepatitis C by the end of 2022. Mobilised around this shared commitment, Hepatitis Australia led a proposal with the sector on how this could be achieved resulting in the establishment of the National Hepatitis C 50,000 Project with support from the Minister for Health, the Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections (BBVSTI) Standing Committee and the Australian Department of Health. For more information, see the Project proposal. The 50,000 Project is an innovative national partnership project to scale up testing and treatment to find 50,000 people living with hepatitis C by the end of 2022. In doing so, the 50,000 Project will be central in Australia achieving the 2022 national hepatitis C targets for testing and treatment. Premised on health and geographic equity, the 50,000 Project seeks to concurrently scale up five pillars of activity in areas where a concerted effort is needed and where treatment targets are at risk of being missed. The pillars of activity are: National hepatitis C public education campaigns National program to scale up hepatitis C point of care testing Expanded hepatitis activity in primary care including case finding National Hepatitis C Infoline enhancement Hepatitis C systems working group and project coordination and evaluation Hepatitis Australia, as the national peak, has been central in the development and establishment of the Project and will be supporting implementation throughout 2022. The 50,000 Project represents a genuinely new national initiative involving more than 250 potential partners including Hepatitis Australia and its members. Through this partnership approach, the Project will centre affected communities; leverage new technologies, existing expertise, and established networks; and represent a deep commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of people impacted by hepatitis C. The Project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health. For more information, download the National Finding 50,000 Hepatitis C Project Stakeholder Brief #1 (December 2021). National Hepatitis C “Finding 50,000” Campaign Hepatitis Australia has been engaged to deliver a National Hepatitis C Campaign in 2022 as a component of the broader ‘Finding 50,000’ Project. The “Finding 50,000” Campaign is the first of its kind in Australia and will: Deliver a national innovative, positive and geo-targeted hepatitis C campaign as part of the umbrella national “50,000 Project”. Deliver events and community mobilisation activities, including with culturally, linguistically and ethnically diverse communities, in all States and Territories in agreed priority geographic areas to inspire Australians to act on hepatitis C (e.g. prevent liver cancer, see a GP, access testing and treatment) within their own communities. Concurrently integrate header Campaign assets and brokered media partnerships to broaden campaign reach in 16 priority geographic areas. Integrate the Campaign with the other national “50,000 Project” activities including the National Hepatitis Infoline enhancement; National Point of Care Testing Program; National Campaign for people who inject drugs, and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; and primary care enhancement project. Leverage and amplify the existing Australian response to, and investment in, hepatitis C including universal access to direct acting antivirals and World Hepatitis Day. Increase general community awareness of hepatitis C through accurate and timely information (e.g. liver cancer prevention, seeing a GP, accessing screening and testing and taking up treatment). Download the National Hepatitis C “Finding 50,000” Campaign Stakeholder Briefing #1 (December 2021) Invite your team to subscribe Do you find these updates useful? Hepatitis Australia strives to share information that is helpful to the work of our members and the hepatitis sector through our newsletter – but many of your colleagues may not be subscribed to receive updates from Hepatitis Australia. Help keep your team up-to-date by sharing this link to subscribe with them: Subscribe Hepatitis ACT is hiring: Executive Officer Full Time Canberra-based Applications close 5pm, 22 December 2021 Hepatitis ACT is seeking expressions of interest for an Executive Officer position. Working under the direction of the Board of Directors, the Executive Officer: Supports the Board to undertake their role of providing strategic direction for the organisation Leads the operations of the organisation, implements the strategic plan priorities including quality service and business development, and ensures compliance with legal and contractual obligations Find Out More Policy updates: National Preventive Health Strategy released and Telehealth made permanent this week, the Minister for Health, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP launched the new National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2030. Following advocacy from Hepatitis Australia and other BBV/STI Peaks, the strategy references communicable diseases beyond COVID-19 and refers to the BBV and STI strategies. Read the Strategy In addition, the Minister announced that telehealth will be made permanent. Karen Price at RACGP advised “The system is going to be basically the same as what it is now and the rebates will be the same, so we will have some certainty regarding the fact that we can continue to book ahead with the current MBS item numbers.” The exemption for people with hepatitis B and hepatitis C, which removes the need for a pre-existing relationship with their doctor will also remain in place.We have updated our recent briefing note on telehealth for hepatitis C and hepatitis B to include this new information. Telehealth Briefing Note Save the Date – INHSU 2022 International Conference on Health and Hepatitis Care in Substance Users Event dates: 19 to 21 October 2022 Event link: https://www.inhsu.org/our-conference/ The 10th International Conference on Health and Hepatitis Care in Substance Users will be held 19 to 21 October 2022 in Glasgow and online. The conference will feature over 100 sessions on the topic of drug policy, health and wellbeing of people who use drugs, harm reduction, hepatitis C and other infectious diseases. Abstracts and scholarship applications will open in January 2022. More info Expression of Interest – Clinical Advisory Group for STI-BBV Online Learning Module Review and Update Organisation: ASHM Due Date: 18 February 2022 Register interest ASHM is currently seeking the expertise of nurses and midwives to join a Clinical Advisory Group who will be responsible for the review and update of an online learning module (OLM) called Sexually Transmissible Infections and Blood Borne Viruses: Nursing Modules. Members of the Clinical Advisory Group will be asked to provide recommendations on learning outcomes and the curriculum, as well as contribute to the review of this e-learning resource such as updating epidemiological data, interactive quizzes, relevant assessment etc. Remuneration will be offered to those who areâŻinvolved.âŻYou can contact Sabdy Ma for additional information. Register Hepatitis Australia Manage Cookie Preferences