The aims of our Immunisation Program are as follows:
Assist with increasing each practice’s immunisation rate to over 90%byproviding support to practices with their data cleaning efforts for those with 90% or under.
Work with Population Health regional immunisation coordinator to increase overall statistics in the Pilbara.(At present approximately 86% of childhood vaccinations are delivered by Population Health)
Guide practices with data cleaning activities.Help staff to source, understand and act on individual practice reports issued from GPII quartley. These reports can also be requested through ACIR secure site.
Promote & maintain use of best practice immunisation principles by GP’s and other immunisation providers.Encourage vaccines to be administered according to best practice guidelines. Free APNA online immunisation update course promoted for all practice nurses.
Develop strategies for improving timeliness & quality of data forwarded to ACIR.Promote register & recall of patients requiring immunisation & those at risk. Assist practices to use ACIR on line & follow up support.
Promote & guide practices with maintaining the vaccine cold chain process.Encourage data logging of fridges. It is also advised to have vaccine fridges checked and audited annually. PHN offer this data logging service using a computerised Tiny Tag data logger to record temperatures over 2-3 days.
Distribute useful resources to assist GPs & Nurses
Update Educational presentations for GPs & Nursing Staff.The ACIR help desk is always available for in house advice.
Immunisation Certification Course
The Immunisation Certification Course is produced and conducted by the Health Department of Western Australia, with accreditation by the Royal College of Nursing Australia. This program concentrates specifically on the needs of nurse immunisation providers, with a focus in particular on the vaccines used in the National Immunisation Program. However, the broad based principles of this program can apply in any immunisation program setting.
Western Australian General Practice Network (WAGPN) administers this course, as a priority for those nurses working in general practice settings across Western Australia. Nurses working in other private health settings in WA can also do the course through WAGPN. The course contains theoretical and clinical competency assessments over a defined study period.
Before registering, Nurses are encouraged to seek information on course expectations and sources for support.
Nurses working in General Practice in Pilbara, WA should contact Divisional Immunisation Project Officer (please see below for contact information).
Points to remember when filling the registration form click here.
For more information click here or Contact Nena Hunter, Pilbara Health Network, DIPO at (08) 9185 6662 or email to qumphn@gmail.com
To see the most frequently asked questions click here.
Cold Chain
Vaccines are delicate biological substances that can become less effective or destroyed if they are frozen, allowed to get too hot or exposed to direct sunlight or fluorescent light.
The ‘cold chain’ is the system of transporting and storing vaccines within a safe temperature range. This temperature range is between 2 and 8 degrees from the place of manufacture to the point of administration ensuring people receive an effective vaccine that has retained its potency and has not been affected by heat or cold.
The National vaccine storage guidelines: Strive for 5 outlines the basic principles for safe vaccine management, the importance of self auditing, a checklist for safe vaccine handling and storage and advice on management of cold chain problems.
In the event of a cold chain breach the cold chain wastage/incident form provides you with the correct actions to take and the contact details of the Regional Immunisation Coordinators to contact for advice.
To assist a Practice to manage a cold chain breakdown an action plan action plan has been developed. This resource is useful for all Practice staff to use as a guide.
