Immunisation
Overview
The NIP was established in 1997 through the Immunise Australia: Seven Point Plan after an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey in 1990 revealed that only 53% of children under four years of age were being fully immunised.
The initiatives included recognising a bigger role for GP’s as vaccine service providers as well as the monitoring and evaluation of immunisation targets through the establishment of the GPII, introduced to provide financial incentives to GP’s who provide age appropriate immunisation to children under seven years of age.
Divisions of General Practice also increased their involvement to ensure GP’s follow current immunisation protocols and that proper arrangements were in place for vaccine storage in general practice. The monitoring and evaluation of immunisation targets using data supplied by the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) was also introduced to encourage competition and inspire practices with low rates to improve their coverage.
These initiatives remain in place today and are supported by the Division who implement a range of initiatives that promote and support the NIP. The immunisation program in the Division focuses on the following areas:
- Implementing the ASVS by providing high level practice support focusing on cold chain maintenance, data
cleansing, resources and information - Monitoring and increasing practice participation in the GPII Scheme and other local and national programs
- Collaborates with other key stakeholders (Population Health Units, Queensland Health Immunisation Program,
GPQ, Local Councils and other vaccine service providers) to ensure timely and accurate information to general
practice. - Monitoring the performance of individual practices through ACIR data to identify those with low immunisation
coverage rates. These rates affect the overall coverage rate of the Division and therefore our national ranking - Promoting the uptake of electronic transfer of immunisation records (where applicable) to ACIR
Objectives
The immunisation program has two main objectives:
- To support general practice to implement the National Immunisation Program in accordance with the Australian Immunisation Handbook, 9th Edition 2008 and current Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule
- To support practices to reach and maintain a coverage rate of greater than 90% childhood immunisation according to GPII statistics
Program Details
The key participants in the immunisation program are:
- General Practitioners, Practice Nurses, Practice Managers and Practice Staff
The key stakeholders in the immunisation program are:
- General Practice Queensland
- Brisbane South Population Health Unit
- Queensland Health Immunisation Program
- Australian General Practice Network
The immunisation program objectives are implemented through a number of initiatives:
Immunisation Collaborative
The Collaborative methodology is used to encourage continuous
quality improvement in general practice. An Expert Reference Panel was formed to establish monthly measures for participating practices to submit and change principles upon which to structure improvement. The collaborative aims to protect each child and adult from the effects of disease, to protect the community from the spread of infection and to support the practice to undertake quality, systems driven care.
The goal of the collaborative is to develop systems that will increase and maintain practice immunisation rates at greater than 90%. Practices attend a series of three learning workshops where they learn from exemplar speakers in the field. Practices are required to submit measures monthly along with a minimum of two Plan Do Study Act cycles. They receive support in the form of practice visits, fax, email and phone support during their participation in the program along with monthly feedback from the Program Manager. This feedback helps the practice to focus on specific areas for improvement.
Four year old bike competition
This initiative is conducted annually from November to March (inclusive). The initiative is aimed at improving the immunisation coverage rates for the 48 month old cohort of children. Participation in the competition is voluntary for practice. The Division supplies practices with resources required to be involved at no cost to the practice.
The initiative is designed to encourage parents who receive the 4 year old birthday card and the ‘win a bike voucher’ to take their child to their GP to be immunised thus improving the rate of immunizations being given in this cohort of children.
Program Achievements
Achievements to date include:
- 10 practices participating in continuous quality improvement activities to improve their systems for managing immunisation
- A record number of 36 practices participating in the 4 year old bike competition resulting in over 1000 children being immunised
Resources
Links
Contact Us
Amanda Curran
Program Manager – Immunisation
Phone: (07) 3274 1886
Email: acurran@bsdgp.com.au