Information & Resources

COVID-19 Information & Resources


Providing information and support to general practices to assist with the management of COVID-19  

This page is designed to keep general practices informed on the latest information and updates relating to the management of COVID-19 in the community. This includes practices resources, news and updates and COVID-19 vaccine information.

Practice Resources

COVID-19 GP Checklist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

This wellness checklist focuses on managing chronic conditions during the pandemic. Acknowledgement of the centrality of culture is critical to an Aboriginal person. 

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Checklist

The Vaccine Acceptance Checklist is designed to assist practices to practices in managing the arrival and management of vaccines whilst complying with the ATAGI recommendations.  

COVID-19 Vaccine Stock Governance Checklist

This guide provides details on how to ensure you have undertaken the appropriate planning and considered responsibilities to run efficient vaccination clinics. This resource will continue to be updated as the vaccine information expands.  

Get COVID Ready Kit

​With WA's borders now open, now is the time to prepare for directions to isolate in the event of a positive COVID-19 result. This Checklist will ensure that you can check items off as you prepare.

Identifying Patient Cohorts at greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19  

If your practice has a Pen CS licence supplied by WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA), you can use the recipes in the table below to help identify patient cohorts at greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19. The risk factors are based on information from the Australian Government Department of Health. 

Living with COVID-19 Pandemic Checklist and Toolkit 

This resource is designed to support preparedness and response in General Practice through the changing landscape of living with COVID-19 in our community. 

Planned Pandemic Response Tool  

This tool is designed to help create a Pandemic Response Plan. It is a place to write down the specific changes to the practices day to day operations at each stage as the pandemic progresses. This plan will be specific to your practice. Each part is customisable for the practice including escalations, triggers and responses for each stage. With each section there is a suggestions, guidance and resources. Edit as appropriate for your team. 

Stock Control Spreadsheet 

These Spreadsheets are designed for clinics that have opted to separate clinics into first and second doses for ease of management. The spreadsheet will automatically allocate the second doses quantities at the correct time of the schedule. This has shown to be effective in managing vaccine stock levels and ordering processes.  

COVID-19 Positive Patient Response

This document is to be used as a flow chart when a practice is faced with a COVID-19 Positive patient at/in their practice. This resource steps practices through the steps of what to do and provides various links to resources to support them.

COVID-19 Close contact in your practice team

This questionnaire is used to manage a COVID-19 close contact within your team. It provides a platform to ask a range of questions and document the responses in order to allow the necessary people within the practice to manage and take the next steps.

COVID-19 Positive Case in your practice team

This questionnaire is used to manage a COVID-19 positive case within your team. It provides a platform to ask a range of questions and document the responses in order to allow the necessary people within the practice to manage and take the next steps.

COVID-19 Tips for GP Administration Teams

We recently heard from a practice manager in Victoria who had to double her practice’s administration support staff to manage the increased operational demands during a sustained outbreak. To find out more, view the recording of our webinar about Practice Preparedness for COVID - Lessons from the East Coast.

In response to the anticipated increased workload, we have developed a new cheat sheet COVID-19 Tips for GP Administration Teams to assist you with managing workloads within your practice.

COVID-19 Links to Useful Resources

This resource has been created with useful links to resources to assist with your ongoing COVID-19 Practice Preparedness.

COVID-19 Resources for CALD Patients

To make it easier for practices to engage and communicate with members of their local CALD communities, we have collated a list of COVID-19 Resources for CALD Patients which includes a range of posters, social media tiles and videos in some of the most common languages spoken in Western Australia, other than English.

See your GP – Keep your health on track campaign: communication tools for practices

WA Primary Health Alliance has prepared a new See Your GP campaign to help patients keep their health on track.

In a rapidly changing and challenging environment, general practices are busier than ever. Many practices are involved in delivering COVID-19 vaccinations, facing staff shortages, and all have had to put new procedures in place to manage infection risk.

Simultaneously, some patients are putting off routine checks for chronic conditions. Others may be confused about how to access their GP, if they should be making routine appointments, and have concerns over their exposure to COVID-19 when visiting the practice.

Patients need to understand and navigate changes to the way primary health care is being delivered. They need to feel comfortable that their heath care needs can still be met in a safe and effective way. Additionally, as we move into our first winter where we are living with COVID in the community, it is more important than ever to remind patients of the importance of having their influenza vaccination.

This campaign is designed to support practice staff with tools and resources to educate and reassure patients to keep their health on track.

It was informed by feedback from members of a GP Advisory Panel WA Primary Health Alliance runs in partnership with RACGP WA and Rural Health West.

This campaign is designed for your practice to use on your own communication channels such as website, social media, in practice and voicemail. Many of the resources can be customised to meet your practice’s needs.

It includes:

  • Content for your website
  • Social media imagery
  • Explainer videos on the way care may be different, telehealth, e-prescribing, and the importance of continuing regular care.
  • A script for your on-hold phone recording and voicemail
  • Links to useful websites, and more.
Access our See Your GP campaign resources

Find a range of videos and images below to share on social media with suggested messages, wording for your Practice website, a patient guide, an on-hold recording script, and more.

Living with COVID -19 Supporting respiratory patients in General Practice

COVID-19 is becoming part of usual business and life. In response to this transition, GP respiratory clinics will be closing by the end of February 2023, so it is likely that patients with respiratory symptoms will be returning to General Practice. This fact sheet has been created to support practices review their procedures and infrastructure to be able to sustainably accommodate respiratory patients.

Get your practice ready with these essential tips.

Vaccine Information & Resources

COVID-19 Vaccination Program: Medicare ineligible patient funding

The Australian COVID death rate was two-and-a-half times higher in people born overseas compared to people born in Australia, according to the latest ABS statistics.  

Engaging with migrant populations regarding vaccination is one easy way to bring down the death rate.  

Funding is available from 4 April 2022 to support the vaccination of Medicare ineligible patients to the value of the equivalent MBS item number.  
 
Immunisation providers can request a 10A report from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR), to identify Medicare ineligible patients who might be due or overdue for immunisations.  

To request a 10A report, you will need to login to PRODA and access your HPOS account. For more information, refer to Services Australia for detailed steps on accessing this report. 

If you would like further support with this important data-driven quality improvement (QI) activity or for further information about this funding, contact Practice Assist and one of WAPHA’s Practice QI Coaches or a member of the vaccination team will be in touch as soon as possible.   

COVID-19 vaccine stock redistribution update

Supply and delivery of COVID-19 vaccine stock is controlled by the Australian Department of Health, in partnership with the Vaccine Operations Centre.

WA Primary Health Alliance supports practices with COVID-19 stock redistribution requests to minimise stock wastage, utilising existing networks of vaccinating practices, at a local level.

The Commonwealth Department of Health has implemented national procedures to streamline redistribution requests and as such we support practices to utilise this process.  

The redistribution process is as follows:
 
To Transfer Out Stock
  1. Contact the Vaccine Operations Centre to advise of your excess stock and lodge a ‘Transfer Request’. VOC will create a transfer request case and use this to redistribute your excess vaccines where possible to nearby sites.
  2. You can reach the VOC at covid19vaccineoperationscentre@health.gov.au. Please ensure you have details such as batch number, quantity, expiry date and vaccine type in your email.
It is recommended you first try to redistribute stock to a nearby site, who is authorised to vaccinate.
 
 To Obtain Stock 
  1. Submit an additional order request via CVAS ordering portal.
  2. Please note approval for extra stock will be dependent on the Commonwealth approval based on your current stock level.
  3. We encourage you not to commit these vaccines to appointments until your order has been confirmed by the Commonwealth Department of Health.
Additional orders are not for emergency use and therefore, if you require stock urgently, we encourage you to reach out to your local networks and other vaccinating sites.
 

COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Information

COVID-19 vaccinations are available at participating general practices, Commonwealth Vaccination Clinics (GP Respiratory Clinics), Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHs), selected community  pharmacies and State-run vaccination clinics.

If you are aged 5 years or older, you can book a COVID-19 vaccination.
Children aged 6 months to <5 years with severe immunocompromise, disability, and those who have complex and/or multiple health conditions which increase the risk of severe COVID-19 can also book a COVID-19 vaccination.
ATAGI does not currently recommend vaccination for children aged 6 months to <5 years who are not in the above risk categories for severe COVID-19.

The ATAGI recommended doses and vaccines outlines which vaccines and doses are recommended for each age and population group.

On 22 December the WA government announced boosters would be mandatory for staff working within primary care. 

Vaccines can be booked using the Vaccine Clinic Finder or at State-run community COVID-19 vaccination clinics using VaccinateWA

COVID-19 information, advice and resources

COVID-19 vaccination training

Authorised COVID-19 vaccination providers must complete COVID-19 vaccination training to ensure our workforce is competent in the safe management and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. For further information, visit the following links:

Aboriginal Health and COVID-19

All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 5 and over can access a COVID-19 vaccine. The Australian Department of Health has developed campaign materials for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

  • COVID 19 Updates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from Australian Department of Health can be found here
  • COVID 19 Updates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from WA Department of Health can be found here 
Other resources

COVID-19 vaccines: Dispelling the myths for Aboriginal people

Patient information

GP support programs

COVID-19 HealthPathways

COVID-19 HealthPathways

HealthPathways WA is a secure, online portal with a suite of comprehensive COVID-19 pathways that provide general practitioners with information on patient assessment, management and referral pathways.

View COVID-19 HealthPathways

To register for login details, submit the online form or email the team at healthpathways@wapha.org.au

Practice Assist acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Owners and Elders of this country and recognises the significant importance of their cultural heritage, values and beliefs and how these contribute to the positive health and wellbeing of the whole community.

Disclaimer
While the Australian Government Department of Health has contributed to the funding of this website, the information on this website does not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government and is not advice that is provided, or information that is endorsed, by the Australian Government. The Australian Government is not responsible in negligence or otherwise for any injury, loss or damage however arising from the use of or reliance on the information provided on this website.