RACGP updates GP Standards
Our BEST TIPS for Accreditation
Ischaemic heart disease is the number one cause of death for men in Australia, and the second most common cause of death for women. Updates to the RACGP Standards have been made to reflect the expectation that General Practice are prepared for potential clinical emergencies.
These changes include immediate access to an electrocardiograph and an automatic external defibrillator (AED) along with basic life support (BSL) training for all general practice staff.
So what does this mean for your practice?
We are Australia’s leading supplier of Defibrillators and a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) that trains teams in Basic Life Support (BLS) and the use of defibrillators. We have done this for over 15 years on the Gold Coast.
We have decided to share some of our knowledge with you to help with accreditation for the practice.
What are the new Standards?
There have been upgrades to the standards, so lets have a look at what the changes and requirements are.
Criterion C3.3 – Emergency response plan
In an emergency, especially one such as a pandemic, the demand for healthcare services generally increases,15 so it is crucial that your practice can continue to provide services during this time, if appropriate. Emergencies can occur on your premises and involve your patients (eg a patient suffering a cardiac arrest).
Your practice team needs to consider the process for managing any incident, including roles and responsibilities (such as a first responder), as well as the processes for enacting your emergency response plan. If your practice is prepared for an emergency, you are more likely to provide effective continuity of care for your patients, and to continue operating your business as smoothly as possible.
So this means that you might consider participating in drills that involve all members of the practice team for the emergencies you have identified in your emergency response plan. This can be done in BLS training sessions and then an additional scenario added at a later stage. Contact us if you would like a scenario supplied to the Practice – 07 5520 5068.
Education and Training Updates:
Criterion C8.1 – Education and training of non-clinical staff
C8.1â–ºB Non-clinical staff complete basic life support (BLS) training in either CPR HLTAID009 or Provide First Aid HLTAID011 at least once every three years.
This training must be conducted by an accredited Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and the trainer must be a qualified trainer and assessor. The current training qualification required is the Certificate 4 in training and assessing TAE40116.
This means you will need to contact a training organisation to come to the practice and train the team, we offer courses in SE QLD and Northern NSW and conduct express options in as little as 90 min face to face.
Automated External Defibrillator
Changes to Criterion GP5.2 – Practice equipment
Your practice must have a defibrillator and there must be clear signs to indicate where it is.
The defibrillator in your practice :
- must be maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- it must be placed where it is clearly visible and accessible, and not exposed to extreme temperatures
So there is now no getting out of this one, you must have a defibrillator in the practice!
We would also like to discuss having the AED checked and tagged by external organisations – we have defibrillators that do NOT require this service, the manufacturer only recommends a monthly check and guess what – we have a monthly check-list in the pack for you.
Also our range of defibrillators conduct a self-check, so if there is a problem, the device will beep and let you know!
We have put together 3 options however, we recommend that you have the defibrillator displayed somewhere visible and accessible in the practice in a wall mounted display cabinet. This allows the non-clinical team to access this life saving device in a hurry.
Check out our range of GP defibrillator options here.Â
GP Defibrillator Bundles
All our HeartSine Defibrillator Bundles come with a massive 8 year TGA warranty with a single Pad and Battery pack that lasts 4 years. Do the Math, this means the lowest on going cost in Australia over 8 years for a GP Defibrillator Bundle.
From $225 per year for the life of your device – 8 years.
So for example, if your AED cost you $1549 then add 1 Pad and battery pack for $230. Then divide the total cost by 8 years!
- 8 Year TGA and Warranty
- Full Energy DeviceÂ
- Complete Bundle Pricing
- AED checklist for accreditation
- Self-Regulating AED, no checks required by an external company
- Free Online training
- AED signage
- Patient Prep pack
FAAE also offer a free online training program for your team, so you feel confident you have the skills and equipment to safely react to a cardiac emergency in the practice.
