This is a share from the PHN North Western Melbourne team. PHN will be conducting a free webinar 24 April 2024.
The aims of the session are:
- To support GPs to appropriately record consultations where family violence presents
- To determine the legal requirements and obligations of GPs responding to family violence. Registration is now open.
About The Webinar
The Victorian Government’s Royal Commission into Family Violence identified GPs as playing a significant role in potentially saving the lives of women and children experiencing family violence and were declared the most trusted person outside of a family member or close friend. In accordance with these findings, changes have been made to the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme to enable GPs, practice nurses and practice teams to appropriately respond and participate in a multidisciplinary approach to better support their patients who are victims of family violence.
The Primary Care Pathways to Safety program aims to support GPs and practice teams to ask about family violence when a patient presents with pertinent symptoms or signs. Consultations can be complex and time-consuming. Health outcomes related to family violence can be diverse with the main presentations being mental health issues including insomnia, anxiety and depression.
This session aims to respond to questions raised by GPs during their family violence education and training. Participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions of the expert panellists and learn how to safely document their findings, address issues of consent, assess risk and provide support consistent with their professional and clinical requirements.
Speakers
Magdalena Simonis AM, Associate Professor – University of Melbourne
Clinical Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis is a leading women’s health expert, government advisor and a senior honorary research fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Department of General Practice.
She has helped develop resources with Safer Families specifically around information sharing and the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM). She continues to deliver family violence training through Safer Families and RACGP. Magdalena is a long-standing member of the RACGP Expert Committee Quality Care and is the elected Australian Medical Association Federal General Practice Representative.
Rebecca Kovacs, Medical Indemnity Insurer – Avant
Rebecca is a medico-legal lawyer at Avant, the medical indemnity insurer, and has been practising in health law for over 10 years. During this time, she has represented medical practitioners in regulatory investigations including AHPRA, Medicare and coronial investigations. Rebecca’s experience includes acting as in-house counsel for AHPRA and the 15 national boards regulating registered health practitioners and defending public health services in medical negligence litigation.
Gordon Porter
Gordon Porter has been a barrister for 10 years. He retired from Victoria Police after a 32-year career, predominately as a prosecutor. Throughout, he was a strong advocate for victim survivors of domestic violence.
He has a wealth of experience as an advocate, having worked in and around Magistrates’ Courts for over 40 years. When not in the courtroom he has been active in driving reform within Victoria Police, Koori Court, and Mental Health lists. He was Senior Advisor to the Vanuatu State Prosecution’s Department, where he also helped drive awareness for the rights of women, particularly against domestic violence.
Gordon was also the founding member of Voice For Harmony, an anti-discrimination community group. He has been recognised for his work in the criminal justice system in the establishment of the Koori Court, for his services to ethnic and the Koori communities. Gordon received a commendation from Victoria Police for his cross examination of an expert witness in a highly complex case.
Further Information / Register
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis AM is the Immediate Past President of the AFMW (2020-2023), former President of VMWS (2013 & 2017-2020) and current AFMW National Coordinator (2024-2026). She is a full time clinician who also holds positions on several not for profit organisations, driven by her passion for bridging gaps across the health sector. She is a leading women’s health expert, keynote speaker, climate change and gender equity advocate and government advisor. Magda is member of The Australian Health Team contributing monthly articles.
Magdalena was awarded a lifetime membership of the RACGP for her contributions which include past chair of Women in General Practice, longstanding contribution to the RACGP Expert Committee Quality Care, the RACGP eHealth Expert Committee. She is regularly invited to comment on primary care research though mainstream and medical media and contributes articles on various health issues through newsGP and other publications.
Magdalena has represented the RACGP at senate enquiries and has worked on several National Health Framework reviews. She is author of the RACGP Guide on Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery and co-reviewer of the RACGP Red Book Women’s Health Chapter, and reviewer of the RACGP White book
Both an RACGP examiner and University examiner, she undertakes general practice research and is a GP Educator with the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence, which develops education tools to assist the primary care sector identify, respond to and manage family violence . Roles outside of RACGP include the Strategy and Policy Committee for Breast Cancer Network Australia, Board Director of the Melbourne University Teaching Health Clinics and the elected GP representative to the AMA Federal Council. In 2022. she was award the AMA (Vic) Patrick Pritzwald-Steggman Award 2022, which celebrates a doctor who has made an exceptional contribution to the wellbeing of their colleagues and the community and was listed as Women’s Agenda 2022 finalist for Emerging Leader in Health.
Magdalena has presented at the United Nations as part of the Australian Assembly and was appointed the Australian representative to the World Health Organisation, World Assembly on COVID 19, by the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) in 2021. In 2023, A/Professor Simonis was included on the King’s COVID-19 Champion’s list and was also awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division for significant service to medicine through a range of roles and to women’s health.
