SWSPHN Antenatal Shared Care Program

Over the last year, there has been considerable discussion around the rise in syphilis cases in New South Wales, and more broadly across Australia. Clinicians have seen Safety Alerts released via the Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) outlining the need to increase syphilis screening during pregnancy, and education via South West Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) targeting syphilis and congenital syphilis. NSW Health has now released a formal guideline for Syphilis in Pregnancy and Newborns. To support the policy guideline, the AHSM has developed a 1-hour online module for clinicians who provide antenatal care.

To access the online learning module, simply click the image below and register.

In August, a webinar event was recorded on the topic. Dr Chris Carmody (Staff Specialist for Sexual Health at Liverpool Hospital), Dr Michelle Dunn (Maternal Fetal Medicine Subspecialty Trainee- Liverpool Hospital) and Cherie Bennet (Clinical Nurse Consultant) from AHSM presented information and case studies on the topics of syphilis and congenital syphils. The video can be viewed below or via the SWSPHN Youtube channel.

The link for the online module will continue to be available via the online CPD tab within the ANSC Healthchat. Additionally, the link to the policy guideline will also continue to be available via the Protocols, Policies and Guidelines tab.

The gold standard resource for perinatal infecion management is the current edition of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) guidelines Management of Perinatal Infections.

Registration for this event here.

Event awards:

The Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) has updated the Safety Alert for Streptococcus A to both paediatric and pregnant/ postnatal populations. For full Safety Alert details, please click the image.

General Practitioners can refer pregnant women, or partners of pregnant women, to the Quit for New Life Smoking Cessation Program.

Details of the program are below. To access the referral, please click on the image.

SWSLHD wishes to bring to the attention of GPs providing antenatal care the incidence of positive Group A streptococcus cases amongst pregnant women in South West Sydney.

Linked below is a recent Safety Notice from NSW Health relating to Maternal sepsis due to invasive Group A streptococcus (iGAS) cases with considerations for newborns and peripartum women. Group A streptococcus infections amongst antenatal and postpartum women can cause rapid deterioration.

If identified, transfer to hospital for rapid and aggressive treatment is required. Please consider signs and symptoms if you have unwell pregnant or postnatal women presenting to your practice.

Accessibility to non-invasive prenatal testing is changing in South West Sydney.

Expert presenters will engage and inform GPs and obstetricians about the upcoming changes to prenatal testing within South West Sydney Local Health District at this free event. Click the image to register.

NIPT – how it works and potential pitfalls in screening. Professor Jon Hyett

NIPT Technologies – Value of SNPs. Mark Hajjar

Integrating NIPT into first trimester pregnancy assessment. A/Professor Indika Alahakoon

Plans for first trimester pregnancy assessment in SWSLHD. Prof Jon Hyett

The value of carrier screening: US experience. Mark Hajjar

Jon Hyett is a Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Western Sydney University, and Clinical Academic Specialist, Obstetrics and Materno-Fetal Medicine, Liverpool Hospital and South Western Sydney Local Health District

Indika Alahakoon is a Clinical Assoc. Professor in MFM - Fetal Medicine University of Sydney, Senior Staff Specialist - Westmead Hospital, Consultant Obstetrician and Sonologist - Centre for Women’s Ultrasound Westmead and Bella Vista

Mark Hajjar is a Medical Science Liaison with Natera, USA.

Click on the image to register for this event.

The event is sponsored by Natera, the NIPT service under agreement with NSW Health and SWSLHD. CPD should be self recorded for this event.

The Antenatal Shared Care Guidelines provide direction and clinical guidance to recognised ANSC GP providers. The Guidelines have been reviewed and updated to be in line with changes to antenatal care provision as directed by NSW Health and the Pregnancy Care Guidelines (2021).

Updates include strategies aimed to identify risk of stillbirth and fetal growth restriction through the Safer Baby Bundle.

The associated ANSC Protocol, has also been updated to align with the ANSC Guidelines.

Both the Guidelines and Protocol can be found within the ANSC Folder.

Please discard previous versions of the Guidelines and Protocol.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is 30 times more common than Toxoplasmosis and Listeria.

In Australia, more than 400 babies every year are born with a life-long disability caused by CMV, including deafness, epilepsy, intellectual impairment, cerebral palsy and, in rare, cases death. This makes CMV the most common infectious cause of disabilities in newborn babies.(Cerebral Palsy Alliance)

An online CPD module is available through Praxhub, providing 1.5CPD self-record points, to provide further information to GPs about CMV. An account with Praxhub is required to access the activity, accessible here.

Early engagement for pregnant women to antenatal care is critical. Pregnant women need to be connected with their hospital antenatal clinic by 13 weeks gestation, which means that the woman requires a referral earlier than 12 weeks gestation.

Women can connect themselves to the antenatal clinic via the self referral service: Booking in My Pregnancy (BiMP). She still requires a GP referral prior to attending her appointment.

General Practitioners can also refer women directly to the antenatal clinic via BiMP.

Simple instructions for clinician use of BiMP can be found here.

Poster resources in English, Arabic, Vietnamese, and combined language are available in the Resource Folder.