On 28-29 October, the AH&MRC, with support from NACCHO, hosted a two-day workshop for the Sexual Health workforce in the ACCHO sector. The workshop focused on syphilis and the roll-out of NACCHO’s Syphilis Point-of-Care Testing in NSW-a timely initiative following the declaration of syphilis as a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance in August 2025.
Sexual health staff nominated by member services met in Little Bay to discuss all things syphilis and undertake the training and assessment for point-of-care testing, equipping them to share these skills and knowledge within their own services.
On the first day we were also joined by representatives from the Sexual Health InfoLink (SHIL) who gave us an overview of their Syphilis Support Program, which, assists clinicians across NSW in interpreting, managing and treating syphilis in their communities.
The second day we featured Cat Timcke from VACCHO, who guided participants through their continuous quality improvement (CQI) Systems Assessment Toolkit for BBV/STIs. This session set off valuable discussions and generated ideas to take back to their services.
The workshop was met with enthusiasm and provided an opportunity for knowledge sharing and networking, strengthening the syphilis response in our communities.
If you would like further information on syphilis POCT or STI BBV in your ACCHO please reach out to kalderton@ahmrc.org.au or publichealth@ahmrc.org.au
