Throughout the past two years I have been in awe of the dedication, resilience and flexibility of our primary care sector. Despite many challenges and overwhelming pressure, you have continued to adapt and deliver high-quality health services. It is no doubt this has been an extremely difficult time for all of us, but particularly those of you on the frontline.

The mental health and wellbeing of our healthcare workers is paramount. Just like we would our physical health, we need to take steps every day to ensure we are mentally healthy. Self-care is essential - if we aren’t feeling our best, then we can’t expect to give our best to others.

In partnership with Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL), we are offering a new free, self-paced eLearning series Wellbeing and Self-Care for You for all healthcare professionals in our region, including practice and administrative staff. Local psychologist and chair of the Allied Health Clinical Council, Jillian Harrington was involved in the development of this course and adapting it for our region.

The course includes three modules:

• Self-care for a healthcare workforce under pressure
• Coping as a team during crisis
• Mapping out your personal and professional journey: tips, tools and resources.

You will be required to log in to Your Practice Portal to access the course, and if you haven’t already done so, create an account.

I would also like to remind you that we have a number of other mental health resources for health professionals listed on our website if you or a colleague is in need of support.