Responding to rising syphilis notifications
Syphilis notifications have been rising across Australia, prompting the Chief Medical Officer to declare it a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance in August 2025. Responding to this, CERSH is working with health workforce across Loddon Mallee and Hume to strengthen how regional and rural health services respond.
A literature-based needs assessment gave us a starting picture of the gaps across screening, diagnosis, treatment, partner management, neonatal outcomes, and access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
To validate these findings and ensure our response reflects the Victorian rural workforce, we're inviting a conversation with health workforce across Loddon Mallee and Hume to shape practical workforce education and clinical decision-support tools together.
What we're hoping to achieve
What we hear in these conversations will directly shape the next stage of this project. Your input will be brought together with findings from other conversations to refine our understanding of the gaps and inform the workforce education and support tools we go on to develop. We'll keep you updated as the project moves from listening to planning to delivery – including what we heard, how it's shaped our thinking, and opportunities to stay involved if you'd like to.
Screening and diagnosis
Grow your confidence in recognising and managing syphilis presentations. Help shape practical screening reminders and clearer diagnostic guidance that fit your existing systems and build stronger specialist links.
Treatment
Help us develop clear, practical guidance on accessing approved treatment alternatives – addressing a live supply issue affecting your patients now.
Partner management
Shape practical tools that make partner notification conversations easier to navigate, including the ethical and safety considerations you manage day to day.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access
Help shape culturally safe training and stronger connections between services, led by community needs.
Help inform the response
Health workforce across Loddon Mallee and Hume – including PHUs, hospitals, women's health services, community health, general practice, practice managers and others with a touchpoint on syphilis care –are invited to register for a conversation with Oscar Giggins, Sexual and Reproductive Health Wellbeing Lead.
What to expect
In this 30-60 minute conversation, we'll cover:
- Project scope and boundary (what this is and isn't about)
- Current state findings from the needs assessment – does this match what you're seeing?
- Draft recommended actions – what's missing, what wouldn't work, what would you change?
- Existing initiatives or work already happening in this space
- Your interest in staying involved as the project develops
What happens next
What we hear in these conversations will directly shape the next stage of this project. Your input will be brought together with findings from other conversations to refine our understanding of the gaps and inform the workforce education and support tools we go on to develop.
We'll keep you updated as the project moves from listening to planning to delivery – including what we heard, how it's shaped our thinking, and opportunities to stay involved if you'd like to.
Any information you share will be used only for the purposes of this project and won't be shared outside CERSH without your knowledge.
Questions?
Contact Oscar Giggins, Sexual and Reproductive Health Lead at oscar.giggins@unimelb.edu.au