ImmunisationPlus QI Program

About the practice

Manila Street Surgery is a traditional, family-owned general practice based in Beenleigh, Queensland. We are a two-doctor practice and value our long-standing, multigenerational patient population, having provided care to the local community for more than 40 years.

Approximately 31% of our regular patient population is aged 65 years and over, with 15.1% aged 75 years and over.

Approximately 5.7% of our regular patient population identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

What inspired the practice to complete this QI activity?

Our participation in the ImmunisationPlus program came at a great time for our practice. We were already updating our Immunisation Management Protocol document, moving to Clever Logger for vaccine temperature monitoring and reviewing our recent RSV PDSA cycle. The program gave us a good opportunity to check what we were already doing well, get practical advice and make a few useful improvements.

The challenge

Over the past 12 months our practice has had several changes, including new staff, updated procedures and a new vaccine temperature monitoring system. As the Practice Nurse and Acting Practice Manager, I was in charge of coordinating these changes while working part-time (with a 10 month-old!). It was not always easy to get everyone together at the same time for training, so we needed a simple and flexible way to bring staff up to date.

What we did

• After we registered our interest in ImmunisationPlus, Brisbane South PHN sent us a checklist of what we were familiar with and scheduled a time to visit the practice. We went through the checklist together to look at what we were already doing well, what staff were familiar with and where we might need some extra tweaking.

• After going through the checklist and reviewing our signage, we identified a few areas where we could make simple improvements. This fitted in well with work we were already doing on our Immunisation Management Protocol, Clever Logger and our recent RSV PDSA cycle.

• Following the visit, we made several very small practical changes. All staff were signed up to immunisation email updates including SKAI, Australian Immunisation Handbook etc. Reception staff colour printed pre-vaccination checklists and post-vaccination information for patients. We laminated the current Queensland Immunisation Schedule and updated our pneumococcal & RSV posters.

• We also refreshed our vaccine management and cold chain signs and stickers, including replacing out-of-date Public Health Unit and cold chain reporting details.

• As we moved to Clever Logger, the reception team and Practice Nurse completed in-house training. Because our staff work different hours, I completed short one-to-one training sessions with each staff member while I was in the clinic. This made the training easier to fit around everyone's roster.

• We also reviewed our RSV PDSA cycle and repeated our immunisation search on 2 September 2026. This showed that 264 eligible patients had been immunised and by using Primary Sense we were able to identify the 85 patients who were still outstanding, giving us a clear list of patients to follow up.

Results and impact

The program helped us make several simple changes that are now part of our everyday work. Staff are receiving regular immunisation updates, and our patient information is easier to find and hand out. Reception staff now give patients a pre-vaccination checklist when they attend for a vaccine, so this is not left only to clinical staff.

Our Queensland Immunisation Schedule, pneumococcal posters, cold chain signs and reporting details are now up to date and easy for staff to access.

Staff have also been trained in Clever Logger, with one-to-one training making it easier for everyone to learn the new system. Reviewing our IMP document and updated Strive for 5 updated edition – our Clever Logger was adjusted to 5 minute intervals (not 3 minutes as default set!).

Our RSV review also gave us a clear picture of our progress. At the time of our 3 monthly review, 264 patients had been immunised and 85 remained outstanding, which was about 75.6% uptake of our eligible cohort. We now have a clear group of patients to follow up as we continue working towards 100% coverage.

What will the practice do to ensure this becomes business as usual 

We will keep the updated Immunisation Management Protocol as part of our normal practice processes and review it when guidance changes. Clever Logger will continue to be used for routine vaccine temperature monitoring.

We will regularly check that our patient handouts, Queensland Immunisation Schedule, posters, signs and contact details are current. Pre vaccination checklists and post-vaccination information will continue to be handed out by reception as well as clinical staff.

We will also keep using Primary Sense and PDSA cycles to check our immunisation rates, identify patients who are still outstanding and follow them up where appropriate.

What can other practices do to participate?

ImmunisationPlus is a useful way to look at your practice's immunisation processes with fresh eyes. It can help confirm what is already working well and point out small changes that can make everyday work easier.

For us, simple changes made a real difference - updating signs and contact details, improving patient handouts, keeping the Queensland schedule easy to access, training staff in Clever Logger and using practice data to find patients who still needed follow-up.

Small, practical changes can be worked into normal practice routines and built on over time. You are not alone in the QI activities, and I was impressed with the amount of resources and handouts provided by BSPHN. It was a pleasure!