Establishing the Clinic within the school context
Every school, health service and community is unique and, as such, the DiSS program model is designed to be flexibly adapted to these different contexts and circumstances. Feedback from frontline workers in the pilot phase of establishing DiSS clinics provided us with a better understanding of common characteristics and activities that schools and clinics worked through in order to establish well-functioning DiSS clinics.
| School related Factors | School and clinic collaboration factors | Clinic related factors |
| Supportive Leadership | 3) Develop a working relationship between the SPL and Clinicians | Supportive Home clinic (practice management, reception) |
| Appropriate SPL | 4) Create a Youth Friendly space | Appropriate General Practitioner (GP) Appropriate Practice Nurse (PN) |
| 1) Enable student participation | 5) Establish supportive systems and processes | 7) Establish clinical roles and responsibilities |
| 2) Raise awareness of the clinic | 6) Promote the services | 8) Set up the Facility (equipment, IT systems) |
NB- numbers in each box are key to the relevant section in the guide
Establishing the DiSS clinic- Key characteristics
Establishing a successful DiSS clinic is a complex task and will require innovation, collaboration and teamwork. Selecting the right people for the job is essential and these frontline workers (the SPL, the GP and the PN) will require support from both the school leadership team and the home clinics. Getting this right at the outset is vital. (see Operational Guidelines for position descriptions)
Establishing the DiSS clinic- Key activities
Early feedback from clinicians and school staff highlighted eight key activities undertaken in the early implementation stage that contributed to successful establishment of clinics in the school context. (soon to be released….a practical guide to these steps and checklists to validate or plan progress)
Establishing a plan for communication
Underpinning all of the above activities is good communication. When issues arise and troubleshooting is required, stakeholders describe that most things can be resolved through sitting down, communicating and creating a problem-solving approach. Develop a plan for how each sector will communicate internally and across sectors. If set up right in the early stages, schools with effective plans for communication and collaboration will find they progress more effectively through the next stages of embedding and integrating the DiSS clinic down the track.