Every Friday, 35–50 older people from many cultural backgrounds, including Polish, Italian, Greek, Dutch and German, meet at the Launceston Good Neighbour Day Centre for lunch and activities. The activities provided include singing, dancing, concerts, excursions and seminars.

People were encouraged to bring their medicines with them.

Last year, the Centre held a seminar entitled ‘Bridging the Information Gaps’. The seminar was designed to help clients learn more about their medicines and Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflets, and feel more comfortable about asking questions of their doctors and pharmacists.

Mock up of Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflet

The seminar was funded under the National Prescribing Service’s Consumer Medicine Information Community Grant Scheme. The seminar was promoted to the Centre’s clients, and advertised to the local community in the regional newspaper. Representatives from other organisations were also invited. The promotions encouraged people to bring their medicines with them to the seminar.

Serena Hayward, a local pharmacist who owns a pharmacy in one of Launceston’s inner suburbs, spoke about:

• what to consider before, during and after taking medicines
• possible side effects and what to do if they occur
• getting free advice about medicines and how to use them
• storing medicines and what to do with them if no longer needed.

Serena illustrated her talk with some of the CMI resources and activities included in the grant kit supplied by the funding body. She also distributed the CMI leaflets of a variety of commonly used medicines. However, they were of only limited value because they were written in English. Also available were some multilingual Health Insurance Commission leaflets about Australia’s health system and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Serena is the daughter of Chinese-speaking migrants, who are now seniors. Over the years, she has helped them deal with Australia’s medical system on many occasions. In her talk, she drew on her insights into the problems faced by her parents. She also made the talk as interactive as possible. As a result, she engaged the Centre’s clients completely, and they thoroughly enjoyed the seminar.

Clients of the Launceston Good Neighbour Day Centre
listening to Serena Hayward talking about CMI leaflets. 

A lively question and answer session followed the talk. Many of the clients asked questions about their own medicines. Because they had been invited to bring their medicines with them, Serena was able to check the medicines before answering and give very specific answers. The other main topic of interest was the use of herbal and alternative medicines, and how they mix with the medicines prescribed by doctors.

For further information about the seminar, contact the Launceston Branch of The Good Neighbour Council of Tasmania on 03 6344 1241.

CMI leaflets Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflets are specially prepared leaflets that provide information about medicines: how they work, side effects, how to take them, etc. Almost all prescription and many over-the-counter medicines have a CMI. If a CMI does not come with your medicine, ask your pharmacist or doctor for it. Order or download more information on CMIs here.