Name Hunter Rural Division of General Practice Division Number 218 Classification Rural Number of Member GPs 170 State New South Wales Year Established 1992 Number of Member Practices 75 Postcodes Covered 2301, 2309, 2311, 2312, 2315, 2316, 2317, 2321, 2323, 2324, 2325, 2326, 2327, 2328, 2329, 2330, 2331, 2333, 2334, 2335, 2336, 2337, 2338, 2339, 2415, 2420, 2421, 2422, 2423, 2424, 2525, 2426, 2428, 2428, 2429, 2430. Population 200,319 (2001 Census) Area Covered 33,000 square kilometers, the main centers are Cessnock, Singleton, Muswellbrook, Scone, Nelson Bay, Forster/Tuncurry, Taree Dungog and Gloucester. CEO Ms Alison Crocker Chair Dr Jenny Draper Physical Address: 12 Garnett Road East Maitland NSW 2323 Australia Postal Address: PO Box 2512 Greenhills NSW 2512 Australia Email: alison@hrdgp.org.au Phone: 02 4933 3824 Fax: 02 4933 3127 Website: http://www.hrdgp.org.au

The Hunter Division of General Practice was established in 1992 as the first Division in Australia funded under the Demonstration Practice Grants Program. In September 1993 the Hunter Division split into separate urban and rural divisions with the Hunter Rural Division being incorporated on 21 September 1993.

The area covered by the Division can be divided into two distinct regions. One is the coastal region of NSW stretching from Nelson Bay on the southern side of Port Stephens to just north of Taree. The other is the north western part of the Hunter Valley from Cessnock/Kurri and Singleton north west to Murrurundi and Merriwa. This area extends across two area health service regions, the Hunter Area Health Service and the Mid North Coast Area Health Service. The Division currently employs 14 members of staff to implement the following programs: The main office of the Division is located in Newcastle. A branch office is located in Taree.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS

• The acceptance of the Division by the majority of the GPs practicing in the Division area.
• After the Division demonstrated the viability of a cardiac rehabilitation and an obstetrics early hospital discharge service in certain areas the Hunter Area Health Service agreed to fund a continuation of those services.
• Once the Division's Young Parents Support Network program had ended, community health authorities agreed to provide funding to employ a social worker to continue administrative support for the network.

CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE

• Increasing the involvement of GPs in planning Division activities.
• Improving communication structures between the Division and Area Health Services.