NSW Outback Division of General Practice
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Name NSW Outback Division of General Practice
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| Division Number |
233 |
| Classification |
Rural |
| Number of Member GPs |
16 |
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| State |
New South Wales |
| Year Established |
1993 |
| Number of Member Practices |
11 |
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| Postcodes Covered |
2831, 2832, 2834, 2835, 2838, 2839, 2840.
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| Population |
17,051 (2001 Census)
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| Area Covered |
The Division area encompasses 128 061 square kilometres taking in the Shires of Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar and Walgett. Towns include Cobar, Bourke, Brewarrina, Goodooga, Collarenebri, Lighting Ridge and Walgett.
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| CEO |
Mr Stuart Gordon |
| Chair |
Dr Paul Collett |
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| Physical Address: |
| 258-260 Macquarie Street |
| DUBBO NSW 2830 |
| Australia |
| Postal Address: |
| PO Box 457 |
| DUBBO NSW 2830 |
| Australia |
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NSW Outback Division has five directors who are practising GPs in the Division, it employs one staff member and receives the third lowest amount of funding for Divisions in NSW. The change to program block funding based on population from project application funding reduced substantially the amount of money the Division has available to spend on population health improvement programs.
The Division has a very low socio-economic rating. In three of the four shires the average weekly income is below that of NSW. In many categories the population within the Division has the poorest health of people in NSW.
The Division works with a number of stakeholders to try and ensure that best value is achieved and best practice implemented. The Division is a member of the Far West Regional Aboriginal Health Forum. Members of the Division are active in the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Rural Doctors' Network, Alliance of New South Wales Divisions and Australian Divisions of General Practice. Other stakeholders include; GPs, Far West Area Health Service, Macquarie Area Health Service, Bourke Aboriginal Health Service, Brewarrina Aboriginal Health Service, Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service.
The Division suffers from the tyranny of distance. Broken Hill, the headquarters for the Far West Area Health Service is 900 kilometres from the Division office and 600 kilometres from the nearest town in the Division which is in the Far West Area Health Service. From one end of the Division to the other is 500 kilometres.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS
The Division has been active through its members in providing GP services to remote communities in times when those communities have been without resident GPs. The Division has been innovative in its approach to getting health messages to communities with low literacy through the use of videos (Aboriginal First Aid and Immunisation) and TV advertising (Immunisation) Involvement in Far West Area health portfolio committees on Diabetes, Mental Health, Infectious and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE
- Building on integration and liaison activities so that better health outcomes result, continuing IM/IT training and support, assisting practices with accreditation, assisting with GP recruitment.
- GP workforce issues due to high turnover of GPs.
