Name Canning Division of General Practice Division Number 604 Classification Urban Number of Member GPs 266 State Western Australia Year Established 1993 Number of Member Practices 83 Postcodes Covered 6100, 6101, 6102, 6103, 6104, 6105, 6106, 6107, 6108, 6109, 6110, 6111, 6112, 6122,6125, 6147, 6151, 6152, 6155, 6201, 6203, 6205 Population 283,947 (2001 Census) Area Covered South Eastern Metro Corridor covering an area of 1,040 square kilometres. It covers the councils of the City of Canning, City of Armadale, City of Belmont, City of Gosnells, City of South Perth, Town of Victoria Park and Shire of Serpentine-Jarradale. The major regional centres are Belmont, South Perth, Victoria Park, Bentley, Cannington, Armadale and Gosnells. CEO Mr Matthew Tweedie Chair Dr Ivor Desouza Physical Address: Unit 4 1140 Albany Highway BENTLEY WA 6102 Australia Postal Address: PO Box 268 BENTLEY WA 6982 Australia Email: admin@canningdivision.com.au Phone: 08 9458 0505 Fax: 08 9458 8733 Website: http://www.canningdivision.com.au

The Division was established in September 1993 as the Perth South Eastern Division of General Practice and changed it's name to Canning Division of General Practice in September 1999. The Canning Division has a sound management structure and a vibrant group of professional staff and Directors who are committed to the goals and objectives of the Division. There is a strong team environment with Directors working alongside GPs and other professionals to enhance General Practice and population health in our region. This is an excellent base from which the Division can implement population health programs.

The strategic planning process identified four key population health areas for our region including cardiovascular Disease/diabetes, mental health, aged care and cancer. These health areas are also State and national priorities and were identified in the Division needs analysis in 1995. Immunisation and asthma were also identified as priority areas.

The Division recognises the demands placed on General Practitioners and the need to support General Practice in the delivery of quality health services. A strong emphasis has been placed on a systems approach in General Practice with the provision of practice staff training, business management training for GPs and support for the integration of information technology into clinical practice.

A Community Reference Group has been established and provides the Division with a consumer / community perspective. Each Program Officer has developed links with local consumer / community groups related to their program area. Ongoing community liaison will continue to be a critical function in the delivery of Division programs. Raising community awareness of the principles of self care in the population health areas is a key strategy in the delivery of the programs.

Strong links have been established with a wide range of community-based health service providers to facilitate the integration of primary care at a local level, including the Eastern Perth Public and Community Health Unit, local government, area health services, hospitals (public and private) and various agencies in the areas of immunisation, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer care, aged care and mental health. The Division has approached the Armadale Health Service and Bentley Health Service to establish a Memorandum of Understanding.

The role of the General Practitioner in improving population health outcomes will be supported by the provision of quality educational events and the dissemination of clinical guidelines. The content and format of these events is determined by the Education Committee and is based on a needs assessment of GPs and the community. The Division continues to work co-operatively with pharmaceutical companies and actively seeks sponsorship to assist in the delivery of educational events.