Vision of GPPHCNT

Objectives of GPPHCNT 

The primary objectives of GPPHCNT are:

1. To alleviate the poverty, sickness, destitution, distress, suffering, misfortune or helplessness and severe problems encountered by people living in Northern Territory communities in accessing health care and health facilities, and
2. To improve health outcomes in the Northern Territory.

The primary objectives will be achieved by pursuing the following action objectives of GPPHCNT:

• Improve recruitment and retention rates of General Practitioners and the recruitment and retention of Primary Health Care Practitioners to enhance and sustain General Practice. 
• Enable Divisions, General Practitioners and Primary Health Care providers to work together and with the wider health care system to improve health care quality and the continuity of health care, meet local health needs, and promote preventive care.
• Lead health policy development in General Practice and Primary Health Care.
• Advocate to improve the viability and sustainability of equitably distributed General Practice and Primary Health Care resources and services.
• Strive to improve public health by enhancing General Practice and Primary Health Care services.
• Promote and develop collaborative relationships including working to build consensus and commitment among communities, funding bodies, service providers and support agencies to improving health services.
• Pursue opportunities for diversification and expansion that will strengthen GPPHCNT's ability to meet its objectives.
• Support, collaborate and co-ordinate policy and the work of the Divisions in the Northern Territory.              

Key operating areas

1. Primary health care

• Support and co-ordinate the contribution of General Practice in the Northern Territory to the development and implementation of an integrated and sustainable Primary Health Care system.
• Contribute to Northern Territory and national population health approaches.
• Support the improvement of primary mental health care in the Northern Territory.
• Support the improvement of immunisation rates in the Northern Territory.
• Support improved access to quality primary medical care for residents of aged care facilities in the Northern Territory.

2. Leadership and engagement, collaboration and partnership

• Lead, represent, advocate for, and support Divisions in the Northern Territory. 
• Engage Divisions, consumers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, other service providers, and the Northern Territory and Commonwealth Governments, in the enhancement of the General Practice and Primary Health Care workforce and services in the NT.
• Ensure that organisational activities appropriately reflect stakeholder (including consumer, community, and workforce) views.
• 3. Policy and advocacy, capacity building, and research
   
  Take a leadership role in policy development and advocacy relating to General Practice and Primary Health Care across the NT, particularly in the priority policy areas of equitable access to GPs, chronic disease, primary health care reform, and health services reform.
• Support capacity building within Divisions and General Practice and Primary Health Care in the Northern Territory.
• Support research and evidence based practice within Divisions, general practice, and primary health care in the NT.

4. Workforce planning, data, and information management

• Lead the development of improved data collection and workforce planning relating to the General Practice and Primary Health Care workforce in the Northern Territory.
• Support Divisions and GPs to manage clinical and business management information more effectively.

5. Attraction of practitioners to General Practice and Primary Health Care in the Northern Territory

• Increase interest among current and future practitioners in working in General Practice and Primary Health Care in the Northern Territory.

6. Recruitment of practitioners to General Practice and Primary Health Care in the Northern Territory

• Develop, implement, evaluate, and continually improve programs to effectively recruit practitioners to General Practice and Primary Health Care in the Northern Territory.

7. Retention of practitioners in General Practice and Primary Health Care in the Northern Territory

• Develop, implement, evaluate, and continually improve programs to effectively retain practitioners in General Practice and Primary Health Care in the Northern Territory.

8. Organisational governance and management

• Develop and maintain an effective, efficient, and accountable organisation.

The low overall population, low population density, and high proportion of Indigenous people in the NT, are key issues affecting the implementation of all programs, including primary health care programs.

The estimated resident population of the NT at June 2003 was 198,351, representing about 1% of Australia’s total population, dispersed across 17% of Australia’s land mass.  The population density for NT was 0.1 persons per square kilometre, the lowest of all jurisdictions, and significantly lower than the national average of 2.6 persons per square kilometre (ABS, 2004: 44).  All of NT outside of Darwin and surrounds is classified as remote (ie RRMA 6 and 7) under the Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas classification system (DPIE/DHSH, 1994); and the special issues faced by Darwin due to its isolation have recently been formally recognised by the Australian Government, resulting in improved access to specific health programs and benefits.

It is estimated that at June 2001, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples made up around 29% of the NT population, compared with about 2% nationally – a far higher proportion than in any other jurisdiction.  The Indigenous population is younger on average than the general population, and accounts for 40% of the NT population aged 14 and under (ABS, 2004: 48).  

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples suffer greater ill health, are more likely to experience disability and reduced quality of life, and die at significantly younger ages (about 20 years younger) than other Australians.  The underlying determinants of this ill health include extreme socio-economic disadvantage, evident in indicators such as low incomes, high unemployment, and poorer educational outcomes; as well as environmental factors such as poor housing; and linked to these factors, higher rates of health risks such as smoking, obesity, and alcohol misuse (ABS/AIHW, 2003: 129).  Poor health outcomes amongst Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are a direct result of colonisation, dispossession, social disruption, and political disempowerment.

Due to the relatively high numbers of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples in the NT, and high morbidity amongst this population, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health issues need to be considered as a key factor in the implementation of all general practice and primary health care programs in the NT.

Australian Bureau of Statistics/Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2003.  The health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, 2003.  Canberra, ABS/AIHW.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004.  Regional Statistics: Northern Territory, Canberra, ABS.