newBut doctors aren't the only focus of the division. It also circulates a number of flyers, posters and publications - including an immunisation update and a bimonthly newsletter issued through general practices to health consumers - and has a strong Internet presence."We're delighted to have qualified for the finals," says Northern Rivers GP executive manager Dr Andrew Binns.

"Communication is the key issue, and our project is really about communicating through the newsletter,our Internet site and our contact with the media."We felt that we must strongly represent the interests of our members and the community, and to do that we needed to be in touch with them on a regular basis."Youth

General practice always needs promoting in a positive way, and itis vital that divisions look at doing things to really bat for their members, Dr Binns says.Health

THE idea for a media campaign sprung from the realisation that very few people in the community knew what a division was, GP Connections director and past chair Dr Dilip Dhupelia says. Hence, GP Connections put its long-term media strategy in place as part of its commitment to representation and advocacy of general practice. Program.

The division has promoted itself to community service groups and local schools, with its Adopt a Doctor project, in which GPs visit and speak to schools about any issue.The creation of 'Dr Downs' is oneof the division's successful print media activities. "We began writing weekly articles in the local newspaper under the pseudonym of Dr Downs in 1996 ... and about 25-30 GPs contributed," Dr Dhupelia says. "Dr Downs became quite well known and patients would refer to the columns in consultations.Dr

"We also ran a live radio show each Wednesday ... [in which] GPs spoke about a topic and people could ring in with questions. We always had two GPs to support each other,and would tape the interview andg ive it to the GPs as well as provide feedback."GP Connections has commented to media on issues of local, state and federal relevance, and has been active in informing the public both about the drop in doctor numbers and the reasons why GPs have been leaving the workforce.Michael

"You can ask any politician, service clubs, schools and community leaders, and they now know who we are," Dr Dhupelia says.Pearcy

THE Illawarra Division made a commitment in 1998 to promote itself and general practice by running a project called 'Illawarra Target2000' in the two-year lead-up to the Olympic Games in Sydney. The project encompassed a targeted media campaign, based on encouraging a healthy lifestyle.The division is excited to be in the finals and to have gained recognition for its efforts, which resulted in wide exposure through print, radio and TV, operations manager Louisa Raft says.is

"We liaised with a range of health and community stakeholders as wellas the media, and got them onsideto help encourage a more healthy lifestyle among the community," MsRaft says."We had various media involved promoting the same messages thatwe were developing. As a result of that project, we had ongoing interest from Prime TV and [local radiostation] WAVE FM continuing tosupport what the division was doing in promoting the important role of GPs in primary healthcare.the

"The division also ran a weekly health column in the Illawarra Mercury and Wollongong Advertiser, which patients mentioned to their GPs during consultations.The division's success has continued, with it recently raising astory about male suicide as a result of family separation."Our community consultativecommittee had been investigating this issue for a while and said they wanted to try to see if a support group could be established," MsRaft says. "We've had more than 30 phone calls from community members - mostly men - who feel they are having a hard time and want to be involved and learn about other support groups."Division's

 representative

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