Name Mid North Coast (NSW) Division of General Practice Division Number 224 Classification Rural Number of Member GPs 116 State New South Wales Year Established 1993 Number of Member Practices 43 Postcodes Covered 2441, 2447, 2448, 2449, 2450, 2452, 2453, 2454, 2455, 2456, 2460, 2462. Population 125,861 (2001 Census) Area Covered The Geographical area covered by the Division encompases Ulmarra in the north, Stuarts Point in the south and Dorrigo in the west (see geographic map attached). From a General Practice point of view, the area is divided into five sub-Division areas - Woolgoolga, Grafton, Bellingen/Dorrigo/Urunga, Nambucca and Coffs Harbour. CEO Mr Peter Spence Chair Dr John Kramer Physical Address: Suite 2, Level 1 92-96 Harbour Drive COFFS HARBOUR NSW 2450 Australia Postal Address: PO Box 920 COFFS HARBOUR NSW 2450 Australia Email: info@mncdgp.org.au Phone: 02 6651 5774 Fax: 02 6651 5781 Website: http://www.mncdgp.org.au

The Mid North Coast Division of General Practice is an incorporated association governed by a Board of Directors. There are 117 General Practitioners working within the Division boundaries, and over 95% are members. The Division is covered by two health services, Northern Rivers Area Health Service and Mid North Coast Area Health Service.

Many towns within the MNCDGP are popular tourist destinations, and populations can increase by over 100% during holidays. The Division has an Aboriginal population above the State average, a high proportion of elderly people and a large number of young families.

The Division has a strong working commitment to support General Practitioners in their role as providers of primary health care in the Mid North Coast Community. The MNCDGP liaises and works to develop collaborative partnerships with local health and welfare organisations to achieve national priority health goals and targets to assist in the provision of a more comprehensive level of care to GPs patients.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS

• Evolving networking and communication of GPs between themselves and primary and secondary health services.
• Gradual changing of medical culture from a one-to-one consultation to include aspects of population health on a broad basis.
• Increased GP involvement in Division activities.
• Increased GP direction and involvement in Division CME activities.

CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE

• Implementation of a GP Health Reference project aimed at improving the health and well-being of GPs.
• Implementation of a project 'Enhanced Primary Care for Aboriginal People' funded under the National Innovative Grants funding pool. This project will involve the employment of an Aboriginal Health Liaison Worker to promote the uptake of EPC for Aboriginal people amongst the Aboriginal Community, GPs and other health services.
• Implementation of a GP Upskilling in Psychiatry project. A project supported by a collaborative partnership between the Division and Area Mental Health Services designed to involve GPs, Area Mental Health Workers and Psychiatrists in a program to upskill GPs in mental health care.
• Implementation of a Drug and Alcohol project designed to upskill and involve Division GPs in the diagnosis and care of people with Drug and Alcohol problems. The project will involve partnerships between GPs, local Drug and Alcohol services, Area Health Services, the Division and community welfare agencies.
• Implementation of a development project funded under the 1st stage of the NSW Primary Mental Health Strategy aimed at providing a platform for future Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol projects.
• Implementation of a Families First Project.
• Increase the public awareness and relevance of the Division to the community.
• Increase percentage of GPs actively involved in Division activities.
• Provide an increased range of services to member GPs that support the provision of high quality services to patients.
• Increase recognition by stakeholders that the Division is an advocate for GPs in the region.
• Increase IM/IT awareness, knowledge, skills and use amongst member GPs.
• Delivery of an attractive, relevant CME program which supports continual improvement of GP skills to provide quality services to patients.
• Further development and strengthening of collaborative partnerships between the MNCDGP, the community and other health service providers to enhance health care to the local community.
• Further identification and development of projects to improve services to patients including targeted population groups.

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