Name Canterbury Division of General Practice Division Number 204 Classification Urban Number of Member GPs 195 State New South Wales Year Established 1993 Number of Member Practices 135 Postcodes Covered 2133, 2191, 2192, 2193, 2194, 2195, 2196, 2206, 2208, 2209 Population 144,452 (2001 Census) Area Covered Canterbury local government area CEO Ms Georgina Zyka-Purcell Chair Dr Diana O'Brien Physical Address: 1st Floor 63 Tudor Street BELMORE NSW 2192 Australia Postal Address: PO Box 495 BELMORE NSW 2192 Australia Email: admin@candivgp.asn.au Phone: 02 9787 9033 Fax: 02 9787 9200

Canterbury is the most densely populated local government area in NSW.

Some key population statistics (census 2001) are:

Canterbury City has a population of 130,947, of whom 48% were born overseas. Those over 40 years of age make up 41,6 %of the population, while those under 20 make up 26.9%of the population.

The most common countries of birth, ranked in decreasing order, are China, Lebanon and Greece.

Only 30% of the population speak English at home.
The three most commonly spoken languages at home are Arabic (including Lebanese), Greek and Chinese languages

Those identifying as being of Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander origin made up 0.51% of the population.

Level of unemployment as at September 2003 were reported at 7.2%

The median weekly income is $300-$399.

To summarise: in Central Sydney, Canterbury is the least advantaged LGA by comparison with NSW as a whole. Canterbury has proportionately fewer people on high incomes and generally people with lower levels of education and fewer skilled workers and it is an area of great multicultural diversity. The demographic characteristics of Canterbury provide important information relating to the health of the community.

There is a consistent relationship between socio-economic status and health.
As Canterbury is an area that is socially disadvantaged, it is also, in general terms, less healthy than most other communities. It is "needy" in virtually every aspect of health care.

Common health issues in this area include high rates of diabetes, dyslipidaemias, smoking and obesity, with all their attendant complications

The multicultural nature of the Canterbury area is a significant factor for the Division in that change here takes more time and effort than in some other parts of Australia.  This is manifested in the high proportion of residents who speak a language other than English at home and the high proportion of residents with low socioeconomic status and attendant high morbidity and mortality rates.

Division Overview/Introduction:
The Canterbury Division was formally established as an incorporated body in July 1993.  It has a Board of Management consisting of a Chairman and 4 other directors.

The Board meets at regular intervals, averaging ten meetings in a twelve month period. Local general practitioners are elected to the Board at the Annual General meeting in October each year.

The Board is responsible for overall direction and policy making of the Division.  Day to day management is in the hands of the CEO.

Major Achievements:
The Canterbury LGA is unique in its cultural and linguistic diversity. The Division has established a consumer advisory group, drawn from local peak bodies. We have developed a rich and varied community/consumer education program. The topics include asthma, diabetes, cervical screening, women's health, sexual health, mental health and quality use of medicines. The community need for education is great and this project of community education has been particularly well received.

These community sessions link well with the Division's disease management programs, with particular emphasis on chronic disease management. Our links with collaborative partners have increased, with recent Divisional participation in a successful COPD collaborative.

Divisional programs show progress in all area, with increased immunisation rates, increased rates of accreditation and computerisation of practices and increase participation in antenatal shared care.

Of note are the asthma education sessions made possible by a grant from the Asthma Foundation of WA, and the cervical screening/women's health and diabetes sessions.

New community links with various consumer groups in the local area have been established and collaborative projects with others providers included the COPD collaborative with CSAHS and the signing of an MoU with CSAHS Drug Health Services and the appointment of a GP program adviser for AOD.

Challenges for the future:
Challenges for the future include maintaining the current levels of service and expanding them to meet contractual obligations with limited financial and human resources, adapting to the changes that the AHS amalgamation may bring, and meeting members needs in an ever changing medical environment.

1. Continuing Professional Development
   All programs will continue to have a CPD component. We are moving away from the didactic method, and introducing a variety of options, including case conferencing, small groups, GP presentations. Day time CPD has been discontinued as a result of poor attendance. We have incorporated GP feedback into our CPD program and have included a wide range of practical clinical activities. These include clinical attachments and clinical placements in a range of disciplines.
2. Consumer liaison
   The Division has attempted many different strategies in order to get consumer input into Division activities. A consumer advisory group has been formed, drawn from peak consumer bodies in the area. The difficulty has arisen in that the multiplicity of needs in this area relates directly to the multicultural nature of our region, with the result that all expressed needs cannot be met with current Divisional resources. We are attempting to source resources from other groups e.g. Diabetes Australia in order to meet some of the community needs for health information.
3. Promotion of the Division
   The intention is for the Division to approach the local press to promote the Division's profile, in the sense of how the Division's support to the local GPs can result in better health outcomes for the local population. There are a variety of local community language print publications that we plan to approach
4. Staff development

This continues on an on-going basis, with education being sourced from a variety of providers and on a variety of topics.

Page Updated: January 2005

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