GP Association of Geelong

As part of the 2008-09 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced the establishment of the National Rural and Remote Health Infrastructure Program (NRRHIP), which will provide more than $46 million over the next four years to improve rural and remote community access to funding for essential health infrastructure, equipment and service planning. The NRRHIP amalgamates the Rural Medical Infrastructure Fund (RMIF) and the Rural Private Access (RPA) program. The NRRHIP is a competitive grants program that will allow for rural general practices to apply for grants of up to $500,000 for practices in towns of up to 20,000 people. The program will allow private practices to apply for funding where it will be used for training facilities for medical students. At this stage, funding guidelines will be made available from mid September and we have been advised that it will take up to six months for submissions to be approved or rejected. As with our approach in supporting practices with accessing after hours grants, we will be available to assist practices with data (workforce, population health) and a process in putting together applications.

GPAG has contacted the federal government requesting that Geelong practices (RRMA 2) be eligible for this funding because of the establishment of the Deakin Medical School. Unfortunately, the response was a predictable “no.” On the other hand GPAG is actively involved with General Practice Victoria, GP Regional Training Providers and the three universities in presenting the case for a funding model to support practice extensions (where possible) and to reimburse GPs appropriately for teaching. This is all at the same time when the government is in a mass review of health policy. For instance there are three major reviews that all will have some impact on the future of general practice which makes it harder for any major new announcement to be made outside of what the government has already committed to in the 2008/09 budget.

The second annual George Golding Memorial Fund Dinner and Auction was held on 30th May 2008 at the Geelong Art.
A big Thank you to those who donated auction items and to those auction winners:

Dr Sue Trainor (Dinner for 2 @ Empire Grill plus overnight accommodation& breakfast for 2 at Four Points Sheraton, Geelong- $450)
Dr John Howell (Blue Ridge Acoustic Guitar, from Guitar Gallery, Melbourne- $950)
Dr Lindy Galbraith (Overnight Accommodation & 18 holes of golf at Peppers at the Sands, Torquay, plus Michael Hill ladies watch - $650)
Dr Don Robertson (Financial check with Patrick Rowan & Nautilus personal training voucher - $600) *Nautilus training voucher donated back.
Dr Ric Milner (12 month Contours Ladies Gym membership plus 2 nights and meal vouchers at Lorne Hotel - $500)
Dr Patrick Lockie (Hire Rollers Chauffeured Limousine service to & from Athelstane House, Queenscliff, including 3 course dinner for 4 persons - $1000)

Who was Dr George Golding?
Dr George Golding was raised in Colac and was a GP in central Geelong for many years. He was the driving force and inaugural CEO of the GP Association of Geelong until his untimely death in September 2005.

What is the Dr George Golding Memorial Trust Fund for?
The George Golding Memorial Trust Fund is to provide a prize to a local student in need who is or will undertake their medical training at Deakin University Medical School and who intends to return to the Geelong region to practice medicine.

The purpose of the ‘Dr George Golding Memorial Fund’ is to provide an annual scholarship, which will be awarded each year to a student entering the Deakin University Medical School.

The GP Association of Geelong has a Clinical Support Committee that supports many of our GP workforce strategies.

The main items on the report are below:

· Rural Workforce Agency of Victoria – GP Recruitment Services for Geelong Practices

· Training the Next Generation: Information Session for Training Opportunities for GPs

· After Hours Support – Locum Services Competing for Geelong Business – 7 Day a week service

· Doctors resident outside the EU will no longer be able to apply for postgraduate training posts in the UK

Research – A New Focus - A New Opportunity
The GP Association of Geelong is making the initial steps to position local general practice for future research opportunities. A new “Research Assistant” position has been created at GPAG. The position will have a variety of responsibilities such as undertaking literature reviews, quantitative and qualitative analysis on current business or clinical issues for local general practice, assisting GPAG with new grant submissions (eg: research) and to provide advice on study design for GPs interested in research projects.

Given that we are in our infancy, I encourage GPs to contact Dr Jane Opie (Medical Advisor) or Jason Trethowan if you are interested in taking part in a future reference group.

Clockwork Renovations Complete
Clockwork – Young People's Health Service has completed the transition to the newly renovated site at The Old Post Office in Geelong . Because of $218,000 of funding from the Department of Human Services and $40,000 from The City of Greater Geelong, GPs and staff will now see patients under the one roof. In addition to the new accommodation, headspace Barwon is developing improved systems for GPs and staff to assist young people gain access to primary care services at Clockwork, Jigsaw and a new third site to be nominated in 2008. Click here

Government Commitment for a Super Clinic for the Geelong Region
Over the last few weeks, GPAG has been communicating to GPs and practice managers on the latest Super Clinic discussions for Geelong . There is now a $7M commitment towards a Super Clinic for the Southern Geelong region. At this stage, there are no details on the next steps such as the tendering process that will include significant commitments to teaching.

Congratulations to Mark Kennedy
Dr Mark Kennedy has been appointed to the G21 Board of Management. G21 is the alliance of a variety of independent organisations with a shared vision for the Geelong region. The Alliance includes the Borough of Queenscliffe, City of Greater Geelong , Colac Otway Shire, Golden Plains Shire, Surf Coast Shire and more than 150 community and business organisations committed to securing a bright and sustainable future for the region. Together with GPAG's active involvement with the G21 Health & Wellbeing Pillar and Mark's presence on the Board, we will use G21 as a mechanism to further advance the profile of local GPs and the general practices within the Geelong region.

GPAG’s Workforce Strategies - Friday 9th November, 2007
The Australian Medical Workforce Advisory Clinic (AMWAC)–Medical Careers Surveys (2005) reported that 58% of Doctors had chosen their career path by end of their second year as a Doctor and a further 19% had by their third year. So we asked five local Doctors (2 GP Registrars, 2 HMO2’s and 1 Intern) some questions on their thoughts.

Time as a locum is an attractive option following intern year (3)
Inspired by own GP to begin medicine (4)
Partner’s career plays important role in the decision making (4)
Aware that all GP training can be done within Geelong (0)
Experiences of GP placements in metro Melbourne were poor (3)
No real GP mentorship through training & little exposure post (4)
Remuneration for the GP option seems unclear (3)
Registrars and Consultants have a significant influence in the pull towards a specialty (4)

There is some clear communication and engagement opportunities that we can develop that may influence the decision point of Doctors who have yet to select their vocational path. These observations all help to feed into GPAG’s workforce strategies.

GPAG Meeting With Shadow Minister for Health - Ms Nicola Roxon
Monday 15th October

Jane Opie and I have met with Shadow Health Minister, Ms Nicola Roxon MP and the two local Labor candidates (Richard Marles & Darren Cheeseman). Jane and I had over an hour to discuss local issues impacting on general practice for the Geelong region. read more

GPAG is undertaking a workforce analysis to assist with short and longer term strategies for increasing the capacity of general practice in the Greater Geelong region.

There have been a number of Australian studies on assessing medical workforce trends that assist with understanding the factors that contribute towards determining which vocational path Doctors choose. This piece of analysis is focussed more locally and hence we are interested in the local experiences of medical staff who are:

The decision points in the career journey from medical school right through to the registrar training is of particular interest, as we look to structure our efforts to make the pathway both more attractive and more accessible. We believe that some “myth busting” may be required in many cases where the information available to individuals has been inadequate. We seek not to convert the unconvertible, but to uncover and remove the barriers whether perceived or real to a career path as a General Practitioner.

All Barwon Health Interns, HMO 2&3s and Registrars have been invited to meet with GPAG.

Palliative Care General Practitioner Liaison Program
The Palliative Care General Practitioner Liaison Program can fund up to 5 hours of GP time per week, consisting of 3 hours attendance at the meeting, and further time for ward round and follow-up phone calls to update colleagues on multidisciplinary discussions related to their patients. Discussions will be recorded on the Multidisciplinary Team Meeting Form that includes identified issues; goals and phases of care; comments; responsibility for actions; and review date. Improved continuity of care and communication processes are suggested as requiring a framework of standardised referral, discharge and management strategies, which could be enhanced through a General Practitioner Liaison Position.

This program will ensure and enhance open and accessible advice and professional discussion about patient care needs, and support collaboration and integration to promote the smooth and appropriate transition across the various settings of care.

GP participation in the multi-disciplinary meetings will also provide valuable input into the information needs of GP's in order to improve communication with the palliative care unit. This will then inform future Barwon Health plans to capture and transmit electronically such data to the GP at their practice.

Meeting with Tony Abbott
GPAG Chairman, Dr Tim Denton and I have met with Mr. Tony Abbott with a small group of Geelong health representatives on the 27 th of July. In response to a number of issues raised, Mr. Abbott has asked the GP Association of Geelong and Deakin University to present a brief proposal on the value of building a new medical centre out towards the Waurn Ponds campus. The proposal will be done in consultation with local practices and interested GP's. Please note that GPAG sees itself as a facilitator in such a process rather than a potential owner or manager of such a facility.

The GP Association of Geelong welcomes funding from the Department of Human Services to undertake an analysis of the capacity of general practice to meet the demands of clinical placements for medical students in Victoria GPV has been invited by the deans of medical schools at Melbourne , Monash and Deakin Universities (Professors James Angus, Leon Piterman and Brendan Crotty) to join a steering committee for a project to oversee a process to map existing and projected usage of GP clinics for clinical education of undergraduate medical students in Victoria . The deans are concerned that the increase of 380 in medical undergraduate places in Victoria over the next few years will put excessive demand for placements on general practices that are already under pressure. The committee includes representatives of the three universities, DHS, rural and metropolitan Regional Training Providers and an independent GP, Dr Michael Cross ( Mornington Peninsula Division).

The committee will oversee a mapping exercise, funded by DHS, to identify existing and projected usage of GP clinics and provide a framework to ensure all Victorian medical schools are able to meet their educational needs. This project will examine GP placements in both metropolitan and rural locations and will comprise four major tasks:

1. Mapping existing general practice placements – this will involve identifying which clinics are currently in use and the purpose for which they are being used (i.e. short-term or long-term placements, meeting RUSC or RCS requirements, elective terms, etc). The consultant will obtain this information from Monash and Melbourne universities.

2. Quantifying each university's requirements over the next decade (number, duration and type of placements). The consultant will work individually with representatives of all universities to develop these projections.

3. Mapping the teaching capacity of Victorian general practices. The consultant will obtain information about practice capacity (in particular, the size and geographic location of multi-practitioner clinics) from a range of sources including, where possible, from discussions already held with individual practices.

4. Determining the infrastructure required to realise the teaching capacity of Victorian general practices. This task will involve close liaison with each university to take advantage of existing processes to build relationships with teaching practices. The consultant will also liaise with individual practices.

The consultant, Bob Burgell, who is well-known to many Victorian divisions, will start the contract on 30 July and will meet the Steering Committee on 3 August.

Dr Geroge Golding Memorial Trust Fund
The GP Association of Geelong has launched the Dr George Golding Memorial Trust Fund. The launch was a spectacular event held at the Geelong Art Gallery on Friday the 25 th of May 2007. Over 140 people from the GP community, past and present GP Association staff, Specialists and Deakin University celebrated the launch with family and friends of the late Dr George Golding. Chair of the GP Association of Geelong, Dr Tim Denton hosted the evening along with key contributions from Val Golding, Sam Golding, Mr Ted Heffenan and Dr Julian Crawford. Following the superb meal from Truffleduck and fine Pettavel wine, auctioneers Dr Jock Sowerby and Dr John Howell auctioned off gifts that brought out some serious competition amongst the attendees.

The evening was made extra special due to the salubrious surroundings in the Geelong Art Gallery that also included Dr Rosie Cummins' magnificent portrait of Dr George Golding. This was the third time only that a dinner of this size has been had in the gallery. Many thanks to Geelong Gallery's Geoffrey Edwards & Mary Ellen Belleville, and Vice Chair of the GP Association Board, Alan Currie, for organising the use of the gallery.

GP Association Newsletter
The GP Association Newsletter is now a quarterly publication. The “winter” edition will be distributed during June and we will welcome feedback on the new look and feel. The GPAG web site is currently being updated. Relevant news and updates on programs run by the Division will now become available in a timely manner.

We look forward to providing regular updates on GPAG's activities through the newsletter, weekly fax and web site.