Division Profile

Background of the Division

In the early 1990's, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) promoted the concept of the Divisions of General Practice to the Commonwealth Government.

As a result, the Divisions were established by the Commonwealth with the aim of improving health outcomes for patients by encouraging GPs to work together and to encourage linkages with other health professionals to upgrade the quality of health service delivery at the local level. The Adelaide North East Division of General Practice (ANEDGP) was established in 1993.

The role of the Division is to:

Improve quality in general practice
Improve Communication between GPs and other health service providers
Encourage GP involvement in hospitals
Involve GPs in education and research
Undertake health promotion and prevention activities
Develop information management/technology
Improve access to services (eg out of hours)
Share allied health resources

Agreement/ Annual Plan 2005-2008

Geographical Area

The Adelaide North East Division is situated in the North East of Adelaide. Predominantly outer urban, it also includes an inner urban component and a small rural area. The outer metropolitan portion is centred on the catchment area of the Modbury Hospital. Adjoining Divisions are the Adelaide Northern, Adelaide Central and Eastern, and Adelaide Western. A feature of the Division is the number of large general practices within its boundaries.

The Division's boundaries extend from the inner north eastern suburbs of St Peters, Walkerville and Prospect out to Greenwith and Golden Grove in the north, and Hope Valley and Highbury in the north east. The boundaries also encompass rural areas, extending from Inglewood to Birdwood and Mt Pleasant.

The map shows the geographical area of the Division, along with the postcodes of the suburbs it encompasses.

Demographics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics official estimate of the resident population (ERP) is 205,119 (this and all other figures quoted relate to 2001 Census data, unless stated). Postcode areas with the largest population groups were Modbury North, Golden Grove, Greenacres, and St Agnes. 12.6% of the population was 65 years of age and over, with Enfield, Greenacres, and Klemzig having the highest population 65 years and over.

19% of the total metropolitan Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was in the Division catchment in 2001, with Enfield, Greenacres, and Ingle Farm having the highest concentration. 47,372 people were born overseas with the highest ethnic population groups being born in Italy, Greece, Germany, Vietnam, The Netherlands, and Poland.

26,641 people in the Division's catchment speak a language other than English at home, the most common being Italian, German, Chinese, Vietnamese, Greek, and Polish. Enfield Part A, Prospect, Tea Tree Gully, Payneham, and Campbelltown all had 1.5% - 1.9% of the population born in predominantly non-English speaking countries and have resided in Australia for less than five years at the time of the 1996 Census.

Boundary Map

Past achievements

Initially operating in an environment of project funding, the Division implemented some groundbreaking activities. Some of these include:

Fax Notification of Admission (to Modbury Public Hospital) project
Diabetes Miniclinics project
Interpractice Nurse and Educator project, which provided the foundation for the Division’s focus on Aged Care.

Aged Care activities, in particular, have progressed in response to the ageing community of the region, and issues faced by GPs in the management of their frail, aged patients. The recent achievements include:

Development of Pathways for Dementia and Palliative Care Information Resource/Guidelines
The establishment of a Regional Medication Advisory Committee.

Other activities of note include:

Domestic Violence and Abuse of Older People education and awareness projects. Both of which were awarded National Violence Prevention Awards in 1998 and 2000
The development of a Mental Health Assessment Procedures (MHAP) Kit. This has been circulated widely amongst GPs and allied health providers.
Establishment of computer based programs for patients with anxiety and/or depression, under the Better Outcomes in Mental Health initiative.
Implementation of a National Suicide Prevention Strategy – Pathways to Care project.
The Division has also successfully implemented two national Demonstration Divisions projects – Nursing in General Practice and Divisions and Hospitals Integration Program.