Activities and Achievements to Date

Issues discussed

  • Parking facilities at doctors surgeries

  • GP services for marganialised people

  • Amalgamation of Illawarra and South East Sydney Area Health Services

  • Services for people with Dementia

  • Use of Benzodiazepines

  • MedicarePlus initiative

  • GP services for local Aboriginal people

  • Changes to childhood immunisation schedule

  • Interpreting and Translation services for GPs and patients

  • Increasing Medicare patient rebate

  • GP shortages

  • Bulk-billing

  • Medical records ownership and access

  • Surgery waiting times

  • General Practice accreditation

  • Lack of GP services on public holidays

  • GPs and counselling skills

  • Healthcare interpreter service

  • Medication reviews for aged or people with disabilities

  • GP outreach to youth with mental health problems

  • Aboriginal cultural awareness in GP training

  • GPs and Centrelink forms for disability payments

  • Wheelchair access to GP surgeries

  • Removal of intranasal steroids from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

  • Provision of GP details to community

  • Changes to carers allowance for visually impaired people

  • Establishment of Illawarra Clinical School for training medical students

  • Consultant communication with GPs and Consultant shortages

  • GP provision of preventative health care services

  • Information provided by doctors when patients consent to treatment

Achievements

2005

  • Lobbied federal MPs and local Division of Surgery on the high cost of specialist fees for people with low incomes

  • Participated in Flinders University research project into consumer involvement with Divisions of General Practice

  • Presentation at a local community group on GP issues and Consumer Committee activities

  • Coordination of the Illawarra Family Doctor Awards 2005

  • Dementia awareness training

2004

  • Illawarra Family Doctor awards for 2004

  • Community forum on the safe and quality use of medicines

  • Assisted with the establishment of a local support group for men going through separation - Dads in Distress

  • Lobbied local federal MPs on the unfunded vaccines in the new childhood immunisation schedule

2003

  • Establishment of a community working group for men undergoing family separation

  • Community forum on local drug and alcohol issues

  • Media release on increasing the Medicare patient rebate

  • Media release on the unfunded vaccines in the new childhood immunisation schedule

  • Media Training for CCC members

2002

  • Community forum held on childhood obesity

  • Contribution to general practice after hours submission

2001

  • Medication cards printed and promoted to GPs

  • Letter to medical centre which generated a recall letter to a person who was not a patient

  • Met with director of corporatisation company Primary Health Care

  • Made a submission to the Privacy Commissioner on the draft privacy guidelines

2000

  • Promotion of availability of health resources in languages other than English

  • Involvement in community awareness campaign on antibiotics

  • GP education incorporate understanding of care of quadriplegics

  • Letters to Federal MPs in raising consumer concerns in regards to corporatisation of general practice

  • Media comment on corporatisation

  • Consumer appointed to committee looking at after hours services

  • Letter to Federal MPs in regards to Medicare Rebate and Memorandum of Understanding

  • Be Partners in Health brochure (distributed to GP surgeries June 2000)

  • GP liaison with Illawarra Retirement Trust - committee established

  • Diabetes in Polynesian community - information supplied in relevant languages

1999

  • Community newsletter commenced

  • GP liaison with Department of Community Service - committee established

  • GP education session with DOCs held