ACT Division of General Practice (ACTDGP) welcomes the announcement of funding for eleven general practices in the ACT through the third round of the ACT Government’s GP Development Fund.
The Fund provides grants to support general practice infrastructure, teaching and learning outcomes, practice innovation and provision of primary healthcare services.
ACTDGP President Dr Rashmi Sharma says support from the ACT Government is critical in addressing workforce capacity issues.
“We support the GP Development Fund as it assists general practice to attract, retain and develop our workforce,” said ACTDGP President Dr Rashmi Sharma.
One of the successful projects will fund the City Family Practice to purchase laptop computers with portable printers to streamline home and nursing home visits.
“I visit many patients who are scattered across Canberra in nursing homes and their own homes, often after-hours. Instead of recording notes in two or three places, often after returning to my practice, this grant will enable me to use very light-weight laptops and printers which I can easily carry,” said Dr Adrian Wright, City Family Practice Principal.
“Being able to record notes directly onto the system and print on-the-spot will save time, aid continuity of information and streamline communication with nursing home staff, family members and their pharmacist. For example, I will be able to immediately print off a summary of patient health history and medication then and there for nursing home staff,” said Dr Wright.
Other improvements funded through this round include GP recruitment strategies, new consulting rooms and increased educational opportunities for GP practice personnel.
The practices successful in the GP Development Fund Round 3 were City Family Practice, Deakin Medical Centre, Dickson Medical & Travel Clinic, Garema Place Surgery, Hughes Family Practice, Isabella Plains Medical Centre, Jamison Medical & Skin Cancer Clinic, Mawson Medical Centre, Tuggeranong Square Medical Practice, West Belconnen Health Cooperative Ltd and Fisher Family Practice.
The GP Development Fund is a four-year bi-annual grants pool totalling more than $4 million to develop the general practice workforce. Applications for Round 4 close 26 August 2011. Details are available at
www.health.act.gov.au/gpdevelopmentfund
For more information please phone Roz Lemon on 0417 179 314 or email
media@actdgp.asn.au.