Sutherland Division of General Practice Profile

The Sutherland Division of General Practice was established in 1994 as an incorporated association. There are 122 Divisions of General Practice in Australia. The Division receives funding under the terms of a funding contract entered into with the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.

The Management Committee consisting of ten general practitioners meets monthly and is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Division, providing leadership to put those aims into effect and supervising their management. The Management Committee is also accountable to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing for the use of public funds made available to enhance the development of Divisional structures and to promote the increased involvement of GPs in health planning and delivery of primary health care services. Under the direction of the Management Committee, a full time Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the implementation of strategy and the day to day management of the Division. The Division has 13 program and administrative staff.

Program Advisory Committees The work of the Division is supported by a number of subcommittees, made up of general practitioners, specialists, area health service representatives and consumers. All program areas, with the exception of Immunisation, are guided by the recommendations of subcommittees.

Demographic Profile Sutherland Division of General Practice 2007

These documents have been developed by the Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU). A collaborating unit of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and is located at The University of Adelaide in the Australian Institute for Social Research. PHIDU has been established by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to assist in the development of public health data, data systems and indicators.

Division Profile

Regional Health Authority

South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service

Public Hospitals

The Sutherland Hospital and Community Health Services Garrawarra Hospital

Private Hospitals

Kareena Private Hospital
President Private Hospital

Socio-demographic profile - Population

The Sutherland Division had an Estimated Resident Population of 213,920 at 30 June 2004. Over the five years from 1991 to 1996, the Division's population increased by 0.9% on average each year, lower than in Sydney (1.1%) and New South Wales (1.0%). From 1996 to 2001, the annual percentage increase in the Division was 1.0%, lower than in Sydney (1.4%) and New South Wales (1.3%). The growth rate declined to 0.1% per year from 2001 to 2004, less than the annual increases for Sydney and New South Wales (0.6%), and Australia (1.1%).

The age distribution of the Division's population is similar to that for Australia overall. The most notable differences are:
at younger ages -a slightly lower proportion of females aged 5 to 14 years and males aged 0 to 14 years;
from 40 to 59 years- marginally higher proportions of both males and females; and
at the older ages - slightly lower proportions of males aged 65 years and over, and
females aged 60 to 84 years.

The Sutherland LGA comprised 7.8% of people born in predominantly non-English speaking countries and resident in Australia for five years or more, less than half the level of 17.8% in Sydney as a whole. Recent arrivals (those resident in Australia for less than five years) from non-English speaking countries comprised just 0.9% of the Division's population (compared to 4.3% in Sydney). Australian-born people comprised 83% of the Division's population, above the Australian figure of 72.6%. Of the 7.9% of people from English speaking countries, 5.3% were from the UK and Eire. The major birthplaces of the non-English speaking population include Italy (0.7%); Greece (0.6%); China and Egypt (0.5%); Germany, Hong Kong, The Netherlands and the Philippines (0.4%).

Socioeconomic status

The indicators describe geographic variations in the distribution of the population for a number of key socioeconomic influences, which impact on the health and wellbeing of populations. Following the 2001 Census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) produced four socioeconomic indexes for areas (SEIFA) which describe various aspects of the socioeconomic profile of populations in areas. The Sutherland DGP area's SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD) score is 1079, well above the average score for Australia (1000) and above that for Sydney (1017); this highlights the relatively higher socioeconomic status profile of the Sutherland DGP population.

General Practice Profile

GP Workforce remains static and has not increased to meet growing demands. There are currently 209 GPs (same as in 2005) practicing within the division's boundaries. Low GP to patient ratios have been recognized by the Commonwealth with the inclusion of Sutherland Shire West in the More Doctors for Outer Metropolitan Areas initiative, and more recently the approval of two practices in the Sutherland Shire as area of need, in one instance for after hours care.
The demand for GP services, both in and after hours, is growing in line with the ageing population. Elderly people consume more services per head of population and they present with more complex health problems and more chronic conditions.

Source: Population Health Profile of the Sutherland Division of General Practice, Population Profile Series: No.13, PHIDU, Australian Government Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, November 2005.