General practitioners (GPs) are considered the cornerstone of health care in the primary health care setting. A large number and range of other health professionals and services support GPs in providing primary health care services in our region.
There is substantial variation in the primary health care workforce across our region. In general there are lower numbers of clinicians in rural areas, for example there are low numbers of GPs in Uralla, Walcha, Liverpool Plains and Dungog as shown in the table below. Some clinician groups are also poorly represented in metropolitan or urban parts of the region, when compared to NSW as a whole.
* Source: Health Workforce Australia 2014
Aboriginal Medical Services are found in the following locations in our region (click on name to visit the organisation's website, if available):
Workforce is a key component of health planning. It is impacted locally by the national and state economies, as well as by regional and local plans and developments. Challenges facing the primary health care workforce include:
More information about this and other population health topics is available on our Resources page.
Links to other information from a number of our key data sources can be found on the Other information about health in our region page.
For any other information or enquiries please contact the Health Planning and Performance Team by email: healthplanning@hneccphn.com.au
For more information about the people in our region and their health, see the HNECC PHN Health Planning Compass