Media Release: Eastern Melbourne GP Education Alliance to enhance learning for general practice

04 July, 2017

Two thousand GPs in eastern metropolitan Melbourne will benefit from a coordinated training approach adopted by an alliance of hospitals and other training providers who deliver specialised education to doctors working in general practice.

The newly established Eastern Melbourne GP Education Alliance (the Alliance) today announced that the six hospitals and two training providers who founded the Alliance have agreed to work together to improve the education experiences of general practitioners (GPs).

The Alliance aims to provide a more cost effective and efficient way to deliver high-quality training to GPs, helping GPs stay up to date with issues such as chronic disease prevention and management, healthy ageing and cancer screening as patient advances in medicine are made, leading to better health outcomes for patients.

Eastern Melbourne PHN has led the formation of the group, and CEO, Robin Whyte said the Alliance will play an important role in supporting general practice in the region.

"GP education is a key part of achieving our vision of a better primary health care system for Eastern and North-Eastern Melbourne," Ms Whyte said.

"By sharing the planning and delivery of events, the Alliance will make it easier for GPs to access education and allow for educational events to be held in multiple locations across our catchment."

"Eastern Melbourne PHN covers a diverse population, spanning 3,956 km2 with almost 2000 GPs working within that area."

"It is important education is offered across the catchment to allow as many GPs as possible to access quality educational opportunities."

Previously the member organisations ran their own GP education events, which can lead to duplication of events and make it difficult for GPs to find the courses they need.

To address this, one regional annual calendar of events will be provided that describes all events developed to meet GP education priorities that are relevant locally.

The founding members of The Alliance are Eastern Melbourne PHN (EMPHN), Eastern Health, Northern Health, Austin Health, Monash Health, Mercy Hospital for Women , St. Vincent’s Hospital, and Eastern Victoria GP Training.

For media inquiries:

Claire James, Ph: 0425 887 397, claire.james@emphn.org.au