Mission Statement

Helping General Practitioners to build a healthier community. Promoting awareness of General Practice and improving access to allied and primary health care by partnership with other health services.

 

The Goldfields  Esperance GP Network, is one of the largest and most remote regions in Australia covering 815,464 square kilometres making up 32.6% (or one-third) of the land mass of Western Australia. It stretches from Southern Cross in the west across to the arid region of the South Australian border, the remote mining communities up to Wiluna and the pristine coastline of Esperance.

The Rural and Remoteness Index for the region is 7 (remote). The total population for the region is 54,855 persons (GEDC June 2003) with 32,042 residing in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and 13,271 residing in Esperance. The number of Aboriginal people in the region represents 10.5% of the total population (Regional Health Needs Analysis 2003).

The Network was formed in 1994 and has a main office in Kalgoorlie-Boulder (596km north-east of Perth) and an office in Esperance (394km south of Kalgoorlie). 

There are approximately 50 FTE General Practitioners throughout the Goldfields Esperance GP Network. The GPs in the region work long hours with many (especially in solo GP communities) being on-call 24 hours per day. The GP to patient ratio is well above the national average, ranging from 1500-1999 in Esperance to 2500-9999 in some of the smaller towns.

The Network's core business as three-fold:

  • Supporting general practitioners and general practice workforce
  • Provision of quality education for general practitioners in the region, and
  • The development and implementation of innovative health programs across the region

The Network achieves these goals by working collaboratively with key stakeholders including the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA), Goldfields South East Health Region (GSEHR); Department of Health, Western Australia (DOHWA); community leaders; local Shires and other health and social service providers in the region.