August 2004

GPDV Board Summary
Monday 13 August 2004

1. Rural Birthing Services Committee
Nola reported that this committee, on which she is the GPDV representative, will soon issue a final draft report. GP representatives considered that it needs considerable change to be acceptable. Following Nola's suggestion that a GP representative is essential, Ruth Steward has been selected by DHS to join the Maternity Services Advisory Committee.

2. Divisions Review Implementation Committee
The board received Bill's report on the first Review Implementation Committee (RIC) meeting on the 4 August in Sydney.  The meeting discussed the Performance Indicators for divisions as the first priority topic and began a discussion about structural efficiency, which is the term to be used for the discussion of amalgamations and boundary alignment, which is DoHA's second priority. David Learmonth asserted that he had divisions wanting to amalgamate. Bill reported that he had shown concern about DoHA's intention to rush into the encouragement of amalgamation without adequate preparation of criteria, possibly because a few divisions are pressing David Learmonth to allow them to proceed with amalgamation at once.

3. Structure of the Divisions' Network
The board received  Bill's update. The Working Group has issued its second paper and has included GPDV's variation as a possible option. The board resolved to support the paper's option 2, to suspend consideration of the structure until deliberations of the RIC and the intentions of DoHA have become clearer. The board felt that to discuss the resolution at the ADGP AGM would be pointless and possibly destructive, at a time when the Divisions Network is in need of a period of consolidation.


4. GPRG Summit 27 August
The board selected John Meaney as the GPDV representative for the GP Summit, 27 August in Canberra.

5. SSD/GPR
In discussion the board sought a guarantee that:

  • DHS will not change the rules and allow unauthorised wider access to GP data. GPDV should continued to authorise access to the restricted GP data;
  • The validation of GP data will continue to match the standards of the GPR;
  • DCA will provide training to divisions and hospital staff, as GPDV has; and
  • There will be testing of the SSD by hospitals before the change-over to ensure that it suits hospital IT systems.

In general the board continued to express reservations about whether DHS IT staff fully understand the purpose of the GPR and that it is not just another infrastructure database. The board noted the Minister's comment that she did not want to see the GPR undermined before the SSD was able to perform its functions.

The board decided in principle to endorse the SSD as the future provider of GP data for hospitals.

6. Broadband
The board received  Bill's update on the broadband program and noted that the program is being funded by the second IMIT PIP payment. The board agreed to take-up the use of the PIP payment through ADGP and to ask John to take-up at the GPRG summit the lack of transparency on DoHA's decision-making about this funding.