PERMANENT GP JOB
General Practitioner Vacancy
Kerang - Murray Plains
Northern Victoria (VIC)
NORTHERN DISTRICT COMMUNITY HEALTH
Northern District Community Health are seeking the services of a fulltime permanent General Practitioner for our Medical Practice in Kerang, 130km North of Bendigo in Northern Victoria.
With the support of 65 medical & allied health professionals and modern, extensively equipped Community Health facilities, you can be confident of providing the highest level of care to your patients.
Northern District Community Health
34 Fitzroy St,
Kerang, VIC 3579
POSITION:
Full Time or Part Time GP, VMO optional
COMMENCING: ASAP
GOOGLE MAPS:
Click here for a map overview of the surgery
GOOGLE EARTH:
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SURGERY OVERVIEW
Kerang’s largest medical clinic has been in operation since the 1970’s. The clinic was purchased by Northern District Community Health (NDCH) in October 2016. The clinic is located in the CBD of Kerang and close to the railway station and hospital. We have been a teaching practice for many years with Registrar training and Monash medical students.
NDCH is committed to providing a suite of health services across the local area that supports the community. Our GP Clinic team is complemented by health promotion, allied health, nursing and counselling teams. Dr’s Lindsay and Dianne Sherriff will be part of the team from February to June, providing a terrific opportunity for a GP to be well supported and inducted into the community.
A commitment has been made across the Murray health network to work together to better support the sector and there are promising discussions about the need to embrace change and innovation and meet the needs of our current and future workforces.
At NDCH we want our team of 65 health professionals to feel valued, respected and important. We want the team to have a ‘work/life’ balance so they can provide the very best care they can to our community. We intend on using the best of the past as an important platform on which we can re-build a contemporary, viable, innovative and respected clinic.
SURGERY OWNERSHIP
The clinic is owned by a Not for Profit Charity registered as a standalone Community Health Service funded via the State & Commonwealth Governments.
NDCH operates throughout the Gannawarra Shire & the Northern end of the Loddon Shire, as well as some of our services extending into the Swan Hill & Buloke Shires. We also fund services into the Shire of Campaspe and Bendigo. Our main office is located in Kerang in the state of Victoria, Australia and is a 3 hours’ drive from Melbourne, the States Capital.
SURGERY LAYOUT
The GP co-designed practice has 10 consulting rooms and 3 treatment rooms. Our onsite Allied Health services staff include: a Nurse Practitioner, visiting Cardiologist & Geriatrician, a full suite of allied health and counselling services, hearing aid specialist and mental health worker.
The surgery has a staff room, onsite parking, individual room controlled aircon and plenty of natural light in consulting rooms.
SURGERY FACILITIES
Clinic hours are Monday to Friday: 8.45am – 5.30pm. Standard Appointments are 15 minutes. We currently have three fulltime GPs consulting on most days, plus a Nurse Practitioner 5 days per week.
TREATMENT ROOM
NDCH has 3 @ 1 bed treatment rooms (total 3 beds). They are equipped with Spirometry, ECG, ABI (ankle-brachial index), 24 hour bp monitor, 24 hour halter monitor, cryotherapy, immunisations, ear toilet and ear wash. Our rooms are equipped to handle wound management, minor trauma and procedures such as suturing, biopsies, skin excisions & cryotherapy.
ADMIN SETUP
Our surgery has 2 x Reception staff plus the Practice Manager. We operate a windows based computer system using Best Practice for patient files. AGPAL accreditation is in place. NDCH is a paperless practice.
NURSING SERVICES
NDCH has 1 x RN and 1 x EN rostered on for the duration of each consulting day. A Nurse Practitioner is also available 3 days a week from 9.30am to 5pm. The other two days they spend visiting local communities.
ALLIED HEALTH SERVICES
Next door to our surgery NDCH has a large Community Health facility which provides the following allied health services: Podiatry, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Counselling, AOD counselling, Rural Withdrawal Nurses, Credentialed Mental Health Nurse, Speech Pathology, Dietitian and Diabetes Educators.
SPECIALIST SERVICES
We have a visiting Audiologist, Cardiologist & Geriatritian. Other specialist services are available in Swan Hill (50km away) and Bendigo (120 km away).
DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES
Kerang Hospital provides all diagnostic imaging & pathology (1km away). Results are available electronically in the surgery.
OTHER CLINICAL SERVICES
Our surgery has a physiotherapist who divides their time between our rooms and the Community Health Centre next door. Our Nurse practitioner is available three days per week. The adjoining Community Health Centre provides a full range of allied health services.
PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS
The population in our catchment area is approximately 10,000. Kerang could generally be described as having an ageing population in a predominantly farming district.
Heart, Asthma, Cancer and Diabetes diseases are significant in our communities. Some other areas seen as requiring attention are: family relationships, aged care, youth depression, nutrition, farm accidents and improving the availability of speech pathology, dietitian, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and podiatry.
BILLING ARRANGEMENTS
We are a mixed billing clinic. Our private fee for a Level B is $68.
PATIENT FLOWS
We schedule 15 minute appointments so our doctors see 4 patients per hour. We are usually booked out up to one week in advance but bookings for urgent patients are set aside each day. We can reliably provide 4-6 patients per hour to our GPs.
TOWN/SUBURB FACILITIES
Kerang is the largest centre within the Gannawarra Shire; a friendly, welcoming and inclusive community that values freedom and space. Kerang has a strong connection to heritage and a rich sporting and volunteering culture. Kerang draws in surrounding rural communities with its choice of schools,agricultural support services and strong health sector. Kerang has a busy retail sector, with some lovely new boutique businesses commencing in the last few years. Kerang (population 4,000) is located in the mid-north of Victoria and supports a region of approximately 18,000 people.
Situated within Victoria's thriving Loddon Murray region, the major regional centres of Bendigo, Echuca and Swan Hill are only around 1 hour away by road. The towns of Cohuna, Boort, Koondrook, Kerang, Murrabit, Lalbert, Pyramid Hill, Leitchville, and Quambatook are all part of our service area and each make up a significant part of the area's charm
TOURIST INFORMATION
The rural town of Kerang is located on the Loddon River just 25 km inland from the Murray River. With over 55 lakes, swamps and lagoons that stretch from Kerang to Lake Boga in the North, the area is popular for those seeking aquatic activities from water sports to boating and fishing. The district hosts a number of sporting competitions including cricket, football, netball, tennis and golf.
Education facilities includes childcare, kindergartens, four primary schools and 2 secondary schools. Many of our GP’s have taken advantage of learning to fly through our local Flying School.
More information on our area is available on the following websites:
https://www.visitkerangcohunakoondrook.com.au/
http://www.gannawarra.vic.gov.au/Home
http://www.kerangdistricthealth.com.au/
KERANG DISTRICT HEALTH
If you are working with NDCH you have the options of being a VMO at Kerang District Health (http://www.kerangdistricthealth.com.au) is a 30 bed facility with an onsite nursing home. Kerang also has a separate aged care facility. There is a regular list of visiting specialists and the Hospital has the facilities to perform general surgery. There is no gp anaesthetist in Kerang at the moment and the Obstetritian is expected to be leaving in June.
Oncall is currently shared amongst four town doctors and is limited to 7am to 11pm- 1 in 7. Overnight oncall is staffed by Nurse Practitioners.
SKILLS OR INTERESTS SOUGHT
Kerang District Health has an urgent need for an Anaesthetist. As such doctors with experience in these disciplines and an interest in providing VMO services would be most welcome.
A GP with an interest in training would be appreciated to continue our tradition of providing training to registrars and medical students.
CIRCUMSTANCES
Northern District Community Health have recently lost a doctor to retirement and a husband and wife team who are going overseas to train GP’s in Timor.
CONTRACT TERMS
Independent Contractor, full or part time. Employed GP also considered. Independent contractor will be based on a percentage of receipts. GP’s that can provide training to registrars will be well reimbursed. If the GP is providing VMO services to the local hospital, the hospital will pay the GP an on-call allowance. Hospital also may offer accommodation. NDCH also provides visits to a local aged care facilities with a weekly visit.
GENERAL COMMENTS
This is a great opportunity to join a clinic with an excellent standing in the community, and a large patient list. It is a great rural practice with lots of variety and a welcoming and supportive community. It sits alongside our Community Health facility so there are great shared work opportunities. There are regular GP forums and a Professionals Network.
CONTACT:
Contact Name:
Mandy Hutchinson
Northern District Community Health
34 Fitzroy St, Kerang, VIC 3579
Phone BH: (03) 5452 1366
Mobile: 0418 364 799
Email:
Posted: 1st May 2018
Position Reference: DY17066
