Maitland Health Centre, Yorke Peninsula SA

History Maitland, like many Australian rural towns, became short of doctors in the mid 1990s. The community had been served well for many years by Dr Bill Chappel and Dr Graham Talbot. Encouraged by the recruiting success of the Department of General Practice in the Minlaton Medical Centre, the Central Yorke Peninsula Hospital Board approached the University of Adelaide for assistance. The Department of General Practice established a general practice in August 1997 in the consulting rooms built by the Hospital Board as part of the Maitland Community Health Centre.

Scope The advantages for the Department of General Practice of providing high quality clinical service in Maitland are: a secure base for teaching undergraduate medical students the research potential of a functional general practice capable practice staff with continually developing skills and a site for development of clinical Information Technology applications in general practice

Clinicians

Drs Georgina Moore, Mel Scrace and John Campbell are the current GPs in the Maitland Health Centre. Drs Owen and Mary Lewis were valuable members of the practice until their return to Nepal in 2001. Dr Jonathan Newbury consults on the Yorke Peninsula and is Head of the Adelaide University Rural Clinical School.

The Narrunga people

The Narrunga are the indigenous people of the Yorke Peninsula and like other Australian Indigenous people their health has been adversely affected by contact with Western civilisation. Dr Georgina Moore and the Yorke Peninsula Division of General Practice (YPDGP) established a medical clinic at the Point Pearce community. This is a cooperative venture with the Narrunga people, the Aboriginal Health Workers (AHW) employed by the Department of Human Services and the GP from Maitland Community Health Centre. By mid-2002 this service has expanded into a refurbished health centre building, has 2 GP clinics each week and daily clinics by AHWs.

Teaching

The practice is currently involved with student placements for 6th Year medical students and recipients of the John Flynn Scholarship Scheme. Maitland Health Centre will become an increasingly busy practice with increasing numbers of students from all years of the medical course learning about rural medical practice.

Staff

Dr John Campbell (GP)

Dr Duah (GP)
Dr Georgina Moore (GP)
Ms Kerry Baker (Practice Manager)
Ms Jill Linke (Administration)
Ms Kimberly
Sr Leanne Edwards (Practice Nurse)