GP15 Day 1: Opening events
The RACGP’s GP15 Conference for General Practice officially opened yesterday at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Victoria Faculty Deputy Chair Dr Cameron Loy was on hand to welcome attendees and outlined the focus of the conference.
‘This year’s theme, “Our future in practice”, will explore topics that will inspire and encourage you to consider your future in practice and the impact on your patients and communities,’ he told attendees.
Dr Loy acknowledged the traditional owners of the land, the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation, and was followed by a Welcome to Country from Carolyn Briggs, a Boon Wurrung Elder, a dance ceremony performed by a Boon Wurrung Foundation dance group and a performance from the ‘With one Voice’ choir from Creativity Australia.
RACGP President Dr Frank R Jones also took to the stage where he welcomed delegates and took the opportunity to announce the completion of one of the RACGP’s most important recent projects, the Vision for general practice and a sustainable healthcare system funding model. The model outlines a plan to better support the delivery of quality, sustainable and effective patient-centred healthcare in Australia.
‘We know Australia’s health system faces a range of pressures: an ageing population; an increase in chronic and complex diseases; and increasing costs for patients, providers and governments,’ he said. ‘If implemented, our vision will transform the delivery of healthcare in Australia through increased quality, access and efficiency.’
Dr Jones was followed by keynote speaker Dr Alessandro Demaio, a Melbourne-born Postdoctoral Fellow in global health and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at Harvard Medical School.
The topic of Dr Demaio’s address was ‘Rethinking the future of general practice’. He discussed the need to reappraise the role of the GP in the context of modern global health, particularly NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, respiratory diseases and diabetes.
Dr Demaio believes GPs can influence policy and help to reframe the misunderstood issue of NCDs and must ‘continue to be the centre point of care’ for people with these diseases.
‘GPs hold the key to unpacking and solving this global problem,’ he said during his address. ‘General practice can own the space of prevention [of NCDs].’
The opening day of GP15 was filled with active learning modules (ALMs), workshops, oral sessions, short papers and posters, and the conference exhibition hall opened with more than 130 exhibitors on display. The day wound up with a pair of social events, with many enjoying their evening at the GP15 welcome reception and the National Faculty of Specific Interests’ dinner.
Visit the RACGP’s YouTube channel to view video highlights from the conference over the next few days.
For further information about the conference, please visit racgpconference.com.au or download the app from Google play or the App store.
Plans are also underway for next year’s conference, GP16, to be held in Perth, WA, from 29 September to 1 October 2016. Prospective delegates can register their interest online at gp16.com.au