We gather information about health needs and issues in our region by talking to people and communities, consulting experts and health care providers, looking at research, and from data we gather from many sources, such as the census, general practices and hospitals and other sources.
The usual resident population of the HNECC region in 2016 was 1,216,725 people, this is expected to increase by 19.5% by 2031 to over 1.4 million people.
We frequently use a standardised method of summarising a number of social and economic factors, called Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) scores. SEIFA scores are a measure of advantage and disadvantage compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Lifestyle related chronic diseases such as Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are pressing issues for our communities and are leading to increased hospitalisations in the region. We have some of the highest rates of COPD (2nd highest rate out of the 31 PHNs) and circulatory system disease (6th highest) in Australia.
Our PHN works with general practice to maintain high immunisation rates for their patients and to help reduce vaccine preventable disease. General Practitioners are key in improving Australia’s childhood immunisation levels as they are the main point of contact with children under the age of seven.
General practitioners (GPs) are considered the cornerstone of health care in the primary health care setting. A large number and range of other health professionals and services support GPs in providing primary health care services in our region.
We obtain information from a large number of sources. This page explains some of our key sources. For any other information or enquiries please contact the Health Planning and Performance Team.
We have created a range of resources to assist with health planning in our region, integrating, analysing and summarising information and data from many sources. Our current resources are available below for download.