Associate Professor Charlotte Mary Hespe

Personal Statement

I am an academic GP Clinician and Practice Owner of a medium sized general practice, consisting of 18 Dr (8 FTE) / 3 Practice nurse/ 3 PT Allied health practitioner (Glebe Family Medical Practice, GFMP). The practice is a fully accredited practice that functions as a teaching Practice for both Medical students and GP Registrars.  The practice is a leading practice in Central and Eastern Sydney PHN and won RACGP Practice of the Year, NSW/ACT in 2018. I also work as Head of General Practice and GP Research for University of Notre Dame, Australia, School of Medicine, Sydney.

I am passionate about improving health outcomes for both the patient under my personal care and within the broader Australian Community and to this end I have been actively involved with the RACGP, GP Networks, Medical Education (through undergraduate, post graduate and Registrar student teaching) and GP research throughout my career. As an urban based GP I also have an understanding about the specific issues faced by Rural and Remote GP’s - having previously worked in Boroloola, NT (as a locum GP) and twice a year in a very remote, deprived community in the Philippines (see Team Philippines).

I also happen to have extensive experience and expertise in corporate Governance (within public health arena) currently holding an FAICD qualification, with 19 years’ experience as a Board Chair. I hold current directorships with RACGP and GFMP.

Currently I am Chair of RACGP NSW/ACT Faculty Council, Director of RACGP Board and Chair of RACGP Remuneration and Nominations Committee.

I am also a Director for The Gender Centre Inc. a small not-for-profit organisation providing a broad range of services for trans and gender expressive people.

Prior to taking on Directorship at RACGP I was a member of RACGP National REC Quality Care Committee from 2015-2017.

Education and qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy - Research (under examination)

School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame, Australia                                       

“Reducing Cardiovascular disease: Translating an evidence based quality improvement tool into ‘real-world’ general practice.”

Graduate Certificate in University Teaching (Jan 2009- Dec 2011)

University of Notre Dame, Australia, Sydney, Australia

Graduate Certification of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (Aug - Dec 2009)

Australian Institute of Company Directors, Sydney, Australia

Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (Jan 1990 - Dec 1994)

Royal Australian College of GPs, Melbourne, Australia

Diploma of Child Health (Aug 1990 - Aug 1991)

Royal College of Physicians, London, UK

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (Honours)(Jan 1982 - Jan 1987)

Sydney University, Australia

Academic Medical Leadership and Service

I have been privileged to be involved in a broad range of leadership roles in the Australian Medical and Academic community. My most relevant current and past roles are listed below:

Head of General Practice and Primary Care Research (Jan 2013 - Present)

School of Medicine, Sydney, The University of Notre Dame Australia

I have worked at The University of Notre Dame Australia since its inaugural year in 2008 when I taught problem based learning and clinical skills. I then became Year 1 Coordinator in 2011-12 prior to becoming Head of Discipline for General Practice and Primary Care Research.

UNDA offers a Doctor of Medicine (MD) program which combines basic and clinical sciences, communication and clinical skills, population and public health, and personal and professional development. The School of Medicine is proud of its strong emphasis on supporting every student individually to enable them to become excellent, caring and ethical doctors. The founding values include respect for human life, for each person’s dignity, social justice and ethics.

General Practitioner and Practice Owner/Director (Feb 1998 - Present)

Glebe Family Medical Practice, 114 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, NSW 2037

Director and leader (of 3) for a middle sized group General Practice in inner city Glebe Currently employs 18 GPs, 3 Practice Nurses, 7 Reception staff and 1 Practice Manager. Patient demographics are evenly spread across all socio economic and age group with 5% of the regular patients identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and signed up for Closing the gap program.

It is an accredited teaching practice and provides supervision for Medical Students and Registrars in the General Practice setting. The practice is seen as a Lead General Practice for Central and Eastern Sydney and won the RACGP Practice of the Year Award for NSW/ACT in 2018.

The Practice actively participates in Primary Health care research projects in partnership with research facilities such as University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Central and Eastern Sydney PHN, George Institute, Garvin Institute. (Currently participating in 5 research projects)

Director (2017- current) / Vice President (2018) / Chair (2019) / Chair Remunerations People and Culture Board committee (2020- 22)

RACGP (Oct 2017- present)

I was elected as Chair NSW/ACT Faculty Council for RACGP October 2017 which meant taking on Directorship on the RACGP Board. I was elected as Vice President by the Board in October 2017, Chair, October 2018 and am the current Chair Remunerations Nominations Committee.

As Chair of NSW/ACT Faculty I have set up some Faculty specific committees to assist in furthering Women GP in Leadership, Mentoring, Well Being and Collaborative partnerships with all GP leaders in NSW/ACT

• Women GP in Leadership

• Just a GP Podcast

• Virtual GP Community of Practice – NSW/ACT

Executive Faculty Board Member / Chair

NSW / ACT Faculty RACGP  (Sept 2004 - present)

I have been a member of the NSW/ACT faculty council since 2004 due to my role as Assessment Panel Chair from 2004-8. I was then elected to the Council as a regional representative for Inner West Sydney. I was appointed Deputy Chair of the NSW/ACT Faculty in January 2013 – October 2017.

Director / Chair (June 2015 - Dec 2017)

EIS Health, Ashfield, Sydney (CESPHN) (June 2015 - Dec 2018)

EIS Health is the contract holder for Central and Eastern Sydney PHN, funded by Department of Health, Australia from July 2015.

Primary health networks (PHNs) were established with the key objectives of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of medical services for patients, particularly those at risk of poor health outcomes. They also aim to improve coordination of care to ensure patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time.

PHNs are not for profit, regionally based organisations which aim to strengthen primary care by redirecting frontline health services to improve health outcomes of the community.

I was elected Chair of CESPHN in July 2015 and stood down from this position at the AGM November 2017 after becoming a Director for RACGP and subsequently resigned as Director in December 2018.

Clinical Reference Lead (CRL)

Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) (Feb 2018 - present)

The Australian Digital Health Agency is tasked with improving health outcomes for Australians through the delivery of digital healthcare systems and the national digital health strategy for Australia. The clinical reference lead role is to assist in promoting greater engagement of practitioners across the health care sectors.

Director

The Gender Centre Inc                                                                (October 2020 – present)

 The Gender Centre is a Not For Profit organisation commited to developing and providing services and activities which enhance the ability of transgender, gender diverse and gender exploring to make informed choices. They offer a wide range of services to the community, their partners, family members and friends in NSW. They have an accommodation services and also act as education, support, training and referral resource centre to other organisations and service providers. The Gender Centre is committed to education the public and service providers about the needs of gender diverse people, children and families.

Director

Asthma Foundation Queensland / NSW, Chatswood, NSW  (Aug 2013 - Oct 2017)

Asthma Foundation, Queensland / NSW has the goal of:

Providing asthma information, education, training and advocacy in the community and promoting research into better asthma management.

Clinical Chair / Faculty Member

APCC, Improvement Foundation, Adelaide (Jan 2008 - 2017)

Role of overseeing workshops associated with the Australian Primary Care Collaborative (APCC) Program. The Program is the first, and largest, quality improvement program of its type in primary healthcare, in Australia.

Through the APCC Program general practitioners (GPs) and primary health care providers work together to: Improve patient clinical outcomes, reduce lifestyle risk factors, help maintain good health for those with chronic and complex conditions and promote a culture of quality improvement in primary healthcare.

Director, Chair

GP Synergy, Chippendale (Jan 2001-Nov 2015)

GP Synergy is a leading provider of general practice education, delivering a diverse range of pre vocational and vocational general practice training experiences across Sydney and the New England/Northwest region of NSW.

I was a Board Director for SIGPET (subsequently amalgamated and changed name to become GP Synergy) since the formation of the company in 2001 and held position of Chair 2004-2008, 2011-2014. I stood down from the Board at the end of 2015.

Director, Chair

Inner West Sydney Medicare Local (June 2012- 2016)

Inner West Sydney Medicare Local (IWSML) was part of a network of 61 Medicare Locals which were established to drive improvements in primary health care services across Australia. IWSML was established in July 2012.

The overriding Medicare Locals goal was to engage and work collaboratively with the full range of primary health care providers in their community.  Medicare Locals ceased being funded by the Department of Health in June 2015 and were replaced by “PHNs”. I was Chair from November 2012-June 2015.

Director

GPNSW (Nov 2010 - Nov 2014)

General Practice NSW was established to work at a state level to support and promote the work of NSW Divisions Network, to maintain good working relationships with relevant public, private and not-for-profit stakeholders and to maximise the capacity and influence of NSW Divisions in the health care sector. This role has changed with the establishment of Medicare Locals (MLs) and the company is aiming to provide a similar role for the NSW based MLs.

Appointed Member

Professional Services Review Panel (PSR) (Aug 2013 - present)

I have been appointed by the Minister of Health to be one of the GP Members of Panel of “Peers” involved in the professional review of services conducted under Medicare by registered medical practitioners. I have sat on a total of 4 panels since my appointment.

Accreditation Visitor

General Practice Education and Training (GPET) (2004-2009)

Involved in visiting Regional Training Providers under contract to GPET and conducting an accreditation audit against the GPET, RACGP and ACCRM training standards

RACGP Examiner

RACGP, Melbourne (Jan 1997-present)

Act as an OSCE station examiner for the RACGP Fellowship exam. This is conducted twice a year for 1 day. Oversee and standard setting for OSCE, KFP and AKT examinations

Since becoming a Director for RACGP I have not actively participated in the examiner process to ensure there is no Conflict of interest at any time. I look forward to being an examiner again once my Director role ceases.