Welcome to Adelaide Unicare
In September 2009 Adelaide Unicare, a controlled Entity of the University of Adelaide, in partnership with the University of South Australia signed an agreement with the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing to establish the Playford North GP Super Clinic in the Adelaide Northern suburbs.
Construction of the building is now almost complete and the Clinic, to eventually be called Unihealth Playford, will see its first patients in May of this year.
Once fully operational, the clinic will employ up to 30 health care workers.
The Clinic has already appointed a Clinical Director, one local General Practitioner and 4 overseas trained Doctors. It will soon be advertising for Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, Psychologists, Dieticians, A Practice Manager, Practice Nurses and Receptionists.
The Playford clinic will be a site of excellence in primary health care service delivery and health professional education, training and research that operates with an integrated multi-disciplinary focus. It will bring together general practitioners, practice nurses, mental and allied health professionals as well as local organisations to deliver primary health care that is tailored to the needs and priorities of the local community.
The CEO of Adelaide Unicare, Dr Garry Taylor, stated that the new clinic will focus on addressing the lifestyle determinants of health such as physical inactivity, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol levels and dietary consumption. It will also manage chronic health conditions by educating the patient to take control of their own conditions such as diabetes and falls prevention.
The emphasis will be on the needs of the patient (who may possibly have multiple and complex problems) and treatment of the whole person in his/her social, environmental and cultural context
The staff will take a team-based approach to health care, based on an understanding of each others’ individual roles, respect for their different skills and perspectives, willingness to communicate openly, recording and sharing of information in standard formats, and joint decision-making.
