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Clusters

Each cluster has its own unique characteristics, which helped determine its boundaries.

It is important to note that the clusters are for management and administration purposes and will not affect clinical referral patterns and natural patient flows. For example, people living in Boggabri (Mehi Cluster) who are accustomed to seeking hospital care in Gunnedah (Peel Cluster) will continue to do so.

Mehi Cluster - Covering the Local Councils of Moree Plains and Narrabri
This cluster covers a large geographic area characterised by small widely- dispersed communities, a high Aboriginal population and extremes of wealth and poverty within the same local areas. The development of this cluster allows for equitable resource allocation between two communities who have historically had to compete for resources (Narrabri and Moree). Locating Boggabri, Narrabri, Moree and Wee Waa in the same cluster supports a more integrated approach to supporting Aboriginal health in the far north-western part of Hunter New England Health.

McIntyre Cluster - Covering the Local Councils of Inverell and Gwydir
This cluster is characterised by small rural communities viewing Inverell as their major service town. Bingara and Warialda have several communities of interest but relate more to Inverell for health and welfare services than other towns, such as Moree or Tamworth.

Tingha is a town with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and a high Aboriginal population. As the MPS is developed at Tingha it is important that strong existing links with Inverell for health service and aged care delivery are supported.

Tablelands Cluster - Covering the Local Councils of Tenterfield, Glen Innes Severn, Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq and Uralla
This cluster supports existing strong links between Glen Innes, Tenterfield and Emmaville, with many health and welfare services shared across these three communities.

Armidale is the largest community of interest for all towns in this cluster other than Tenterfield, whose communities of interest tend to be Stanthorpe in Queensland and Lismore in North Coast. Linking these communities within the one cluster supports and strengthens the existing role of Armidale Community Health Centre as a provider of specialist primary and community health services to the smaller northern communities.

Peel Cluster - Covering the Local Councils of Tamworth, Walcha, and Gunnedah
Communities in this cluster relate either to Tamworth as the largest regional centre or to Gunnedah. The Walcha community relates to both Tamworth and Armidale for different services, with social and welfare services generally being provided from Tamworth. Manilla and Barraba have strong links to Tamworth, strengthened by the recent Shire amalgamations.

Upper Hunter Cluster - Covering the Local Councils of Liverpool Plains, Upper Hunter and Muswellbrook
This cluster includes within it health services from the former Hunter and the New England Area Health Services and supports the development of a strongly integrated identity for Hunter New England Health by removing old demarcation lines. Murrurundi already supports Quirindi with a visiting GP service and early links with Muswellbrook for access to specialist community-based services has occurred. There is already a strong relationship to Muswellbrook for Murrurundi, Scone, Denman and Merriwa.

Lower Hunter Cluster - Covering the Local Councils of Dungog, Singleton, Maitland and Cessnock
As the population within clusters increases, geographic size decreases. The communities in the Lower Hunter Cluster are close together geographically and form a funnel into the Greater Newcastle area via the New England Highway and feeder roads. Despite the proximity to Newcastle there is still a rural component to the communities in this cluster and they differentiate themselves from the Greater Newcastle area. Within the cluster, Maitland, Kurri Kurri and Cessnock all relate to each other, with smaller communities coming into these larger towns. There are existing strong links between these communities for health and welfare service delivery.

Lower Mid-North Coast Cluster - Covering the Local Councils of Greater Taree, Great Lakes and Gloucester
This coastal cluster is characterised by a coastal population with some less populated smaller rural communities to the west. Taree as a major regional centre is the community of interest for the surrounding smaller communities.

Greater Newcastle Cluster - Covering the Local Councils of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens
This cluster comprises the metropolitan component of Hunter New England Health, with communities within the cluster strongly connected through existing health and welfare systems. By maintaining a metropolitan cluster, including feeder suburbs, the Area Health Service can plan service delivery models that suit metropolitan characteristics without imposing these on rural clusters.

© Hunter New England Area Health Service 2005. All rights reser

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