I'm Anne Simpson, a GP working at Illawarra Family Medical Centre, Wollongong, and I founded essentialGP in 2015.

I believe good knowledge is key to good health, and the rapidly growing wealth of information on the internet is exciting; e-health is our future.  But misinformation can be harmful.  Not all sources of health information are accurate or trustworthy.  It is at times of stress, like being diagnosed with a medical condition or caring for a sick, loved one, that we can be most vulnerable to being misled, by promising, but poorly researched, ideas or treatments. I have developed this site with the aim of providing an evidence based and carefully researched source of patient information leaflets and links.  

In addition to good information, when it comes to health, we are also looking to access the best treatments. Our region is blessed with a wealth of excellent resources and services, but as a GP working here for the past decade, I have had first-hand experience of how difficult it can be to find or access these services.

This site is the culmination of more than 15 years of information gathering, with the hope that it will provide health care providers, patients and carers with an up-to-date comprehensive local directory, and access to the best health information on the net.  My vision is that this will be the accurate, trusted site you return to time and again for all your health needs, and that this will become an excellent collaborative community resource for our region.

I offer appointments at Illawarra Family Medical Centre on Tuesdays - Fridays. 

Illawarra Family Medical Centre is centrally located on Crown Street, Wollongong, open 7 days a week, with free parking.  We work from custom-built premises with trained nurses, a well-equipped treatment room, and on-site pathology, radiology, Hospital Hill Pharmacy and a cafe.  We provide a comprehensive range of general practice services including skin checks, antenatal care, Mirena insertion, care planning, travel medicine and minor procedures. We are a privately billing centre but I offer bulk billing to infants, and discounts for school children, health care card holders and over 65's. We are open seven days a week and offer appointments from 7:30am.