Tuesday 30 June 2020

Rural doctors thank Brendan Murphy for his ‘enormous contribution’ as Chief Medical Officer

The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) has thanked the nation’s outgoing Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Professor Brendan Murphy, for the enormous contribution he has made in the role, and particularly his extraordinary efforts in helping Australia navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Murphy finished his time as CMO last week, and will soon commence in his new role as Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Health – a position he was due to take up earlier this year, prior to the COVID-19 crisis emerging.

“When you look at how Australia has fared in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases, we have been enormously successful to-date in dodging a bullet” RDAA President, Dr John Hall, said.

“This is very much due to the knowledge and foresight of Professor Murphy and his team – working in collaboration with the Government, National Cabinet, state governments and their health departments - to ensure Australia’s response to the emerging pandemic was timely and effective.

“Professor Murphy has brought a steady hand and wide-ranging experience to his role as CMO, not only during the COVID-19 emergency but throughout his time in the position.

“His advice has been well considered, well communicated – and, when required, bluntly honest.

“We have also been impressed with his willingness to listen to the challenges facing rural healthcare professionals, and the solutions we have put forward. Discussions with him have always been productive.

“He has that critical skill that all top health policy decision-makers should have – an understanding that, just because a health measure works in urban Australia, it will not necessarily work in the bush...and may need a different approach.

“Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Murphy has given much of his time to engage and support the medical profession.

“We were very grateful that he accepted our invitation to be a key panellist at one of our joint national COVID-19 webinars with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) last month, discussing disaster planning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This webinar was very popular with rural doctors and others across Australia.

“We thank Professor Murphy for the enormous contribution he has made as CMO since commencing in the role in 2016, and we look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role as Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Health.”

A high resolution photo of Dr John Hall is available here.

Available for interview: Media contacts: RDAA President, Dr John Hall Patrick Daley on 0408 004 890 RDAA CEO, Peta Rutherford Ineke Kuiper on 0408 669 638