• A Charles Sturt University academic has been nominated as a finalist for the Victorian Rural Health Awards
• The awards were established in 2005 to recognise the dedication and hard work of healthcare professionals serving the rural communities of Victoria
• The winner will be announced on Tuesday 27 June at the Victorian Health Awards, held virtually from 6pm to 7pm

A Charles Sturt University academic has been named a finalist in three categories for the Victorian Rural Health Awards in recognition of his contributions to rural and regional healthcare.

Associate Professor Rex Prabhu in the Charles Sturt School of Rural Medicine has been nominated for three awards; Outstanding Contribution by a Rural Medical Specialist, Outstanding Contribution to Rural Outreach Provision, and Outstanding Contribution to Rural Practice Management, as well as the overall Victorian Medical Specialist of the Year for 2023.

The awards were established in 2005 to recognise the dedication and hard work of healthcare professionals serving the rural communities of Victoria, organised by the Victorian Department of Health and Rural Workforce Agency Victoria.

Professor Prabhu said he was honoured to be nominated alongside his peers in the industry.

“This recognition is testament to the grit of all the amazingly talented and gifted health professionals that I work for and with to deliver better health outcomes,” he said.

“I hope to inspire a generation of young and early career medical executive leaders to move to the regions and shape the future of our health system.”

In 2019, Professor Prabhu was appointed the Executive Medical Director of Swan Hill District Health in Victoria, where he played a key role in the development of Charles Sturt’s Mallee Clinical School.

“This allowed us in 2021 to develop the seeds of Victoria’s first end-to-end sub-regional general practitioner (GP) training program from Charles Sturt University through to final-year GP practice in a single town and a single location,” he said.

Professor Prabhu previously worked as the Assistant Director of Medical Services at Manly and Mona Vale Hospitals in Sydney and Westmead in 2018. Before then, he worked in several hospitals in Perth as a paediatric and medical registrar from 2015.

He was instrumental in developing a roadmap to build the senior workforce by facilitating rural general practitioners working alongside specialists, giving doctors more pathways to train locally.

“We have grown from four to 24 doctors now, working in different areas of service delivery, thereby enhancing our abilities to have postgraduate trainees,” Professor Prabhu said.

“Our postgraduate intake has increased by eight new positions including a GP intern position, and advanced skills in anaesthetics, obstetrics and emergency medicine.

“I have also worked on developing a unique medical model supporting nurse practitioners, and the emergency medicine department has gone from being fly-in, fly-out only to having four full-time senior medical officers.

“This year we had our highest intake of GP registrars; six of them, and we now have seven supervisors in our practice.”

Associate Head of School in the School of Rural Medicine at Charles Sturt University, Professor Damien Limberger, said Professor Prabhu’s nomination was well-deserved.

“This is a very highly regarded award, and his nomination recognises the significant leadership and achievements Rex has made at Swan Hill Health Service and the contribution to the medical workforce and rural health services,” Professor Limberger said.

“Rex’s vision and ambition for a medical school at Swan Hill has been instrumental in establishing the Charles Sturt University Mallee Clinical School.”

Professor Prabhu said the support at Charles Sturt University, as well as at home and in the workplace, have been pivotal in his achievements to date.

“The care teams of Swan Hill District Health are always striving for innovation, quality improvement and change such as to challenge the status quo,” he said.

“The sacrifices and support of my wife Nathalie, and my girls Roxy and Lexi, allow me to accomplish and succeed.”

The winner will be announced on Tuesday 27 June at the Victorian Health Awards, held virtually from 6pm to 7pm.

ENDS