New Deputy Director for Gippsland Regional Training Hub
Associate Professor Dr Paul Brougham has been appointed Deputy Director of the Gippsland Regional Training Hub, bringing more than three decades of rural health knowledge with him.
Dr Brougham is head of general practice (GP) teaching at Monash Rural Health, Gippsland, and Latrobe Regional Health’s first GP Liaison Officer. He continues to provide general practice and sexual health care to disadvantaged patients through his work at Latrobe Community Health Centre.
In his new role with the Regional Training Hub, Dr Brougham will lead the Hub’s Breakfast Bites program, bringing together health services and local GP networks. He will also work with stakeholders to enhance training opportunities for GPs and Rural Generalists.
Dr Brougham said his colleagues and predecessors had already made substantial efforts to support this goal.
“I have a strong desire to help keep medical students in the area and to provide opportunities to do specialist training in any field locally,” Dr Brougham said. “My other roles in primary care at Latrobe Regional Health and Monash Rural Health align with this. I hope that combination will help me build on the significant improvements already in place to encourage students and doctors to live and work in the region. My colleagues and predecessors have made substantial inroads already and we want to keep that momentum going.”
Dr Brougham follows Associate Professor Dr Gary Campain, who retired from the Deputy Director role this month. Dr Campain helped deliver healthcare throughout Gippsland and continues to support prevocational doctors at Bairnsdale Regional Health Service.
Moving to Australia from the UK in 1995, Dr Brougham has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to rural healthcare. He was a Procedural General Practitioner in the Latrobe Valley for 30 years as a General Practitioner Obstetrician.
As part of the Australian Primary Care Collaborative, a national quality improvement program focusing on General Practice and Indigenous Health, he helped develop systems and processes within General Practice to improve care for patients with chronic disease.
Gippsland Regional Training Hub Director, Associate Professor Rob Dawson, welcomed Dr Brougham, noting his extensive knowledge of the region.
“Dr Brougham’s experience and understanding of what it takes to support the next generation of doctors to become rural specialists is invaluable as we continue to build on our programs. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”