Former Gulgong general practitioner, Dr Robin Williams, has been appointed the new chair of the board of directors of the Western Health Alliance (WHAL), which operates as Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN).
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Dr Williams began his time as a doctor in regional NSW when he spent a year working at Dubbo Base Hospital in the 1980s.
He returned to his home in Wales, however rural NSW beckoned, and he emigrated to Australia in 1997 where he settled as a GP in Gulgong.
Now working as a GP and hospital visiting medical officer at Molong and Yeoval, Dr Williams has previously been a member of the NSW Ministerial Advisory Committee on Rural Health and has served as a director and chair of the NSW Rural Doctors Network and Chair of the Western NSW Local Health District.
He was welcomed into the role after the resignation of Dr Tim Smyth, who had chaired the board since August 2015 intends to move interstate with his family later this year.
Dr Williams thanked Dr Smyth for his work as Chair and said he was looking forward to stepping into the role.
"The PHN has had many successes and achieved many great things under the leadership of Dr Smyth and I am honoured to be able to lead this team into the future, so we can ensure the people of western NSW have access to excellent primary health care," he said.
The WNSW PHN is one of 31 Primary Health Networks across Australia, established by the Australian Government to support and strengthen general practice, Aboriginal health services, allied health professionals and other health professionals working in primary health care.
This region is aligned with both the Far West and Western NSW Local Health Districts and covers much of rural and remote NSW, with a population that has diverse health needs.
They work in partnership with other community and secondary care providers, hospitals and the broader community to help build a more integrated health system, especially for people living with chronic health conditions and their families and carers.