Prof Gary Geelhoed elected AMA (WA) President

August 7, 2008

Princess Margaret Hospital's emergency services chief, Prof Gary Geelhoed, has been elected President of the Australian Medical Association (WA).

Prof Geelhoed is a local graduate of the University of WA and after a number of years in adult medicine trained in general paediatrics with a special interest in the assessment and treatment of children with acute respiratory problems.

He has been an AMA (WA) Vice President for the last two years and is a Fellow of both the Australian College of Emergency Medicine and the Royal Australian College of Physicians. He replaces Prof Geoff Dobb who served as President from July 2006.

"With an election looming, it's important that the medical profession keeps both the Government and the Opposition focussed on health as the number one issue," said Prof Geelhoed.

"There are long-term plans on the drawing board for the public hospital system which require ongoing consultation, but the present day-to-day problems plaguing the system need to be resolved so the community gets accessible and quality health care."

Prof Geelhoed said that as President he also wanted to promote the role of General Practice in primary care at a state level and to positively influence the health of Indigenous people.

"The health professionals working in Aboriginal health need all the support we can give them," he said. "I look forward to discussing these issues with Mr Patrick Walker, the new Director-General of the Department of Indigenous Affairs."

Last night's annual general meeting of the AMA (WA) elected Dr David Mountain and Dr Steve Wilson as Vice Presidents.

Dr Mountain is the association's spokesman on emergency medicine and Dr Wilson is chair of the AMA (WA) Council of General Practice.

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