Leadership aligned for the future of primary care

At a glance 

• MPHN’s annual Board and Advisory Forum held April 2026 

• Facilitated by GP and national primary care reform advisor Dr Walid Jammal  

• Discussions focused on team-based, integrated and patient-centred care as key reform priorities 

Effective leadership means looking beyond today’s challenges to prepare for what comes next. 

In April 2026, Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) brought together its Board and Clinical, Consumer and First Nations advisory groups for the annual Board and Advisory Forum, creating an opportunity to align governance and community perspectives around the future of primary healthcare. 

Facilitated by GP and national primary care reform advisor Dr Walid Jammal, the Forum explored the significant reforms reshaping primary care nationally and what they mean for the Murrumbidgee. 

There was strong alignment around a future health system built on timely and affordable access, continuity of care and better-connected services, with multidisciplinary teams working to their full scope. Participants also identified digital and data capability as critical to enabling more integrated, efficient and proactive care.  

Importantly, the Forum turned discussion into direction. Priorities included supporting general practice to adopt team-based care, strengthening provider capability, embedding consumer and community co-design, improving data sharing and integration, and testing new models of care.  

The Forum reinforced an important evolution in MPHN’s leadership role: from coordinating individual programs towards helping translate health reform into practical change across the region.  

“Good governance is about making sure we are not only responding to the health system we have today, but preparing for the one our communities will need tomorrow,” MPHN Chair Associate Professor Alam Yoosuf said.  

“Bringing our Board and advisory groups together gives us the benefit of clinical expertise, community experience and First Nations perspectives around the same table. That collective insight helps MPHN set priorities and gives us a clear direction for how we support meaningful reform.” 

Images from the Forum