Pandemic leadership honoured in President’s award

For the first time in its 24-year history, the AMA President’s Award was granted to Chief Medical and Health Officers across the country at NatCon last weekend.

The AMA President’s Award has been granted to ten Commonwealth, State and Territory Chief Medical and Health Officers (CMOs and CHOs) for their exemplary roles in providing leadership to Australian governments and members of the community during this pandemic:

• Professor Paul Kelly (current Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer)
• Professor Brendan Murphy (previous Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer)
• Dr Kerry Chant (NSW Chief Health Officer)
• Dr Kerryn Coleman (ACT Chief Health Officer)
• Dr Hugh Heggie (NT Chief Health Officer)
• Professor Tony Lawler (TAS Chief Medical Officer)
• Dr Andrew Robertson (WA Chief Health Officer) 
• Professor Nicola Spurrier (SA Chief Public Health Officer)
• Professor Brett Sutton (VIC Chief Health Officer)
• Dr Jeannette Young (QLD Chief Health Officer)

AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid said the CMOs and CHOs have been providing expert health guidance to Australians during and unprecedented health emergency, which has challenged us all in ways that we could not have envisaged before the pandemic.

Dr Khorshid said that the CMOs and CHOs have been serving with great distinction during a very difficult time and they were a credit to the nation and their medical profession.

“They have not only guided the community with their medical expertise and knowledge, but also with compassion, accessibility and resilience to be able stand up every day to (sometimes) deliver bad news while underlining to the community that we are all in this together and the way out is working together,”

“I believe these awards are well deserved and recognise the recipients’ extraordinary contributions and I’m sure that Australians will join me in giving the Chief Medical and Health Officers our sincere gratitude for their work,” Dr Khorshid said.