Ramya has actively built strong, trusted working relationships across the WA health system, including with AMA WA, Rural Clinical School WA, WA medical schools, Rural Health West, the WA Government, WA Department of Health, WAPHA and senior WA Health leaders.

She has used these relationships to open doors, bring general practice into key conversations earlier, and advocate directly on the issues affecting GPs, practices and patients.

This work has created practical channels for influence across workforce planning, rural general practice, GP training, practice sustainability, hospital interface reform and broader system redesign.

Ramya’s focus has been on turning relationships into outcomes: stronger advocacy, better access to decision-makers, clearer recognition of general practice, and more practical solutions for the profession.

Her approach has helped position general practice as a credible and constructive voice in the decisions that shape the future of healthcare.

Ramya has worked to ensure general practice is at the table earlier: before policy detail is locked in, before implementation becomes unworkable, and before GPs are left to manage the consequences.

That approach has mattered across major reforms, including pharmacy prescribing, Assignment of Benefit, ScriptCheck WA, firearms reform, rural workforce planning and aged care.

In each case, Ramya has pushed for GP input to shape the design, not just respond to the outcome.

That is where real influence happens: in the planning, design and decision-making stages before reform reaches the consulting room.

General practice delivers the care most Australians rely on, yet remains under-recognised in national research investment.

Ramya lead the inaugural WA General Practice Research Seminar, bringing together RACGP WA, the Western Australian General Practice Based Research Network, the Australian General Practice Research Foundation, GPs, researchers, academic registrars and government representatives. The seminar showcased local research in women’s health, cardiovascular care, rural health and clinical trials, while building stronger pathways for WA GPs to engage in research.

As a GP researcher, academic supervisor and practice owner, Ramya understands the barriers GPs face: time, funding, infrastructure and lack of support. General practice should not receive the smallest share of research investment while delivering the largest share of care.

Ramya has carried the concerns of GPs from consulting rooms into the places where decisions are made, and helped convert advocacy into action.

One example was WA’s $11 million statewide RSV immunisation rollout. Following strong RACGP advocacy, Western Australia became the first Australian jurisdiction to roll out infant RSV immunisation, giving infants under eight months access to nirsevimab ahead of winter

Ramya strongly advocated for this program because she understood what RSV means in real life: sick infants, distressed families, pressure on general practices, and avoidable strain on hospitals.

This was practical advocacy with direct patient impact. Nirsevimab had been shown in clinical trials to reduce RSV-associated hospitalisations by 83%, making the rollout a major prevention measure for babies, families and the WA health system.

Ramya has also consistently advocated for stronger public health investment through general practice, including WA’s Free Flu Program. This program has helped improve access to influenza vaccination (including the nasal vaccine), support prevention at scale, and recognise the central role general practices play in protecting communities before people become seriously unwell.

Together, these initiatives show what effective advocacy can deliver: better access to prevention, stronger support for families, reduced pressure on hospitals, and greater recognition of general practice as the foundation of public health delivery.

That is the kind of leadership Ramya brings: grounded in frontline experience, focused on outcomes, and determined to secure better support, clearer pathways, stronger recognition and a more respected role for general practice across the health system.

The Australian Public Health Conference, Perth. 19 September 2024