Two members of a pioneering medicine unit that was instrumental in laying the foundations for primary care in Australia have penned an impressive account of the group’s achievements. The profile follows the receipt of two Queen’s birthday honours this year, making it three for a trio of founding innovators.

The first of its kind in Australia, Flinders University’s ‘Primary Care and Community Medicine’ unit heralded pivotal change to the teaching of general practice in medicine.

As Foundation Professor, Emeritus Professor Anthony Radford AM was appointed in 1974 to realise the vision of the Primary Care and Community Medicine unit, which was funded in part by a government initiative to address perceived undergraduate deficiencies in general practice and public health.

Professor Radford oversaw a syllabus that provided the most extensive exposure of medicine undergraduates to primary care of any medicine school in Australasia. Having previously established the first multi-disciplinary Master in Public Health course in Europe, he led new approaches to health in Australia, also working with governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and non-government entities in a career that saw him evaluate primary health care programmes around the globe.

Together with his colleague the late Associate Professor Deane Southgate AM (after who Flinders’ Southgate Institute is named), he helped to lead the evolution of community health in South Australia.

Associate Professor John Litt AM was also part of the formative crew, as topic coordinator for general practice. He introduced a number of contemporary topics covering issues such as domestic violence, men’s health, preventive care and chronic disease self-management. His broader achievements included extensive contributions to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ standards and general practice policy.

Associate Professor Litt received a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Queens Birthday honours together with his colleague Emeritus Professor Radford.

This recognition followed an earlier AM awarded to the late Associate Professor Southgate, and was the catalyst for a reflection on the pivotal role of the trailblazing department in primary care teaching and public debate on issues such as health in retirement, Aboriginal health, euthanasia, abortion and more.

The contributions of these three primary care front-runners and their ground-breaking department are rich and varied. Find out more in the reflective account by Associate Professor Litt and his colleague Emeritus Professor Radford –  Three honours to pioneering department that punched above its weight.