Speakers

Dr Alastair Roeves

Dr Alastair Roeves is the National Clinical Lead for the Health & Care Pathways programme in Wales, working in the Strategic Programme for Planned Care, NHS Executive. Alastair was among the first to champion the HealthPathways programme across Wales and was instrumental in the procurement process. He now oversees the programme’s development and implementation across the country, and as a GP, he is excited to see HealthPathways become a vehicle for change and progress within NHS Wales. He is also the national clinical lead for Primary Care & Community Services, focussing on governance, data, and whole-system thinking.

Dr Theresa Johnson

Dr Theresa Johnson first documented her aspirations to be “a GP in a clinic” in a primary school assignment. To pursue this goal, she studied biochemistry and genetics at the University of Queensland before entering their postgraduate MBBS program. She took an early interest in rural medicine, entering the rural generalist training program in its infancy. After gaining experience in public and private settings across South East Queensland, she settled in Toowoomba where she completed her fellowship with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) with an advanced skill in adult general medicine. She practiced as a GP in the private sector for 8 years, before returning to the public sector as a general practice liaison officer. From her first day in this role, she saw the amazing potential that HealthPathways would bring in bridging the gap between primary and tertiary care. She became a passionate advocate for the platform, and even in her new role as deputy director of medical services at Toowoomba Hospital, never misses an opportunity to promote HealthPathways as a single way of working to promote shared care and integrated care to improve patient outcomes.

Dr Joe Bourne

Dr Joe Bourne is an experienced clinical and people leader with a passion for being the "bridge" between policy and strategy, healthcare operations, and clinical standards to deliver tangibly better outcomes across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Joe was born in London and spent his high school years in the Netherlands before returning to the UK to study medicine at the University of Birmingham. His interest in leadership began when he was elected president of the Guild of Students at the university. After graduating he completed post-graduate examinations in emergency medicine before switching to general practice.

He first came to New Zealand in 2003 for a working holiday before returning permanently in 2007. Since then, he has worked for a Māori primary care provider in Te Puke, Bay of Plenty, where he continues to work one day a week.

Joe began his clinical leadership journey working for the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, initially as a general practice liaison and then Clinical Director of Innovation and Improvement. He gained his Master of Public Heath (Health Service Management) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Having led the Bay of Plenty community response to COVID-19 in 2020, Joe moved to his first national role in January 2021, as primary care lead on the COVID-19 Vaccination and Immunisation Programme. In November of the same year, he became the clinical lead for COVID-19 care in the community.

Joe was appointed chief medical officer at the Ministry of Health in October 2022 - the first general practitioner to hold the position. Joe believes that continuing to practice medicine while in the role helps him to stay grounded in the realities of health workforce challenges, and gives him a whole-of-system perspective to the advice he provides.

Carolyn Gullery

Carolyn Gullery has been a key figure in transforming health care, illustrated recently through her involvement in co-authoring the influential 2022 Manhattan Manifesto, which champions equitable digital health on a global scale. Her expertise is widely recognised, as she is a sought-after keynote speaker at international health forums and has authored several papers on health system integration and improvement.

In 2003, Carolyn played a pivotal role in establishing New Zealand's inaugural primary health organisation agreement, a landmark initiative to enhance care for vulnerable groups and shape national primary care strategies.

As an innovative leader, she established the Canterbury Initiative, significantly advancing health system transformations in New Zealand and extending its influence to Australia and the UK. Carolyn was the Executive Sponsor of HealthPathways, a widely-used international clinical guidance platform, identified by the Kings Fund in 2013 as one of the genuine innovations in the evolving Integrated Canterbury Health System.

Her leadership in developing the Canterbury Acute Demand Management Programme led to a remarkable 30% reduction in acute medical admissions maintained over two decades, earning recognition from the World Bank. This program notably improved healthcare access and reduced acute hospital admissions for the Māori community, demonstrating the positive impact of using data and evidence to design services for people and populations.

Michael Zanco

Michael Zanco is the Executive Director of the Healthcare Improvement Unit, and has responsibility for driving systems improvement and reform by working collaboratively with Statewide Clinical Networks, Hospital and Health Services and other system leaders to explore opportunities to improve access to healthcare. Michael has a long and successful history of effectively engaging and partnering with frontline clinicians, health service executives and policy makers to deliver real improvements to patient care and driving sustainable system-wide improvements in relation to access, equity and quality of services provided. Over his career, Michael has worked in many roles, starting in public hospital administration supporting the delivery of patient care before taking on roles within the corporate setting to influence and deliver policy and investment initiatives that support true whole-of-system change.

Gala Dinner Speaker

Brad Manuel

Brad Manuel is an internationally renowned magician and comedian rolled into one, and provides a very relaxed fun show, packed with interactive verbal and visual comedy featuring Brad's original magic, with unique Aussie humour. Described as a comic genius, Brad's magic and comedy mix together perfectly to deliver a truly unique experience that has been featured in over 30 countries (including a show at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas - where in an encore he was challenged to perform in his underwear - a challenge he accepted!)