Dr. Simon Quilty is a specialist physician who is pioneering the development of remote Australian hospitals to provide high-level care to Indigenous people living in very isolated communities.
Completing a Bachelor of mechanical and biomedical Engineering (B. Eng Hon1, 1997), he then worked with a biotech start-up in Sydney before undertaking a combined Medical Degree (MBBS) and Research Masters in Public Health at Sydney University (MPhilPH, 2004). In 2007 he commenced specialist training as a General and Acute Care Physician with the Royal Australian College of Physicians which he completed in 2013.
Simon has a unique perspective of the infrastructure requirements required to provide quality health care in challenging environments, and has spent the last six years working to significantly improve services to a highly disadvantaged Indigenous population in the very remote tropical North of Australia. Using his experience and knowledge of medicine, public health and the systems approaches of engineering, he has established a high performing and innovative team at Katherine Hospital that embraces new technologies and approaches to overcome the challenges of great distances, extreme tropical climate, and the provision of culturally appropriate care in a region home to over over 18 Indigenous tribal groups.
He and his team have received multiple awards over the past five years for their substantial achievements at Katherine, and in 2017 he was awarded the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP) medal for clinical services to rural and remote Australia. He is a member of the RACP NT committee and of the RACP Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Health Committee. He has developed a comprehensive remote training pathway for medical students and physician trainees, and has academic postings with Menzies School of Health Research, Flinders University and James Cook University, and is involved in ongoing research implementing innovative social and technological solutions to the challenges of improving Indigenous health in Australia.