Last week UCRH welcomed clinicians, educators, students, researchers and community partners to Lismore yesterday for the inaugural Prof Stephen Lee Lecture in Ethics, marking a significant milestone for UCRH and the beginning of its 25th anniversary celebrations.
Hosted in partnership with Sydney Health Ethics, the event featured Professor Jenny May AM, Australia’s National Rural Health Commissioner, and brought a strong national focus to ethical practice and health equity in rural, regional and remote Australia. It was a privilege for UCRH to host Professor May in Lismore for the lecture, alongside Professor Lee’s wife, Theresa, whose presence made the occasion particularly meaningful.
The lecture honours the legacy of Clinical Professor Stephen Lee and his lifelong commitment to patients-first-care. Reflecting on Professor Lee’s early life, Professor May spoke about the formative experiences that shaped his values after his family fled civil war in China and later settled in Australia.
“I imagine [his] formative years shaped his understanding of the importance of helping each other, to assist opening the door to opportunity and to live the social justice he saw as imperative.”
Professor May explored ethics through the lens of place, workforce and access, challenging the audience to think beyond simple solutions to complex inequities. She spoke about the importance of balancing horizontal and vertical equity in health care systems.
“The balance between these two types of equity is crucial in health access policies to ensure that healthcare is provided fairly and effectively to all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic status or other factors that may affect their health outcomes… [a balance that] underlines the resource allocation ethical dilemma.”
“What I’m trying to illustrate is that binary or simple approaches to access that factor for context and locality are often well meaning, but are not effective in levelling the playing field.”
The lecture traversed a wide range of issues, including the ethical implications of augmented care such as AI, robotics and digital health, and the need to assess innovation through an equity focused lens.
Professor May also acknowledged the role of university departments of health, drawing on her own experience leading the University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health.
“We have so much to be grateful for with Australia’s investments into University Departments of Rural Health and Rural Clinical Schools. The implicit value of infrastructure – the bricks and mortar type as well as the professional type (the presence of teaching and research opportunities). And there are intangible benefits and supports for the greater health system. Clearly there is serious value in offering metropolitan students opportunities in rural settings…”
Closing her lecture, Professor May reminded the audience that ethics in rural health must always remain grounded in human connection.
“Where will we put the human touch in an age of efficiency and cost effectiveness? … Where is the laying on of hands in this model?”
Following the lecture, the conversation continued with a panel discussion on Ethics in Place, health equity in rural communities. Joining Professor May on the panel was Associate Professor Claire Hooker from Sydney Health Ethics and UCRH’s Dr Rebecca McNaught and Associate Professor Emma Walke. The discussion offered practical perspectives on equity, workforce and place, and reinforced the importance of collaboration between clinicians, educators, researchers and communities in shaping fair and effective rural health care.
UCRH Director Professor Vicki Flood said the lecture was a fitting way to commence the centre’s anniversary year.
“This lecture is a powerful way to begin our 25th anniversary year,” Professor Flood said. “For 25 years, UCRH has worked alongside rural communities to improve health equity, and this event speaks directly to why that work matters and and how we build on this foundation into the future.”
Scroll down to find videos of the lecture and panel discussions.
