Dr Bhat moved to Shepparton from India with his family in 1999 to take up a consultant psychiatrist role at GV Health, a decision he said was made easier by the warmth of the local community.
“The community here has been extraordinarily kind,” he said.
“Being part of such a supportive place is what motivates me, both personally and professionally.”
The Rural Champions initiative was established by the RANZCP to address long-standing workforce shortages in regional and rural psychiatry.
Dr Bhat was one of two inaugural Rural Champions appointed nationally, alongside Professor Kane Vellar, as part of a broader strategy to strengthen rural psychiatry training pathways and retention.
The initiative sits within the RANZCP’s Rural Psychiatry Roadmap 2021–2031, which aims to build a positive rural and generalist culture across psychiatry, support trainees and specialists working outside metropolitan centres and encourage clinicians to build long-term careers in regional communities.
Building on the inaugural appointments, the college has since expanded the program to recognise both doctors in training and experienced rural specialists, with funded roles designed to support workforce development, mentoring and service sustainability.
While Dr Bhat never initially planned to become a doctor, psychiatry became his calling during his early training in India.
Since arriving in the Goulburn Valley, he has played a key role in mental health service delivery, research and workforce development, with a strong focus on suicide prevention and rural care.
“There’s a big disparity between the impact mental illness has on people’s lives and the availability of professionals in rural areas,” he said.
“Strong community connections shape the trainee experience and encourage people to stay.”
Despite receiving numerous accolades, including an Order of Australia in 2023, Dr Bhat said one of his proudest moments was seeing the first psychiatry trainees complete their entire training at GV Health and choose to remain as consultants.
“That was incredibly special,” he said.
“That’s how you build a sustainable rural workforce.”
