Profile

Luke D Lawton

A/Prof Luke Lawton ORCID logo

qualifications: BAppSc (Biochemistry) MBBS (Hons) MPH (Aeromedical Retrieval) FACEM

position: Director

department: Emergency

I am the co-Director of Emergency Medicine at the Townsville Hospital and also appointed as an Associate Professor of Medicine at the James Cook University College of Medicine and Dentistry. I am also a practicing emergency medicine consultant (FACEM) who focuses on delivering quality patient centered care. The Townsville Hospital is one of the 15 busiest emergency departments in the country, with more than 90 000 presentations in the 2021 financial year. I provide leadership, management and governance for a team of approximately 120 doctors, as well as fiscal and operational oversight of the emergency department. My clinical interests are trauma, retrieval medicine and medical education, and I am also interested in patient flow and health systems improvement. I have experience in change management, risk analysis and case reviews, with a focus on identifying key change needs for future improvement. I also act as an expert witness in accordance with the relevant codes of conduct for expert witnesses and peer review articles for several international journals. I believe it is imperative that senior clinicians are engaged in health management and discussion to ensure a strategic, patient driven approach to service development. I am a published author, active educator and public speaker, clinical case consultant and expert witness, and am happy to be contacted for any information or assistance in these areas.


Articles contributed to by this person


Commentary 23 January 2022

Trauma care in the tropics: addressing gaps in treating injury in rural and remote Australia

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24th Annual Rural Health Clinic Conference, 15 & 16 September 2026, Kansas City, MO, USA
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Disadvantage, healthcare access and maternal death in Papua, Indonesia
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Community-based suicide prevention initiatives in rural and remote Australia
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21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference 2026, Aotearoa New Zealand
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39th Annual AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, 8–11 February 2026, San Antonio, TX, USA
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SARGA 2026, Rural Generalist Anaesthetist Conference, 12–14 February 2026, Barossa Valley, South Australia
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Indigenous Wellbeing Conference 2026, 18–20 February 2026, Enoch, Canada
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Alliance of Rural & Regional Community Health 2026 Conference, 12 & 13 March 2026, Ballarat, Australia
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WA Rural Health Conference 2026, 14 & 15 March 2026, Perth, Australia
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Preventive Mental Health Conference 2026, Parramatta, Dharug Country, Australia, 24 & 25 March 2026
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2026 RMTC Annual Meeting-Charting the Course: Superior Approaches in Rural Medical Education, 8–10 April 2026, Duluth, MN, USA
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21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference, 10–13 April 2026, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand
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33rd Annual Rural and Remote Medicine Conference, 16–18 April 2026, Quebec City, Canada
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33rd Annual Rural and Remote Medicine Conference, 16–18 April 2026, Centre des Congrès de Québec, Quebec City, Canada
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29th Annual Michigan Rural Health Conference, 23 & 25 April 2026, Mt Pleasant, MI, USA
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4th EURACT Medical Education Conference, 23–25 April 2026, Iasi, Romania
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2026 Annual Emergency Medicine with Rural and Indigenous Communities Gathering, 27–30 April 2026, Portland, OR, USA
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2026 Remote Nursing & Midwifery Conference, 11–13 May 2026, Boorloo (Perth), Australia
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2026 31st NRHA Health Access Conference, 18 & 19 May 2026, San Diego, CA, USA
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2026 Rural Medical Education Conference, 19 May 2026, San Diego, CA, USA
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49th Annual NRHA Rural Health Conference, 19–22 May 2026, San Diego, CA, USA
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British Columbia Rural Health Conference, 29–31 May 2026, Prince George, BC, Canada
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2026 Rural Health and Cancer Conference, 2–4 June 2026, Burlington, VT, USA
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2026 Annual National Rural Institute on Alcohol, Drugs, and Addictions, 7–11 June 2026, Menomonie, WI, USA
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11th Health Promotion Conference, 10–12 June 2026, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Harstad, Norway
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51st Annual National Rural Social Work Conference, 15–18 July 2026, Hopkinsville, KY, USA
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IX Congreso Iberoamericano de Medicina Familiar / Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria, 22–25 July 2026, Asunción, Paraguay
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9th WONCA Africa Region Conference 2026, 10 & 11 September 2026, Gaborone, Botswana
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18th National Rural Health Conference, 14–16 September 2026, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference 2026, 17–19 September 2026, Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), New Zealand
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2026 NAATSIHWP National Conference, 21–23 September 2026, Naarm (Melbourne), Australia
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53rd Annual NARMH Conference, 27–29 September 2026, Santa Fe, NM, USA
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15th EURIPA Rural Health Forum, 1–3 October 2026, Cartagena, Spain
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Transforming Community, Regional, and Rural Healthcare, 12 & 13 October 2026, Mayo Civic Center - Rochester, MN, USA
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2026 Indigenous Wellbeing Conference, 12–13 October 2026, Ngambri and Ngunnawal Country (Canberra), Australia
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RMA26 – Rural Medicine Australia Conference, 21–24 October 2026, Tarndanya (Adelaide), Australia
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2026 Aeromed Conference, 28–30 October 2026, Darwin, Australia
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Rural Mental Health Conference 2026, 4–6 November 2026, Gold Coast, Australia
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16th National Rural & Remote Allied Health Conference (SARRAH), 9–11 November 2026, Coffs Harbour, Australia
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IAHA Indigenous Allied Health Australia National Conference, 30 November–2 December 2026, Boorloo (Perth), Australia
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5th International Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Conference, 8–10 June 2027, Larrakia Country, Darwin, NT, Australia
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