He has since stepped back and taken on a number of leadership and advocacy roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel quite blessed in my career now that I\u2019ve got … a very varied working life.\u201d<\/p>\n
His decades of contribution to rural health have been recognised by being this year\u2019s recipient of the John McLeod Oration. It is one of the highest international honours in rural health.<\/p>\n
The award was presented at the 2026 World Organisation of Family Doctors rural health conference in Wellington at the weekend, which brought together more than 900 experts from around the world, a Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network statement said.<\/p>\n
Scott\u2011Jones said it was \u201ca great honour\u201d to receive the award.<\/p>\n
When he found out a few months ago, \u201cI was a bit stunned and initially thought … I think they\u2019re picking the wrong person\u201d.<\/p>\n
An \u2018incredibly satisfying\u2019 career <\/p>\n
Scott-Jones said he would spend a lot of time after school at the local hospital, where his father worked as a nurse.<\/p>\n
As a Catholic, he had been raised with a \u201cvocational view of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely still see being a doctor as a vocation, it\u2019s not just a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott-Jones said he always saw himself as a doctor working in a \u201chigh-needs community\u201d.<\/p>\n
Upon moving to New Zealand, he initially worked in Kawerau and did a few locums for an \u014cp\u014dtiki GP.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou realised … it\u2019s an incredibly high-needs community, you\u2019re doing really valuable work … <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a rural doctor … I was able to use all of the skills that I\u2019d learned as a junior doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n
This included delivering babies, looking after sick babies, manning the emergency department and attending roadside rescues, as well as having a general practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an incredibly satisfying working life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family also loved the New Zealand lifestyle, where their children could play at the beach.<\/p>\n
After moving to New Zealand, he and Adrienne had four more children, one of whom died.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a child buried in the local cemetery does connect you with the land in a particular way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His five children now live in Wellington and overseas. He has two grandchildren and another \u201con the way\u201d.<\/p>\n
Scott-Jones\u2019 fulltime job is now as Pinnacle Midlands Health Network\u2019s clinical director.<\/p>\n
He works one day per week as a GP, mainly in rural Pinnacle practices including Tokoroa.<\/p>\n
His leadership and advocacy roles include co-leading the rural health national clinical network, a member of the Minister of Health\u2019s primary care advisory group, and board member of the New Zealand Physician Associate Society.<\/p>\n
Scott-Jones said these were important roles for \u201cmoving the key issues forward for rural communities\u201d.<\/p>\n
This included workforce retention, recruitment and expansion, workload, and working conditions.<\/p>\n
Scott-Jones said living in a smaller, \u201cless well-resourced\u201d community had \u201cquite a big impact\u201d on people\u2019s health outcomes <\/p>\n
\u201cYour role is not just to address the … presenting problem but to try and actually deal with the systematic issues that are impacting that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott-Jones said he travelled between the family home in \u014chope Beach and their Hamilton apartment, where a lot of his work was.<\/p>\n
In his spare time, he enjoyed diving, surfing, kayaking and bushwalking.<\/p>\n
A \u2018lifelong commitment\u2019 to rural health <\/p>\n
A Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network statement said Scott\u2011Jones had combined frontline clinical practice with national and international leadership. <\/p>\n
He was widely respected for his advocacy for equitable, culturally safe care and for strengthening the rural health workforce in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
Scott-Jones had held key leadership roles including inaugural chair of the Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand and chair of the rural general practice network.<\/p>\n
He was also a distinguished fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and a fellow of the World Organisation of Family Doctors.<\/p>\n
The organisation welcomed Scott-Jones\u2019 selection as this year\u2019s recipient of the John McLeod Oration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis honour reflects Jo\u2019s lifelong commitment to rural communities and his belief that where you live should never determine the care you receive.\u201d<\/p>\n