But after starting a family, the GP was drawn to the hands-on experience that island medical practice offered.

Dr John recently returned to a permanent role on Flinders Island in a position with rural medical network Ochre Health, in partnership with the Tasmanian Health Service.

Describing it as "like coming home", Dr John's presence is expected to boost services offered by the practice, including the provision of essential emergency care to the nearby Indigenous community of Cape Barren Island.

With a passion for "big picture medicine", he said his goal was to improve health outcomes - particularly among the Indigenous population.

"Having spent several years among Australian island communities, what I've enjoyed the most is being able to do a bit of everything," he said.

"The islands that I've worked on are unique places with unique people, which has led me to be across a range of different health problems, from taking x-rays, to running the local pharmacy, to looking after patients with mental health needs.

"I am hoping to improve the services and outcomes on the islands, particularly on Cape Barren and for Aboriginal patients on the islands.

"I am also interested in optimising telehealth services, this is very exciting for us."

Originally from the United Kingdom, Dr John moved to Australia with his family in 2008.

He went on to work on several remote Australian islands including King Island, Norfolk Island, Flinders Island and Cape Barren Island, as well as at the small coastal community of Kalbarri in Western Australia.

However he said his life, as it is now, was far from what he envisioned when he first embarked on his medical career.

"In truth I never set out to be a rural practitioner," he said.

"If you had met me at medical school or when I worked in London I would have told you that I wanted to be some sort of a surgeon.

"I did qualify as a member of the royal college of surgeons in the UK.

"After that my wife Jenny - an art historian originally from Switzerland - was working on her PhD and we started to have children.

"All of a sudden the city lifestyle wasn't quite right for us, we had been living in Hampstead and Battersea, we tried a smaller regional city.

"Nottingham, that's where Olivia was born, but it was still a city. We decided to move to West Wales, I swapped to general practice hoping for a better lifestyle, my wife finished her PhD, our second daughter Davia was born."

Dr John said the family was soon dreaming of a rural lifestyle - including being able to grow their own food. With this in mind, he said Tasmania seemed like the perfect fit.

"We emigrated to Australia after the financial crisis in 2008 looking for a better life, and ended up in Tasmania after a camper van tour of the island in April 2009.

"We ate oysters washed down with pinto gris, camped at the side of beaches and in such green forests.

"We foraged for mushrooms and attended local markets, the food scene really appealed to us... abalone, crayfish."

Along with his medical work, Dr John and Jenny recently launched a website focusing on moving pictures in Central American Art - a project that has been in the works for a decade, with most of it filmed on Flinders Island.

Their work has gained international recognition and the couple have been invited to give a talk at the Mexican Embassy in Canberra later this year.