Dr Penny Flett: Aussie of the Year
Dr Penny Flett is a familiar name to many in the profession, particularly those working with older patients. Read More...
LATEST ARTICLES
April 2009
The cheque's in the mail?
Colin Barnett's optimistic 3% cost savings hit a brick wall when head health honcho Dr Peter Flett admitted there was a $26m blowout in the Health Department's budget. The already straining Department could find only $34m of a requested $60m budgetary slash and burn this financial year. Dr Flett promised a parliamentary committee (tantamount to ‘the cheque's in the mail') that the Department would compensate by finding savings greater than 3% in future years. 527 FTE staff can expect to lose their jobs by the end of the year.
Passing the buck
Responding to the Health budget blowout, Health Minister Dr Kim Hames said the health budget is ‘under considerable pressure' but he denied rumours the budget hole would balloon out to $230m. Taking the political football by both hands, Kim then blamed McGinty's mob for the situation: "There is certainly not enough money there and that's your [Labor government's] fault, not ours. The money was short $120m on the day we arrived," he told parliament. Part of his budgetary solution could be a public/private partnership (presumably similar to the arrangement at Joondalup) to fund the new Midland hospital, due to be opened in 2014. Kim said, "I'm not going to rule it out, I'm keeping all options open."
Dob in a dodgy doc
Fighting a battle on a more productive front, Kim has been progressing the issue of national registration and accreditation for WA ...
Read More...
April 2009
Dr Paul Van Buynder has stepped down as the Director of the Department of Health's Communicable Disease Control Directorate. Dr Gary Dowse is the Acting Director until a permanent replacement is appointed later this month.
A/Prof Beth Hands has been appointed as the Director of The University of Notre Dame's Institute for Health and Rehabilitation Research. Beth is the current Associate Dean of Notre Dame's School of Health Sciences.
Dr Scott Blackwell has taken up the role of Clinical Lead for the WA Primary Care Health Network ...
Read More...
March 2009
New review, same reaction The Interim Report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission was released...
March 2009
Prof Teik Oh has started as the Director of Medical Services, Mercy Hospital, Mount Lawley. Teik is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Australia and is the former University's Foundation Chair of Anaesthesia and Director of Surgery, Royal Perth Hospital.
Mr David Roberts has been appointed as the WA State Manager of Medfin Medical Finance.
Mr David Clapin has replaced Alan Ferguson ...
Read More...
February 2009
Dr Penny Flett, CEO of Brightwater Care Group, was named WA's 2009 Australian of the Year.
Mrs Helen Smith OAM has retired as Executive Director of the Eye Surgery Foundation, to be replaced by Matthew Whitfield (as Administrator). Helen helped establish the facility back in 1991. She will remain as ESF's Company Secretary and Director on the board of the charitable Eye Surgery Foundation Trust.
Ms Nicole Feely has commenced this month as the new Chief Executive, South Metropolitan Area Health Service, replacing Acting Chief Executive Dr Mark Platell. For the past six years, Nicole has been Chief Executive Officer of St Vincent's Health in Melbourne ...
Read More...
Have You Heard. February 2009
Naming and shaming The WA Health Department has released the names of 18 restaurants prosecuted last year...
Dr Kim Hames: man with a plan
WA's new Health Minister Dr Kim Hames seems to be a warmly welcomed replacement for Jim McGinty... Read More...