Dr Emma McCahon, new boss of SA’s biggest health network CALHN, reveals her plans

South Australia’s largest health network, which covers the RAH and QEH, is getting a new chief executive who exclusively lays out her priorities to The Advertiser.

South Australia’s largest health network, the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, has a new chief executive – who is looking forward to getting to know Adelaide.

Dr Emma McCahon starts the role in January and will oversee a staff of 17,500 and a budget of $2bn, running a network covering the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hampstead Rehabilitation Hospital and Glenside Health Services.

CALHN also runs statewide services including BreastScreen SA, SA Dental Services, SA Medical Imaging, SA Pathology, SA Pharmacy, SA Prison Health Service and DonateLife SA.

Dr McCahon, a pediatrician, MBA and qualified executive coach, has been Central Queensland Health Service chief executive since April 2022 and held senior positions at Western Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.

The married mother of two adult children grew up in Melbourne as a Hawthorn supporter and is no stranger to discovering new cities having worked in Sydney, Vancouver and Rockhampton.

She has “vague memories” of visiting Glenelg as a child and welcomes the learning curve of getting to know Adelaide.

She told The Advertiser there is no instant solution to ambulance ramping and clogged emergency departments but has her own plans to address them.

Ambulances at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“Ambulances on the ramp are the canary in the coal mine, a symptom of bigger problems further down the line,” Dr McCahon said.

“I have worked in patient flow previously. My approach will be to work with the whole system, not just on the ramp which is the pointy end that people see, we need to release pressure from the whole system.”

Dr McCahon said crucial to this is adequate access to primary and community care so people don’t get so sick they end up in EDs; more aged care beds to shift suitable patients to more appropriate care; a bigger focus on care at home including telehealth and hospital at home programs; and innovations such as diverting mental health patients and respiratory patients in ambulances to more appropriate care rather than ending up in EDs.

“Focusing on all these things will help but focusing just on EDs won’t solve the problems,” she said.

Ambulances entering the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

Dr McCahon noted every hospital and city has “its own nuances” and it would take a while for her to get to know the personality of Adelaide and CALHN.

“I am very much looking forward to it – CALHN is such a big system that there are a lot of opportunities to be a really positive influence,” she said.

CALHN board chair Raymond Spencer said: “This appointment marks another significant step forward for our organisation, and I am confident Dr. McCahon’s extensive experience and qualifications will facilitate our continuing journey to becoming a world-class healthcare network.”

Central Adelaide Local Health Network outgoing CEO Lesley Dwyer. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Ms McCahon replaces Professor Lesley Dwyer who leaves the job after five years in a period which included managing the pandemic, reforms under consultants KordaMentha to cut costs and increase efficiency, an order for consultants to fast-track discharges to free up beds which was later dumped, and a 2019 vow to make “routine ramping across CALHN a thing of the past.”

As well as Prof Dwyer, other recent high-profile departures from SA Health include Women’s and Children’s Health Network chief executive Lindsey Gough and Wellbeing SA chief executive Lyn Dean.