Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service board members revealed
They’re the subject of a recent petition calling for their sacking. So who are the members of the Wide Bay Hospital and Health board? We take a look.
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A recent petition organised by Bundaberg patient advocate Beryl Crosby, with 837 signatories, has called for the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service board and CEO to be sacked.
But who makes up the board?
Bundaberg patient advocate Beryl Crosby said she called for the CEO Debbie Carroll and hospital board to be replaced following scores of recent patient complaints.
Wide Bay Hospital and Health Board Chair Peta Jamieson spoke on behalf of the board members, who did not answer individual questions.
“As this petition is one that has been submitted to the Minister for Health and the Premier for consideration via Parliament, it would be inappropriate for the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Board to respond to any queries about it,” Ms Jamieson said.
Take a look at the people who are shaping the board, their achievements and involvements, from a local musician to a former Blue Care manager.
Debbie Carroll - CEO
Debbie Carroll is the CEO of the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.
The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service website describes Ms Carroll’s 40 years of experience across numerous hospitals throughout Queensland.
As nursing director with oversight of the Clinical Improvement Unit in Rockhampton, she established the first Clinical Governance, Risk and Quality Unit in regional Queensland.
She joined the Wide Bay health service in 2006 as executive director of Nursing and Midwifery Services.
She was appointed chief operating officer in 2014.
Ms Carroll acted in the role of chief executive from October 2019 until her permanent appointment in May 2020.
In 2008, Ms Carroll was awarded a Queensland Health Australia Day Award for exceptional leadership and restoring community confidence, and again in 2014 for her leadership during the 2013 floods.
In 2018, she was part of a team recognised at the WBHHS Excellence Awards for the Procurement Optimisation Project, and in 2020 she played a leading role in the response to the Covid pandemic.
Peta Jamieson - board chair
As the board chair for the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service, Peta Jamieson is the spokesperson of the group.
She has more than 20 years’ experience with the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council, private sector and the Local Government Association of Queensland, according to the health service’s website.
After moving back to Wide Bay, Ms Jamieson established a management and consultancy service, Luminous Project Services, which involved work for the public and private sectors.
She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration, Master of Science in Environmental Management and Bachelor of Arts (Honours).
As part of her role, she chairs the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Board’s Executive Committee and is a member of the Audit and Risk, Safety and Quality and Finance committees.
She is also a director on the Gladstone Ports Corporation Board and a member of its Governance, Risk and Compliance Committee and People, Performance and Culture Committee.
Karen Prentis - deputy chair
Karen Prentis has extensive experience in leadership in the development of corporate governance, risk management, compliance and strategic thinking across public and private sectors, according to the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service website.
She also has more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry as a non-executive director and independent compliance committee chair in funds management.
Her current roles include chair of audit and risk committees for several State Government departments, a director of the Children’s Hospital Foundation and a director on financial services boards.
Ms Prentis is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Administration.
She chairs the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Board’s Audit and Risk Committee and is a member of the Finance Committee.
Simone Xouris
Simone Xouris has more than 25 years’ experience in the health sector and continues to practice in a private capacity as a dietitian.
A previous manager of RHealth, a not-for-profit primary healthcare organisation serving rural and remote communities, Ms Xouris also sits on Wide Bay and Southern Downs advisory groups for youth mental health organisation Headspace.
The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service website states Ms Xouris’s previous roles include practising as a dietitian and she has held a variety of management roles within Blue Care.
She’s a previous senior manager of Primary Health Care.
Ms Xouris joined RHealth in November 2015 as a senior program manager, before being appointed general manager in January 2016.
She is an Australian Institute of Company Directors graduate.
Trevor Dixon
Trevor Dixon has more than 30 years’ board experience, as well as expertise in corporate finance, accounting, governance and risk, according to the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service website.
From 2004–2017 he was an independent director of Prime Super, a $3bn not-for-profit industry superannuation fund focusing on rural and regional Australia.
Mr Dixon is a CPA Australia fellow and has held a number of chief finance officer roles with privately-owned businesses in the Wide Bay and interstate, particularly in the building and agriculture sectors.
He chairs the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Board’s Finance Committee.
Leon Nehow
Leon Nehow has experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnerships, corrective services and local government policy spanning more than 20 years.
Mr Nehow - who is of South Sea Islander, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage - has lived in the Fraser Coast region for the more than a decade, according to the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service website.
He is the principal officer for Indigenous Strategy and Policy at Fraser Coast Regional Council, having previously been involved in corrective services and youth justice.
Mr Nehow also has experience as a member of the Wide Bay University of Queensland Rural Clinical School Indigenous Reference Group, which provides input on curriculum for medical students.
He is also one of 20 members of the Wide Bay/Burnett/Fraser Coast Regional Community Forum.
Among his achievements are the Atherton Shire Council Young Person of the Year award in 2000. He is also a well-known musician.
Karla Steen
Karla Steen is a communications and marketing strategist and social program developer who has worked with government agencies and industry groups.
The former journalist, who worked across radio and television, went on to serve as a Queensland government ministerial media advisor.
In recent years, Ms Steen developed a number of regional programs aimed at supporting women, the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service website said.
Ms Steen has also worked with the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre and is a committee member of the WBHHS Board Audit and Risk Committee and Safety and Quality Committee.
A cancer survivor, Ms Steen previously served on the Mackay Hospital and Health Service Board and recently completed research into regional participation on government boards.
Craig Hodges
Craig Hodges has financial, human resource management, risk, compliance, and corporate governance experience as a senior executive working in the health and technology sectors across Australia and New Zealand, the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service website says.
He is the global head of finance, legal, and corporate affairs for a healthcare technology group, and has served as non-executive director and committee member across the primary healthcare, clinical governance, tertiary medicine, education/research, and health support fields.
He is an Australasian College for Emergency Medicine board member, chair of the ACEM Board’s Finance and Risk Committee, committee member of the WBHHS Board Audit and Risk Committee and Finance Committee and former Chair of the Wide Bay Regional Electricity Council.
Mr Hodges has volunteered for a variety of community-based endeavours and is a fellow of CPA Australia and Australian Human Resources Institute.
He’s an Australian Institute of Company Directors graduate.
Kathy Campbell
Kathy Campbell has a number of directorships including the Brisbane North Primary Health Network and Uniting AgeWell as well as serving on the boards of UnitingCare Queensland and the Gladstone Area Water Board.
The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service website says Ms Campbell also held a number of executive roles while she lived in Canada.
She runs a boutique digital health consulting firm.
Ms Campbell is an accountant and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australasian Institute of Digital Health.
She has also completed Leadership Strategies for Information Technology in Health Care at Harvard University.
Ms Campbell’s previous experience in the Wide Bay area includes being chief information officer for UnitingCare Health.
She is a member of the hospital and health service’s Safety and Quality and Board Finance committees.
Dr Chris Woollard
Chris Woollard has several years’ experience across a range of medical, academic, training and military roles.
The Hervey Bay GP and practice owner is also a fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service states Dr Woollard is a former University of Queensland Rural Clinical School tutor and a registrar supervisor with James Cook University GP training.
Appointed as GP Liaison Officer of the Central Queensland, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast Primary Health Network in 2017, Mr Woollard went on to become the chair of the PHN Wide Bay Clinical Council for 2020 -2021.
He is also a GP representative on the Fraser Coast Local Medical Association.
During his military career Mr Woollard served as a medical officer in Australia and overseas.
He remains an active reservist.
Mr Woollard is committee member of the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service Board Safety and Quality Committee and Board Executive Committee.
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