Queensland Health Director-General Michael Walsh announces his retirement

Queensland Health’s Director-General will retire from the position later this year in a move that has shocked many in the department.

QUEENSLAND Health Director-General Michael Walsh will retire later this year in a move that has shocked many in the department.

Mr Walsh publicly announced his departure to Queensland Health staff in an email yesterday, describing his time with the department as “the biggest honour of my ­career”.

He will leave the job in September, more than four years after taking on the role.

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His tenure has not been without controversy.

Mr Walsh’s department has been under extreme pressure this year over ambulance ramping, lengthy delays for emergency department patients in accessing public ­hospital beds on Brisbane’s southside, and the winding back of maternity services in the bush.

He has also grappled with cost blowouts and technical ­issues with the integrated electronic medical record system, which has been the subject of doctors’ complaints about ­patient safety.

Earlier this month, a secret recording emerged of the Director-General discussing issues with the ieMR.

In the recording, he concedes that the ­system has problems and that some doctors have refused to use it until they are convinced it is safe.

Queensland Health Director-General Michael Walsh who has announced his retirement in December. Picture Megan Slade/AAP

But he also says he has been “caught” in situations where he had to say good things about it.

In his email to staff yesterday, Mr Walsh said he was ­particularly proud of the rollout of the digital hospital system in Queensland.

He also singled out his involvement in the development of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and major upgrades to other hospitals.

Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union secretary Beth Mohle praised Mr Walsh as an “incredibly committed, intelligent, hardworking and honest human being”.