Northern Beaches Hospital CEO Deborah Latta quits
Northern Beaches Hospital chief executive officer Deborah Latta has resigned from her role, just two days after the Frenchs Forest facility was officially opened.
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Northern Beaches Hospital chief executive officer Deborah Latta has resigned from her role, just two days after the Frenchs Forest facility was officially opened.
It follows Health Minister Brad Hazzard giving Healthscope — the hospital’s operator — a three week deadline to fix a string of serious issues at the $600 million facility.
Mr Hazzard also revealed on Monday he had to send a “flow team” from the public service to help work out a number of kinks, including staffing and drug supply shortages.
A letter sent to staff from Ms Latta said she had always intended to hand the job over to a new leader once the hospital as operational.
“The time has come for this to happen, so I made the decision to resign from my role and from Healthscope,” Ms Latta wrote.
“I have debated the timing and it’s unfortunate that while I submitted my resignation prior to the recent events, I’ve decided the time is now.
“The running of an enterprise of this size and complexity takes a huge amount of energy, I’ve run my leg of the race and it’s time to pass the baton.”
Ms Latta previously told the Manly Daily that she had been sleeping at the hospital in the lead up to its opening in order to have it in order.
Since the soft opening on October 30 there have been concerns from staff and patients about staffing problems and a shortage of drug and medical supplies including painkillers, antihistamine, adrenaline and bandages as well as long waiting times in emergency.
“I asked Healthscope to come in last week,” Mr Hazzard said on Monday. “I told them I wanted 300 per cent in ensuring as much energy went into addressing the hiccups as they could possibly manage.”
He said a “flow team” from North Sydney Local Health District was “working with them to help with logistics”.
A statement released by Healthscope said: “The official opening marks an important milestone as we transition the hospital into the next phase of its development.
“Deborah Latta, CEO of Northern Beaches Hospital has been dedicated to this critical project since 2012.
“Deborah successfully led the Healthscope bid through a competitive process to design, construct and operate the hospital and she has worked tirelessly in the last six years to deliver the extraordinary facility we have today.
“It has been a remarkable personal and team effort to open the hospital on time and budget.
“Deborah has had a wonderfully successful 38 year career in healthcare and having successfully opened Northern Beaches Hospital Deborah has chosen to resign her position as CEO, to take a well-earned break.”
State manager of Healthscope NSW, Stephen Gameren, will act as interim CEO of the Northern Beaches Hospital from today.
He will work with Ms Latta and the hospital leadership to ensure a smooth transition over the next four weeks.
“Stephen brings a deep commitment to quality, a focus on building strong relationships and a passion for making the hospital all it can be for our patients, doctors, nurses, allied health, support staff and volunteers and the broader northern beaches community,” the statement said.
Healthscope CEO Gordon Ballantyne said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Deborah for her critical role in leading the development of this state-of-of the-art facility. It has been a significant achievement for Healthscope to deliver this project that will transform the level of care provided to the local residents of northern beaches’.
Since the soft opening on October 30 there have been concerns from staff and patients about staffing problems and a shortage of drug and medical supplies including painkillers, antihistamine, adrenaline and bandages as well as long waiting times in emergency.
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