Royal Children’s Hospital chief Bernadette McDonald announces exit after new contract blocked

Royal Children’s Hospital chief Bernadette McDonald has told staff she is leaving, after her reappointment was blocked by Department of Health in a move that left her “shocked and disappointed”.

Royal Children’s Hospital chief Bernadette McDonald is resigning. Picture: David Crosling

Royal Children’s Hospital chief Bernadette McDonald has told staff she is leaving the organisation after her reappointment was blocked by the Department of Health.

Ms McDonald addressed the ongoing uncertainty around her tenure at a staff meeting on Monday, saying she had been left “shocked and disappointed” about a decision to launch a search for a new CEO.

“I was quite shocked and disappointed and pretty devastated that the Secretary of the Department of Health has decided not to approve my reappointment,” she said in a leaked recording of the meeting.

“For those of you who were unaware of that, I was told by the Board in February that they had fully endorsed my reappointment and we were waiting for the Secretary to make his decision.

“I only found out about this a couple of weeks ago, so I am pretty devastated that I can’t continue in my role, but I want to say thank you to everyone for your messages of support.

“I’ve had lots of messages from people across the organisation, messages from people who I haven’t even met, but have sent me lovely messages of support that things have been good and they were pretty unhappy to hear the message that I was going, but thank you all for that, and I’ve had lots of messages of support from my peers across the sector as well.”

The Department of Health blocked Ms McDonald’s reappointment to the role. Picture: David Crosling

In a Q&A session that followed Ms McDonald’s address, staff told of widespread support for the CEO.

“Every single person who I’ve talked to in this organisation are fully supportive of you and all that you do,” one hospital employee said.

The decision to reject the Board’s endorsement of Ms McDonald has sparked widespread anger across the health sector, and prompted the unexpected resignation of director Jude Munro.

Australian Medical Association Victoria president, Jill Tomlinson, said the decision beggared belief.

“The Department’s actions call into question its willingness to listen to local voices when it comes to hospital management, and in so doing threatens its ability to gain support for the Health Services Plan,” she said.

“Bob Cameron and the Expert Advisory Committee were clear on the importance of listening to local voices.

“With three petitions from regional health services in parliament last week on this issue, and deep concerns being expressed around the failure to reappoint Ms McDonald, there is clearly deep concern across the state about the Department’s willingness and ability to listen and consult.”

Ms McDonald was appointed to the role in 2021. Picture: David Caird

An online petition calling for Ms McDonald to remain in the position has already attracted hundreds of signatures since being launched on Sunday.

“Time and time again, Bernadette McDonald, a registered nurse and CEO of the Royal Children’s Hospital, has fought back against government budget cuts and changes to RCH that would make children, family, staff, and our community less safe,” it says.

“Now the Government is seeking to remove Bernadette in an act of political meddling.

“Bernadette is an experienced CEO and her leadership is vital for the future of RCH. It’s important we all show our support for Bernadette and put a stop to this. “

The petition is part of a broader grassroots campaign by senior doctors in an attempt to save Ms McDonald’s job.

Ms McDonald was appointed the RCH’s chief executive in 2021, after leading Canberra Health Services.

Before Canberra, the registered nurse was the deputy and then interim chief executive of Austin Health and – prior to that – the chief executive of the Orbost Regional Health Service.