Beneath the Drapes

Beneath the Drapes (Feb to August)

August 2018

Sydney GP Dr Harry Nespolon has been elected President of the RACGP. He won the election from Perth GP Dr Jags Krishnan and Brisbane GP Dr Bruce Willett. Dr Nespolan polled 1957 primary votes (2491 after preferences) from a total of 4628 votes. Dr Krishan polled 1097 and Dr Willett 1556 (2137 after preferences). The total eligible membership is 26,446.

There has been a turnover of some members on the WA health service provider boards. Prof David Forbes will be deputy chair NMHS from September 1. Also joining NMHS are Prof Selma Alliex, Dr Christopher Etherton-Beer, Dr Hilary Fine, Carol Innes, Grant Robinson and Rebecca Strom. Laura Colvin and Mandy Gadsdon join the EMHS board and Kelly Howlett and Dr Diane Mohen join the WACHS board.

The Australian Digital Health Agency’s chief clinical information officer, Dr Monica Trujillo, is leaving after two years.

Eight WA health researchers will share $1.5m of State Government funding in the New Independent Researcher Infrastructure Support (NIRIS). They are Dr Christopher Brennan-Jones (Telethon Kids Institute/UWA); A/Prof Anne-Marie Hill (Curtin University); Dr Helen Keen (UWA); Dr Ashleigh Lin (TKI/UWA); Dr David Martino (TKI/UWA); Dr Debbie Palmer (TKI/UWA); Dr Annette Regan (CU); and Dr Shannon Simpson (TKI).

UWA finalists for the Premier’s Science Awards include Prof Stephen Zubrick (epidemiologist with Telethon Kids Institute) and Dr Melissa O’Donnell (psychologist at the Telethon Kids Institute).

July 2018

Public health advocate and former DG of Health Prof Mike Daube was named 2018 Western Australian of the Year.

Mr Glen Power is the new CEO of Perth Clinic. He was most recently leading the Pathwest Transformation project.

Prof Bryant Stokes has stepped down as Chair of the North Metropolitan Health Service to take on a review of the public mental health services. Mr Jim McGinty is the new NMHS chair.

Former CEO of Optometry WA Mr Tony Martella is the new Executive Officer for operations at the AMA (WA).

Dr Michael Quinlan and Prof Christobel Saunders were made officers of the Order of Australia in the recent Queen’s Birthday honours while Telethon Kids Institute director Prof Jonathon Carapetis, Bridgetown GP Dr Thomas Jones, pain specialist Dr Roger Goucke, physician Dr David Hillman, pathologist Dr Domenico (Dominic) Spagnolo, urologist Dr John Taylor and A/Clin Prof John Rosenthal were also recognised with awards in the general division.

Former national president of the AMA Dr Michael Gannon has been appointed to MDA National’s Mutual Board.

Dr Richard Hopkins is the new Managing Director of Perth-Based bio-pharmaceutical company, Zelda Therapeutics. He was previously CEO of PharmAust Ltd and MD and co-founder of Phylogica.

Prof Elaine Holmes has been awarded the Premier’s Science Fellowship ($1m) and Dr Ruey Leng Loo an Early to Mid-Career Fellowship ($500,000) for their work in phenomics research and data analysis.

Nearly $4m of partnership grants committed by the State government and NHMRC have been awarded to: Prof Elizabeth Armstrong (Rehabilitation services for Aboriginal Australians after brain injury, ECU); Prof David Atkinson (Improving mental health screening for ATSI pregnant women and mothers of young children, UWA); Prof David Mackey (Targeting at-risk relatives of glaucoma patients for early diagnosis and treatment UWA); Prof Tom Brett (Improve detection and management of Familial Hypercholesterolaemia in primary care, UNDA); Prof John Newnham (Multi-state partnership to prevent preterm birth, UWA); and A/Prof Rae-Chi Huang (Early-life stressors and LifeCycle health, TKI).

Epidemiologist Prof Rosa Alati is the new head of Curtin University’s School of Public Health.

Eight WA health researchers will share $1.5m of State Government funding in the New Independent Researcher Infrastructure Support (NIRIS). They are Dr Christopher Brennan-Jones (Telethon Kids Institute/UWA); A/Prof Anne-Marie Hill (Curtin University); Dr Helen Keen (UWA); Dr Ashleigh Lin (TKI/UWA); Dr David Martino (TKI/UWA); Dr Debbie Palmer (TKI/UWA); Dr Annette Regan (Curtin University); and Dr Shannon Simpson (TKI).

June 2018

Healthscope has had two takeover bids in the space of several days. Brookfield Asset Management launched a $4.35 billion takeover ($2.50 a share) while private equity group BGH has put up a conditional $2.36 offer.

Brett Hayes, a Clinical Nurse Manager of Palliative Care in the Wheatbelt is WA Nurse of the Year. The 2018 Lifetime Achievement Honour was presented to Prof Phillip Della, Curtin University’s Head of School Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine.

A research team led by OT Dr Kate Smith from UWA has been awarded $2.5 million NHMRC funding to research dementia in Aboriginal Australians.

Former Health Minister Jim McGinty is the new chair of Communicare.

May 2018

Dr Shane Kelly is returning to Perth to take the role of CEO of SJGHC. He is currently group CEO of Mater Misericordiae in Queensland.

The retiring WA Governor Ms Kerry Sanderson is the new chair of the St John of God Health Care board replacing Mr Tony Howarth who is stepping down after 14 years.

Cancer Council WA stalwart Terry Slevin will take up the position of CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia in Canberra in May.

Medical oncologist and senior researcher at the National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases, Prof Anna Nowak, was named Cancer Council Western Australia’s WA Cancer Researcher of the Year.

Former MercyCare CEO Chris Hall will take up the chief executive’s position at Juniper, replacing the retiring Vaughan Harding.

Kimberley emergency doctor John van Bockxmeer was awarded a Commonwealth Point of Light in recognition of his voluntary work establishing ‘Fair Game’, a charity that donates recycled sports equipment to benefit underprivileged communities in remote areas of Australia.

Former Assistant Police Commissioner Michelle Fyfe will replace Tony Ahern as CEO of St John Ambulance WA when he retires in October.

Former Lotterywest CEO Jan Stewart is the new chair of the Raine Study.

Ian Craig is the new CEO of Asthma WA.

Felicity Beaulieu is Bethanie’s new Chief Operating Officer.

April 2018

WA’s Chief Medical Officer Prof Gary Geelhoed is vacating the chair to take up the position of Executive Director of the WA Health Translation Network. The acting CMO in the short term is paediatric gastroenterologist Prof David Forbes.

The Perth Bone and Tissue Bank, trading as PlusLife, has appointed St John Ambulance deputy chief Anthony Smith, Former DonateLife WA state manager Hal Boronovskis, Gumala Enterprise’s director Bart Boelen and Wealth Management Partners Steven Perica to the board. Peel Health Campus CEO Dr Margaret Sturdy has resigned from the board.

Jane Muirsmith, non-executive director of Australian Financial Group and Healthdirect Australia, has been appointed to the board to the Telethon Kids Institute, replacing former WA Attorney-General Jim McGinty. Fiona Drummond was appointed to the board in December.

Urologist and co-founder of Perth Urology Dr Trenton Barrett has won a Business News 40Under40 Award.

Mr John Pease, SJGHC’s  group director of governance will be interim CEO while the SJG board decides on a permanent replacement for Dr Michael Stanford who left on March 21 after 16 years.

Biogen Australia, in consultation with the TGA, will withdraw Zinbryta (daclizumab) from the Australian market following cases of serious inflammatory brain disorders in Europe.

March 2018

The CEO of St John of God Health Care, Dr Michael Stanford, will step down from the position on March 21 to pursue a non-executive career on the board of Healthscope.

Ms Karen Whitney has been appointed President of the independent Mental Health Tribunal for a five-year term. She replaces Michael Hawkins.

A/Prof Bruce Latham, who is Anatomical Pathologist with PathWest at Fiona Stanley Hospital, has been appointed president of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

Paediatric oncologist Dr Nicholas Gottardo and Dr Andrew Davies who runs Homeless Healthcare were both finalists in this year’s Australian of the Year WA.

University of Notre Dame’s Prof Tom Brett and A/Prof Diane Arnold-Reed along with Prof Gerald Watts from RPH have secured a $2m NHMRC grant to lead a five-state study into inherited high cholesterol disease.

Law firm Slater and Gordon has awarded the UWA a $19,564 grant to help fund research focused on the impact of exercise on mesothelioma. ECU will also be involved in the study.

GP2U founder and Curtin University alumnus Amit Vohra has been appointed Executive General Manager of Sonic’s Clinical Services based in Sydney.

Prof Archie Clements will be Curtin University’s new Pro Vice-Chancellor Health Sciences. He is currently director of research in the School of Population Health and Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at ANU. He takes up his position in April.

Ms Leanne Milligan has been appointed to the board of Bethesda Health Care. She was previously Director of Corporate Services and Strategy Planning at SJG Murdoch.

Molecular ophthalmologist Prof Elizabeth Rakoczy from the UWA and Lions Eye Institute has won the 2017 Florey Medal for her work on developing a new gene therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

UWA’s refurbished Medical and Dental Library has been renamed the J. Robin Warren Library in honour of the Nobel Laureate. His fellow laureate Prof Barry Marshall has the UWA Science Library named after him.

Ms Rebecca Tomkinson is the new CEO of the Royal Flying Doctor Services WA branch. She is also chair of the Wheatbelt Development Commission.

UWA and Telethon Kids Institute diabetes researcher Dr Vinutha Shetty is the 2017 recipient of the Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network’s Mentored Clinician Researcher Fellowship Award.