Management
Introducing This Page
The management page introduces board members, management team, Advisory Committee Members and various other related information and links
Board Members
After the West Coast District Health Board Elections 2007
The West Coast District Health Board pictured outside the Corporate Offices at Grey Base Hospital during their first meeting in December 2007.
The Board are (from left)
Helen Gillespie, Kevin Brown, John Vaile, David Tranter, Susan Wallace, Rex Williams (Chair), Warren Gilbertson, Christine Robertson (Deputy Chair), Mohammed Shahadat, Sharon Pugh and Elinor Stratford
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Chairperson
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Rex Williams
Educated as a civil engineer, I spent much of my career in management of cement, concrete and quarry activities culminating in 10 years as CEO of Holcim New Zealand Ltd from which I retired in mid 2007. During my time with Holcim I had experience of management and governance roles in a variety of companies in NZ and the Asia/Pacific region.
My family connections to Greymouth and Otira go back 3 generations and my Holcim role led to many visits to Westport over 25 years. The Buller half marathon is also a particular drawcard.
My wife and I have lived in Christchurch for most of our lives. We have 3 adult children who all live overseas.
My pastimes include jogging, bike-riding, fishing, skiing, golf and reading history. I also work a bit in few advisory/trustee/director roles.
I look forward to learning a lot about the health system and the WCDHB in particular in the next few months and making an active contribution to all West Coast health services.
Deputy Chairperson
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Dr Christine Robertson
A Scottish semi retired medical practitioner with management qualifications, I have lived on the West Coast since 1976 working in clinical and management roles which have given me an intimate knowledge of the area. 1998-2002 I was the Disputes Tribunal Referee for the Westport and Greymouth Courts.
Currently I undertake audits throughout New Zealand for the Ministry of Health.
As a third term appointed Board member I believe I contribute clinical, management and governance skills and experience enhanced by past and current roles as Deputy Chair, Chair of the Hospital Advisory Committee and of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.
With two years left on the Board, I aspire to seeing the DHB attain clinical and financial viability.
My personal focus for the immediate future is to become a better croquet player and to enjoy being a first time grandmother.
Executive Management Team (EMT)
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Chief Executive - Kevin Hague (Currently on leave)
Kevin has been Chief Executive since 2005, and prior to that spent two years as the DHB's General Manager of Planning and Funding.
Previously he has worked 10 years at the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (including five years as Executive Director), in his own consultancy and for the Northern Regional Health Authority.
His particular expertise includes strategic planning, public policy processes, health promotion, and research. He currently sits on the NZ Quality Improvement Committee and the National Screening Advisory Committee and was previously the Chair of the NZ Public Health Advisory Committee, and a member of the national Health Committee and the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board.
Kevin's personal interests include cycling, tramping, multisport, sustainability issues and conservation and he has tertiary qualifications in physics, maths, Scandinavian Studies and teaching, with post-graduate qualifications in public health.
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Acting Chief Executive - Joel George

Mr Joel George, newly appointed Acting CEO for the West Coast DHB has provided a short bio to explain his background.
I have been the General Manager, Public Hospital and Health Services, with the Whanganui District Health Board since September 2007. This is short-term appointment to cover the position while the Board makes a substantive appointment.
For the previous four and a half years, I was the General Manager (Chief Executive) of the Parliamentary Service in Wellington.
I spent seven years, from 1996 to 2003, as Chief Executive of the Wairarapa District Health Board, and its predecessor organisations.
Before the health roles in the Wairarapa, I held roles as Deputy Secretary and General Manager with the Department of Internal Affairs in Wellington , managing a variety of policy development and operational businesses. I was a member of the New Zealand Public Service’s Senior Executive Service.
Before my time with the Department of Internal Affairs, I worked for the Ministry of Defence in the assessment, audit and policy areas, and before that, I was with the New Zealand Army, working most recently in policy, planning, organisational development, and change management positions, and before that in a variety of mostly logistic and administrative staff and management positions. I am a graduate of the Australian Royal Military College at Duntroon and an honours graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth.
I am married with four children.
Born (1949 age 58) and attended school in Tauranga.
My maternal grandmother was from the Reefton area, but moved to the North Island many years age. I gather that her father worked at the Blackball mine.
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Human Resources Manager - Ruth Punnett
Ruth has been HR Manager since mid 2005 at the WCDHB.
She came to the coast from Christchurch, her previous experience in HR was with Child Youth and Family and prior to that with the Leisure Unit at Christchurch City Council.
Ruth's particular expertise lies within recruitment, learning and development and employment relations. Since coming to the DHB she has become very interested in industrial relations and union negotiations and recently passed a paper at Otago University in the Art of Labour Negotiations.
Ruth spent many years in the Caribbean working as a teacher and carrying out research into elite sport. Ruth is a qualified teacher of physical education and maths and has another degree in Care and Education in the Community. She also completed her Masters in Sociology and Sports Management whilst in the Caribbean. She almost has a Post Graduate qualification in Project Management if only she could find the time to complete the last assignment.
Ruth's personal interests lie in sport (perhaps understandably!) She is a triathlete and has represented NZ at age group level in 2003.
More recently due to work commitments triathlon training has taken a backseat and been replaced with photography. She can also play a tune on the piano and enjoys singing given the chance.
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General Manager, Planning and Funding - Wayne Turp

Wayne has been General Manager of Planning and Funding since 2005.
Over the 15 years prior to this he worked in a number of NZ health and disability sector roles encompassing service planning, funding and operational management including the South Island Shared Service Agency, the Ministry of Health, the Health Funding Authority and Auckland Healthcare.
Before this he worked in wide range of UK health and social services settings including a community development agency, probation and after care, social services, a vocational training centre and with a health and social services consortium led housing trust.
His particular expertise includes service planning and development and organisational management. He currently sits on the National Service and Technology Review Advisory Group (NSTR), Te Kokiri (national mental health service steering group) and is a member of the Pharmacy Advisory Group.
He was previously the Chair of the South Island Regional Forensic Clinical Governance Group, a trustee of the Framework Trust and was the Chair of Hackney and Homerton Joint Planning Group.
Wayne's personal interests include tramping and other outdoor activities, movies, music, (slow) food and wine. He has a tertiary qualification in horticulture (parks and recreation management) but has subsequently participated in range of professional development courses and post graduate papers in health service management.
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Director Of Nursing and Midwifery - Jane O'Malley

Jane O'Malley has been the Director of Nursing and Midwifery since November 2005. Prior to that, from 1997, she was Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch School of Medicine and President of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) from 2001 until 2005. She was a member of the DHB/NZNO Committee of Inquiry into Safe Staffing and Healthy Workplace (2006) and is currently co-chair of the governance group for the DHB/NZNO Safe Staffing and Healthy Workplace Unit.
Jane is co-recipient of a 2007/08 Rural Innovation Fund to develop a Rural Nursing Workforce Strategy including working with a university to develop an integrated post graduate programme of preparation for nurses to work at advanced practice levels in rural hospitals and communities.
Her interests include cycling, yoga, and photography. She holds a Masters Degree in "Delivery of Nursing Services" from New York University. Her PhD (2001) considered the impact of context on the delivery of acute inpatient mental health nursing care.
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General Manager, Corporate Services - Wayne Champion

Wayne has been General Manager of Corporate Services since 2004, and prior to that spent a year as the DHBs Management Accountant and five years as the DHB's Finance Manager. Previously he worked in accounting and information management roles for dairy companies both in Westland and Northland. He also did a stint as General Manager of Credit Union Westland in 1999/2000.
Wayne has a B.Com and a Post Grad.Dip., both majoring in Finance, but with specialist papers in Information Management and Human Resource Management thrown into the mix. He also has an MBA degree and has professional qualifications in both accounting and management. His particular expertise includes strategic management, information systems management, corporate finance, management accounting, organisational behaviour and project management.
Wayne was a runner up for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of NZ Young Accounting Technician of the Year award in 2003 and for the Computer World Chief Information Officer of the Year award in 2007.
Wayne's passion is SCUBA diving. He is a qualified SCUBA diving instructor and has worked as a dive instructor, construction diver and eco-tourism guide in a number of locations throughout New Zealand. His other interests include tramping, geocaching (a GPS based orienteering / treasure hunt game) and fishing.
Advisory Committees
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Hospital Advisory Committee (HAC)
The function of this Committee
The function of this Hospital Advisory Committee is to monitor the financial and operational performance of the hospitals (and related services) of the DHB.
The advice of this Committee must be consistent with the New Zealand Health Strategy.
Members
- Christine Robertson - Chair
- Warren Gilbertson - Deputy Chair
- Rex Williams
- Glen Morgan
- Barbara Beckford
- Richard Wallace
- Mary Molloy
>>Read the HAC committee reports
Community and Public Health Advisory Committee (CPHAC)
The role of this Committee
The role of this Committee is to give the Board advice on the needs and any factors the Committee believes may adversely affect the health status of the resident WCDHB population, and priorities for use of the health funding provided.
The aim of this Committee
The aim of this Committee is to provide advice that will ensure that the following maximise the overall health gain for the population of the West Coast:
- All service interventions the WCDHB has provided or funded or could provide or fund for that population.
- All policies the WCDHB has adopted or could adopt for the population of the West Coast.
The advice of this Committee must be consistent with the New Zealand Health Strategy.
Members
- Susan Wallace - Chair
- Sharon Pugh - Deputy Chair
- Rex Williams
- Cheryl Brunton
- Barbara Greer
- Sharon Ransom
- Barbara Beckford
- Helen Rassmussen
- Elinor Stratford
>>Read the CPHAC committee reports
Disability Support Services Advisory Committee (DSAC)
The role of this Committee is to
- Provide the West Coast District Health Board with advice on the disability support needs of the resident WCDHB population and;
- Priorities for use of the disability support funding provided.
- To set priorities for the use of health funding provided.
The aim of the Disability Support Service Advisory Committee's advice
The aim of the Disability Support Service Advisory Committee's advice is to ensure that the following promote the inclusion and participation in society, and maximise the independence, of the people with disabilities within the WCDHB's resident population:
- The kinds of disability support services the WCDHB has provided or funded or could provide or fund for those people.
- All policies the WCDHB has adopted or could adopt for the population for those people.
The advice of this Committee must be consistent with the New Zealand Health Strategy.
Members
- John Vaile - Chair
- Elinor Stratford - Deputy Chair
- Mohammed Shahadat
- Patricia Nolan
- Graeme Axford
- Lynnette Beirne
- Rick Barber
>>Read the DSAC committee reports