Top health changes
Hospital searches for new senior director
A VICTORIAN doctor will join Cairns Hospital management for three months to take over the position of medical director following the departure of a senior executive.
Dr Nicki Murdock has parted ways with the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service to take on a role as medical director at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
A CHHHS spokeswoman said Dr Murdock, who is originally from the UK, was looking forward to being closer to family and friends after many years away from home.
“Nicki will be helping Alder Hey to build stronger national and international partnerships, including for the hospital’s innovation hub,” she said.
She said recruitment for a replacement was under way, with Dr Colin Feekery from Victoria’s Eastern Health taking on the role for three months from the end of January.
Dr Don Martin, who has been acting in the position since Dr Murdock departed CHHHS at the end of 2018, described Dr Feekery as a senior administrator.
“He’s had a long career in managing senior hospitals, from a medical perspective,” he said.
“He will be a great addition to this health service over the next few months.”
Dr Murdock, who was awarded the Queensland Telstra Business Women’s Award in the Public Service and Academia section, told the Cairns Post in an interview in May last year the challenge for many health services into the future would be how to treat patients outside of hospitals.
“As we get better at doing things and we invent new treatments, it means we keep people alive for longer and that means it costs more,” she said.
“I think we need to look at how we improve health care so it prolongs people’s lives but we need to afford it within the resources we have, and the people we have.”