Hospital made healthy

Expensive boss worth every cent: board

CAIRNS Hospital’s chief executive is among the highest paid public hospital CEOs in Queensland – but her board says she is worth her weight in gold.

Documents tabled in State Parliament show Clare Douglas, appointed CEO of the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) last year, received total remuneration of $495,000 in 2016-17.

Analysis of annual reports for each of the 16 Hospital and Health Services across Queensland shows Ms Douglas earns the sixth-highest wage out of all the HHS chief executives in the state.

The service, which was initially forecast to have an operating deficit of $80 million this financial year, has dropped the figure down to $32 million.

CHHHS board deputy chairman Luckbir Singh cred- ited Ms Douglas for helping reduce the deficit, while at the same time improving overall patient care across the HHS.

The service’s 2016-17 annual report shows CHHHS has made major strides in the past 12 months in reducing waiting times for elective surgery and outpatient specialist appointments, despite overall patient activity rising by 15 per cent.

“As a board, we are representatives of the community. And as a community, we deserve the best CEO that’s able to deliver the best results for the community,” Mr Singh said. “The results speak for themselves ... it stands as a testament that we have been able to recruit and find someone who is able to achieve the objectives that our community is seeking.”

Ms Douglas said there was no discussions about reducing her salary after the budget blackhole was revealed at the health service last year.

“I was given the objective ... to develop a plan that’s really delivered a $32 million deficit against the projected $80 million,” she said.

“The board are really satisfied that we’ve continued to deliver very good outcomes for the patients in terms of services, but also being more prudent with our financial requirements.”