Australasian College of Health Service Management Fellows Dinner

Australian College of Health Service Management, Queensland Branch President, Mr Mark Avery and Council Members; Fellows and Associate Fellows; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the original custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and extend respectful greetings to Elders, past, present and emerging.

I am delighted to join you tonight for the annual Fellows Dinner of the College’s Queensland Branch.

During my 16 years as Queensland’s Chief Health Officer, I was honoured to be made an Honorary Fellow of the College and to receive the President’s Award. I was also very pleased to attend and speak at College events on more than one occasion during my career in health administration, and I continue to admire the important role of the College in advancing health service management and leadership in our State.

In fact, its work is central to two of the key priorities I committed to when I was sworn in as Queensland’s 27th Governor almost a year ago.

With a career built on gathering information, listening, and acting on behalf of the common good, I saw my appointment as Governor as an ideal opportunity to actively encourage a healthy and active Queensland, and set myself the goal of visiting every public hospital in the State during my five-year term as part of my mission, as Governor, to acknowledge and support Queenslanders wherever they may live and work, and to act as their advocate.

And our State’s health service managers and leaders have needed (and still need) that advocacy and encouragement as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on funding, staffing and health services throughout the State.

I take this opportunity to publicly thank you, on behalf of all Queenslanders, for the professional leadership you provide.

Together with your teams, you are helping to build healthier communities and improve public health and wellbeing through delivering services of the highest quality.

The College in 2019 set itself ambitious goals under a new strategic plan and it is very pleasing to see that, despite the pandemic, the Fellowship program has grown, professional development and credentialing have become increasingly important, new international partnerships have been established, and key events such as the Congress continue to attract strong interest and participation.

Looking back to the establishment of the predecessor of the College in New South Wales in 1931, I am struck by just how consistent the mission and vision have remained.

Consider this statement by the Commissioner for Hospitals, Mr R. J. Love, when the Association of Hospital Secretaries was inaugurated in April 1931.

He said (and I quote) “I have always thought that an association of hospital secretaries would be a great educative factor, enabling those important executives to work together and interpret fundamental principles of hospital administration … I welcome this pulling together as an effort to secure cohesion on important matters of principle and procedure, and a means of keeping our hospital secretaries in closer touch with whatever is most modern and successful in hospital matters”.

That remains as true today as it was 91 years ago, and, on behalf of all Queenslanders, I commend and thank the College for its continued dedication to that goal.

Enjoy your evening.