Profile

Richard is a partner at PwC and is the national and regional digital health lead. He has over 30 years of senior executive experience in the public, for profit and not for profit private hospital sectors in Australia. Richard is the immediate past President of the Australian Private Hospitals Association.

Richard was CEO of UnitingCare Health for ten years covering four hospitals (including a 550 bed tertiary teaching hospital) and approximately 3800 staff. During this time, he managed major capital redevelopments at three of those hospitals totalling approximately $350million, as well as constructing a hospital from a greenfield site (St Stephens in Hervey Bay which became Australia’s first fully integrated digital hospital).

Qualifications and Industry Representation

• Bachelor of Arts (UNSW)
• Masters of Health Administration (UNSW)
• Member Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD)
• Immediate Past President, Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA)
• Deputy Chair, HESTA Superannuation Fund 2011 – 2015
• Chair, CSIRO Australian EHealth Research Centre (from June 2016)

Relevant experience

• As CEO of UnitingCare Health responsible for four hospitals:

• Obtained $50M grant from the Federal Government to build Australia’s first fully integrated digital hospital, constructed from a greenfield site, which opened on time and on budget in Hervey Bay in September 2014, as a pilot for Australia. The hospital has received national and international recognition for its successful implementation.
• Oversaw major capital redevelopments at three hospitals totalling $350m.  The redevelopments, plus ongoing capital replacements, meant overseeing considerable purchases of major medical equipment (we built 380 new beds and 12 new operating theatres. The annual replacement capex budget was around $10million and operated major radiology services (including PET/CT), radiation oncology (13 bunkers), and a total of 53 operating theatres in the group.

• In conjunction with Dr John O’Donnell, CEO of Mater Health Services in Brisbane, established a joint venture vehicle between Mater and UCH in order to jointly pursue growth opportunities.
• At the request of Federal Minister for Health, chaired a three person panel to review the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record and recommend its future direction for the Federal Government. The final report was submitted in December 2013.
• Member of Federal Government Implementation Taskforce to establish new governance structures for digital health for Australia.

• Established the new Australian Digital Health Agency for the Federal Government.
• Won an international award for successful outcomes linked to the implementation of the Studer program within UCH
• Won an international award through the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for outstanding achievement in digital health for the St Stephens Hervey Bay project
• Led the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategic plan, encompassing the Studer principles, which takes targets and outcomes down to the department head level.

Key Competencies

• Contract and Project Management – overseen 4 major construction projects in recent years totally $400 million, plus a $50 million grant from the Federal Government to implement Australia’s first fully integrated digital hospital.
• Strategic planning and its implementation
• Operational and strategic expertise in digital health in Australia
• Change management
• Government relations – President of the Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) plus six years as Chair of the APHA Policy and Advocacy Committee.
• Stakeholder relations – extensive experience gained from senior executive and governance roles
• Corporate Governance – 5 years on the HESTA Superannuation Board (the last 2 as Deputy Chair) plus 8 years on the APHA Board (including President) plus dealing with Boards and sub-committees in my senior executive roles.