Fong to push health change
St John of God Healthcare Subiaco CEO and Western Australian Football Commission chairman Neale Fong has been appointed executive chairman of the Health Reform and Implementation Taskforce for a five-year term.
That taskforce has been charged with implementing the changes recommended by the Health Reform Committee report chaired by Professor Michael Reid.
That role has the potential to make Dr Fong the highest paid CEO in the WA public sector, earning him $501,856 a year based on an annual salary of $448,000 and a performance bonus of $53,856 a year based on the implementations of the Reid changes.
That taskforce will operate independently of the Health Department.
Taking on the new role will mean that Dr Fong will have to leave St Johns, which recently embarked on a $100 million redevelopment.
One of the initial parts of Dr Fong’s new role will involve him becoming CEO of the North Metropolitan Health Service. That means he will also become CEO of Sir Charles Gairdner and Royal Perth hospitals.
Health Minister Jim McGinty said Dr Fong’s role did not mean that current Health Department chief Mike Daube was being pushed aside. However, what this means for Sir Charles Gairdner acting chief executive Dr Mark Platell or Royal Perth chief executive John Burns is unclear.
Mr McGinty’s answer to this was "the hospitals will still need senior administrators".
Dr Fong told WA Business News that Mr McGinty had personally asked him to take on the job.
He said while much had been made of suggestions that Sir Charles Gairdner and Royal Perth hospitals would be merged, the Reid report recommendations went much further.
"We’re talking about changes to the whole of the health system," Dr Fong said.
"It’s about making sure we’re not duplicating expensive workforces and equipment at various hospitals. Trying to get some economies of scale within the system."
Part of that will involve moving general surgery out to regional hospitals such as Swan Districts and Joondalup to allow the major teaching hospitals of Sir Charles Gairdner and Royal Perth to concentrate on their specialist areas.
Dr Fong said he expected to have the Reid recommendations fully implemented by year three of his tenure.
It will not be Dr Fong’s first exposure to WA’s public health system.
Before he took on the St Johns role five and a half years ago he was the department’s chief operating officer.
Besides his St Johns and WAFC role, Dr Fong is also involved with the Bali International Medical Centre and was, until June 18, a director of Australian Healthcare Limited.
He said he resigned his role in the listed health company to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
However, the busy doctor, who is also the West Coast Eagles’ chaplain, will retain his WAFC and BIMC roles as well as a number of other community projects he is involved with.
Dr Fong will leave St Johns on July 30. A national search has commenced for his replacement.
When its redevelopment is completed, the hospital will be the second largest private hospital in Australia, coming second only to Queensland’s Greenslopes.