Canterbury DHB Quality & Patient Safety Council

Who's Who

Members
Pamela R Williams - Chair, Canterbury DHB Quality and Patient Safety Council
Pamela has been involved in health services in Canterbury since 1979, when she was appointed Chief Dietitian to the then North Canterbury Hospital Board - a position she held until 1990, when she became Chief Executive Officer for the Canterbury West Coast Division of the Cancer Society for 11 years. Throughout her career, Pamela has played a prominent role in the NZ Dietetic Association including President and Chairperson of the Dietitians Board. She also has been a member of the Food Standards Committee and the Standards Council. Currently she is chairperson the Hohepa Canterbury Regional Board, a board member of Supergrans and a member of the Rotary Club of Riccarton. Recently she relinquished the chair of the NZ Nutrition Foundation in which she had been involved for 20 years. In 2003, she was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for nutrition services to the health sector and community. The joys of retirement are her garden, overseas travel and having time to read The Press over her breakfast coffee.
David Meates - Chief Executive Officer, Canterbury DHB
David grew up in Canterbury and brings a wide range of skills from both health and the private sector within NZ and the UK. In his most recent role as Chief Executive Wairarapa District Health Board, he led the WDHB through significant and innovative change with particular emphasis on creating a clinically and financially sustainable health model. David’s other previous roles include Manager of Grey Base Hospital and senior health management positions in Northland and Hawkes Bay. He was previously Chair of the DHB’s National CEO Group and has carried a wide range of national responsibilities including leadership of a number of workforce negotiations covering both senior and junior doctors. David joined Canterbury DHB as Chief Executive in February 2009.
Dr Nigel Millar - Chief Medical Officer, Canterbury DHB
Dr Nigel Millar is the Chief Medical Officer. As part of the Executive Management Team, he provides advice to the Board and management on clinical governance and clinical standards, and provides strategic leadership and professional support for clinical staff in hospitals and community services. Nigel also spends about 30% of his time involved in clinical work at Princess Margaret and Christchurch Hospitals. Specialising in Geriatric & General Medicine, Nigel is a graduate from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Mary Gordon - Executive Director of Nursing, Canterbury DHB
Mary began her nursing career on the West Coast following completion of her training she worked in a variety of clinical settings within Grey Hospital. She moved to Canterbury in 1985 and worked in Cardiology for a number of years. Following a year of study in 1990, Mary changed her focus and moved into population health services where she established the Health Promotion Service for the West Coast region. In 1995 Mary moved into her first nursing leadership position and since then she has worked in South Canterbury and then Counties Manukau, South Auckland before moving back to Canterbury to take up the Executive Director of Nursing position in September 2002.
Hector Matthews - Executive Director of Maori and Pacific Health, Canterbury DHB
Hector is of Te Rarawa and Te Aupouri descent from the far north and is married with three children. Hector left the Regular Force of New Zealand Army in 1992 with the rank of Captain, to manage Ngā Hau E Whā National Marae in Christchurch. In 1996 he was seconded to the United Nations as Military Observer in Israel and Syria for 12 months, before returning to Canterbury to take up the position of Business Development Manager in Crown Public Health. Hector was given the added responsibility for Hauora Mātauraka, the Māori Health Promotion team of Crown Public Health, in 2001 before taking up the position of Executive Director, Māori and Pacific Health in 2004. Hector tutors in the use of taiaha (traditional Māori long club) and chairs the Boards of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Whānau Tahi and CPIT. Hector has a post graduate diploma in Telecommunications from Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne and is a Shodan (1st Degree black belt) in Seido Karate.
Jan Nicholson - Corporate Quality and Risk Manager, Canterbury DHB
Jan is responsible for working with key staff on quality management, patient safety programmes and clinical risk strategies to meet the objectives of the Canterbury DHB. Jan is a Medical Laboratory Technologist by profession and prior to her current position held the positions of Technical Manager of the Laboratory Haematology Department and Quality Manager of Canterbury Health Laboratories and Diagnostic & Support Services. Jan has assisted other organisations in developing quality systems for accreditation, has been a tutor for the Quality in Healthcare: Practical Skills course in Christchurch and an assessor for the New Zealand Health Innovation Awards programme. The CDHB Quality & Innovation Awards programme is a key initiative of the Quality & Patient Safety Council and the leadership and co-ordination of this programme is provided by the Corporate Quality & Risk team.
Chris Read - Corporate Quality and Risk Assistant Manager, Canterbury DHB
Chris has worked in a number of the divisions within Canterbury DHB over the last 15 years. These include Ashburton & Community Health Services as a Registered Nurse and later as Quality Improvement Co-ordinator. At Ashburton she coordinated three successful accreditation surveys through Quality Health NZ from 1993 – 1999. Chris had a major role in Burwood Hospital’s achievement of a three-year accreditation status through Quality Health NZ in March 2001. Chris currently is a member of the Corporate Quality & Risk Team and is involved in a wide range of quality, patient safety and risk management activities.
Dr George Downward - Medical Director of Patient Safety, Canterbury DHB
George Downward is the Medical Director of Patient Safety for the Canterbury District Health Board and a Medical Advisor to the Medical and Surgical Services Division of the Canterbury District Health Board. Dr Downward, MB, ChB, FJFICM graduated from the University of Otago in 1971. He completed his specialist training in 1979 and was appointed to the specialist staff of the then North Canterbury Hospital Board that same year. Dr Downward, a specialist in Intensive Care Medicine, held the position of Clinical Director of the Department of Intensive Care from 1995 up to the time of his appointment to the position of Medical Director of Patient Safety in November 2007.
Jim Magee - Chief Executive, Nurse Maude Association
Jim has spent sixteen years in the health sector and has been general manager of Dunedin, Christchurch Women’s and Christchurch hospitals. He worked for several years as a management consultant with clients mainly in primary healthcare, advising on strategy and organisational development. He is on the board of Partnership Health PHO. Before moving to New Zealand from the UK in 1983 Jim held management positions in manufacturing and information systems development.
Kathryn Jones - General Manager, Southern Region, Healthcare of New Zealand Ltd
Kathryn began her career as a Registered Nurse, working in various hospital based roles in Scotland, England and Canada. She then moved into community based health services and worked as a District Nurse before changing direction slightly, and focusing on Home Based Support Services and Care Management. She has held key positions managing and developing home based support and community care services for over 7 years and moved to New Zealand in 2004 where she continued in this field as a member of the senior management team for Healthcare New Zealand Ltd.
Evon Currie - General Manager, Community and Public Health, Canterbury DHB
Evon Currie worked as tutor, social worker and Divisional Manager with the Social Welfare Dept in Dunedin before moving to Christchurch to take on the role of South Island Regional Manager for ACC. Appointed as CEO of Crown Public Health when it was established in 1996, Evon’s role changed to General Manager, Community and Population Health when Crown Public Health was merged into the Canterbury District Health Board in 2001. Evon has a MBA through Massey University and is interested in golf, movies, reading and cooking. Evon is married with two daughters.
Shelley Frost - DON Pegasus Health, Partnership Health PHO Representative
Shelley’s current position is Director of Nursing, Pegasus Health. Entering the field of Practice Nursing in 1981, Shelley has always held a special interest in the development of the nursing role within the context of the general practice team and has developed and led many initiatives enhancing the nursing role and championing teamwork in general practice. In 1990 she became the inaugural Postgraduate Tutor in Practice Nursing at the Christchurch School of Medicine, and published “New Zealand Practice Nurse” and “Primary Health Care New Zealand”, journals of continuing education from 1991 – 1997. She has been employed within Pegasus Health since that time. Governance positions currently held include Trustee of Partnership Health Canterbury PHO, Director of Pegasus Health (Charitable) Ltd, Director of Pegasus 24 Hours Surgery, and Deputy Chair of the IPA Council of NZ (IPAC). She is Vice Chair of both the General Practice Nursing Alliance, and the Canterbury General Practice Group, and represents practice nursing and organized general practice on a number of regional and national committees.
Laila Cooper - General Manager, Canterbury Community PHO Representative
Laila is the Manager of Canterbury Community Primary Health Organisation. She began her health career as a dietitian working in Dunedin and Christchurch in a variety of roles. In the late 1980’s she joined the Canterbury Mental Health Services where she made a shift from food service management to divisional management roles including planning, quality, site redevelopment and support services. This also included the coordination of the successful first accreditation and certification for the division in 2004, and a one year secondment to manage Elder Care Canterbury. Laila is a NZ registered dietitian and holds a post graduate Diploma in Public Health through Otago.
Dr Phil Hider - Senior Lecturer
Dr Hider is a public health physician and senior lecturer in clinical epidemiology at the University of Otago. He has additional qualifications in his specialist areas of evidence-based medicine and quality improvement (EBM and QI). He teaches EBM and QI to undergraduate medical students in Dunedin and Christchurch and undertakes a range of projects in these disciplines as Director of the Clinical Decision Support Unit.
Professor Les Toop - General Practitioner and School of Medicine Representative
Les Toop has been in General Practice in Phillipstown, South East Christchurch, since 1986. He trained in Bristol and Edinburgh and first came to New Zealand in 1978. Les is also Professor of General Practice and Head of the Department of Public Health and General Practice at the Medical School (University of Otago, Christchurch). He is actively involved in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education, with a particular emphasis on promoting evidence based clinical practice, and in community based clinical research. Les is a Trustee of Partnership Health Primary Health Care Organisation and chairs their clinical governance group. He is also a Director of Pegasus Health and is a member of the Council of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. He is a strong advocate for collaborative teamwork in General Practice and of the importance of professional education.
Dr Rex Yule - General Practitioner (Rural)

Tony Daly - Manager, Advocacy Services South Island

David Lamb - Consumer Representative

Melissa MacFarlane - Planning and Funding Representative