The man heading up the commissioning of the new Fiona Stanley Hospital, Dr David Russell-Weisz, is tipped to become Western Australia’s new director-general of health.
The department has been without a permanent boss since Kim Snowball left in March last year.
Dr Russell-Weisz is currently the chief executive of Fiona Stanley Hospital, a position he has held since November 2012.
Prior to that role, Dr Russell-Weisz was the chief executive of Perth’s North Metropolitan Health Service for six years.
He also oversaw the $1 billion redevelopment of the QE II Medical Centre and was responsible for contract management and oversight of the expansion of the Joondalup Health Campus and also for the Midland Health Campus, which is scheduled to be completed late next year.
Earlier this week, Health Minister Kim Hames revealed a selection committee was due to report shortly on a candidate for the role of director-general of health but he refused to be drawn on whether there had been a short-list and whether the identified candidate was from WA.
“I can’t make any comment, that’s a private thing for the committee to report to the Premier,” Dr Hames said on Tuesday.
Dr Hames also said at the time that the committee’s recommendation would go to Premier Colin Barnett who would make a decision that would need to go to Cabinet.
New boss to start mid-next year
Former neurosurgeon Bryant Stokes has been filling the role as acting health boss and the Government has committed to keep him in that role until the end of June next year, while new hospitals are brought online.
The $2 billion Fiona Stanley Hospital is being opened progressively in four phases, with the facility scheduled to be fully operational in March next year.
Dr Hames said on Tuesday that even if the Premier signed off on the nomination, the new health boss was not expected to start until mid-next year.
The Government has spent at least $120,000 on the search for a new health chief over the past one-and-a-half years.
A spokeswoman for Dr Hames said today that the selection report had now been received by the Public Sector Commissioner’s Office.
“However, neither the relevant minister [Dr Hames or Mental Health Minister Helen Morton] nor the Premier have been consulted,” she said.
“Consequently, the Premier has not received the relevant Cabinet submission. The earliest that Cabinet will be in a position to consider an appointment is next year.
“In relation to the director-general of health position, no decision has been made.”
Dr Russell-Weisz graduated from the University of Dundee, Scotland, in 1987 and moved to Australia in 1993.