Dr John Hall has started work as the TCHHS Western Director of Medical Services
A senior doctor who has dedicated his career to rural and remote health across Australia has been appointed as Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service’s new Director of Medical Services Western.
Dr John Hall is based in Weipa but will oversee medical services throughout Western Cape York. He started in the position last month.
Dr Hall already has strong experience in the Torres and Cape region having been working as a regular relief doctor in TCHHS and remote Western Australia and New South Wales for the past three years.
“During this period, I’ve worked across several TCHHS sites, and this has increased my passion for this community and further improving health services in the region,” he said.
Dr Hall is a Senior Medical Officer who has spent 18 years as a Rural Generalist in Obstetrics and said one of his main goals was to support TCHHS to commence birthing at Weipa Integrated Health Service.
The hospital underwent a $9.5 million re-development, which was completed early last year and included the addition of a new birthing suite.
Birthing was scheduled to commence in Weipa last year but was delayed due to ongoing state- wide challenges around maternity staff recruitment.
“We remain focused on providing this service to our community and understand the need for care closer to home from a community, cultural and safety perspective,” Dr Hall said.
“TCHHS is continuing to work hard on staff recruitment so we can begin offering this service to women and their families in our communities as soon as possible.”
John spent the first half of 2023 in London on sabbatical and studied at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as part of his Master of Public Health with James Cook University. While there he was also offering telehealth to remote western NSW emergency departments for the Virtual Rural Generalist Service (VRGS).
He was previously the Director of Medical Services for Ochre Health, managing 300 doctors across 50 sites in western NSW, rural Victoria and remote Tasmania including the Bass Strait Islands.
During this time, he was also the president of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia and was an integral part of the COVID-19 response for rural and remote, advising the federal government on rural specific pandemic responses.
TCHHS Executive Director Medical Services Marlow Coates said Dr Hall bought a wealth of experience to the health service.
“We are delighted to welcome him as one of our three Directors of Medical Services throughout our region,” he said.
“Dr Hall joins an exceptional clinical team at Weipa who remain dedicated to improving the health and lives of those in our communities.”