Philip Wheble Appointed West Coast DHB General Manager

New West Coast DHB general manager appointed

Philip Wheble has this week been announced as the new general manager for the West Coast District Health Board.

DHB Chief Executive David Meates says this the new general manager position is an important Coast-based senior leadership role, responsible for working with clinical and operational leaders to enable and support teams to deliver and sustain the broadest range of high quality health services for the whole of the West Coast.

“More than 30 applications from across New Zealand and Australia were received for the role. Phil’s appointment follows an interview process involving senior doctors from Greymouth and Westport and nursing and allied health leaders from both the West Coast and Canterbury,” Mr Meates says.

Phil and his family moved to the West Coast three and a half years ago, where he was initially appointed DHB Planning and Funding team leader and then Acting General Manager Grey / Westland Health Services. Before working in health, Phil undertook leadership roles in the energy, utilities and service industries.

“It is an exciting time for health services on the Coast. New facilities are well underway in Greymouth and planned for Westport, and new models of care and ways of working are being brought to life. It is in this context that Phil will work with clinical and operational leaders across the West Coast health system to ensure services are integrated and connected to each other - locally and Coast-wide - and that they are as relevant, responsive and accessible to our communities as they can be,” Mr Meates says.

Phil takes up this new position immediately.

Further work would now be undertaken to determine what other changes might be needed to best support the delivery of integrated healthcare services for the Coast. This would include working with teams in Buller, Grey and South Westland to determine local leadership arrangements that ensure the distinctive needs of all of Coast communities were met in a connected and joined-up way.

ENDS

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