Victorian Health Minister Harriet Shing has appointed Chris Altis as Board Monitor at Cohealth following the Duckett governance review, with responsibility for overseeing the board's performance and reporting to government.
The Victorian government has finally acted on the findings of the Duckett review into the management of community health hub Cohealth, appointing a Board Monitor for an initial 12-month term.
Veteran health executive Chris Altis has 30 years of experience in the health sector – working in policy and advisory roles in Victoria and nationally.
He is currently a non-executive director at the Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the William Angliss Institute.
Mr Altis will attend all board and committee meetings as an independent observer. His role includes decision-making oversight and supporting the Board’s ongoing development and effectiveness.
He will report directly to the Victorian government to ensure Cohealth is improving and meeting the expected standards.
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Victorian minister for health Harriet Shing said the appointment was a “turning point” for the troubled community hub.
“[It’s also] important opportunity for cohealth to demonstrate integrity, transparency, and accountability,” she said.
“Cohealth provides care to some of Victoria’s most vulnerable patients and clients, and it has a responsibility to address the issues identified in the review, and rebuild trust with the community.”
The Duckett review made 13 recommendations for Cohealth, the Commonwealth government and the Victorian government, including a recommendation that the board be sacked.
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The report gave the Victorian Department of Health the choice of two options:
- Option 1: Give Cohealth an opportunity to improve itself; or
- Option 2: Refresh Cohealth with new governance and potentially, new management.
Since then the Cohealth board has apologised to its staff and patients, and has advertised for new directors.