The CEO won’t be back from annual leave, with acting CEO Wendy Hoey to stay on in the role in the interim.
Dr Teresa Anderson, the NSW Health executive in charge of the trouble-plagued Single Digital Patient Record rollout, has announced her decision to retire and step down as CEO of the SDPR Implementation Authority.
Dr Anderson has been on annual leave since 18 August despite the SDPRIA hurtling towards a November deadline for the rollout of the SDPR at Northern Beaches Hospital.
Her departure is a major milestone in what has been a controversial time for the Implementation Authority, including damning results from a psychosocial review into its workplace culture and employee disenchantment.
In an internal email to all SDPRIA staff – seen by Health Services Daily – this afternoon, Dr Anderson said that “after careful consideration, I have decided to retire from NSW Health and step down as chief executive of the SDPRIA”.
Dr Anderson was due back at her desk next Monday, 21 September. Her announcement came less than a week after the secretary of NSW Health, Susan Pearce made public her decision to retire at the end of March next year.
In a separate email to staff – also seen by HSD – Ms Pearce confirmed that Wendy Hoey, the acting CEO in Dr Anderson’s absence, would continue in the role.
An anonymous insider told HSD this afternoon that staff were looking forward to Ms Hoey’s continued tenure.
“Teresa Anderson was not the person for the job. She left us under-resourced, there was a detrimental lack of planning or operational efficiency, which has led to the current unstable situation in Hunter New England LHD, where so many aspects of the electronic medical record need to be fixed,” said the staff member.
“We just hope Wendy can help us get back on track.”
Hunter New England went live on the SDPR back in March, after a month’s delay.
“NSW Health has been a central part of my life for the past 35 years,” wrote Dr Anderson to the SDPRIA staff.
“Over the course of my career, I have had the privilege of serving in many different roles across the health system, including at Liverpool Hospital, the South Western Sydney Area Health Service, Sydney Local Health District and, most recently, SDPRIA.”
Dr Anderson’s tenure as CEO of Sydney LHD ended in controversy. On 29 June 2023, the Concord Repatriation General Hospital Medical Staff Council held a vote of no confidence in Dr Anderson. That motion passed by 109 votes to 73.
That vote was in response to accusations by Concord staff of widespread under-resourcing, a culture of fear silencing hospital staff members, and mandatory training established simply to achieve “minimum standards”.
Related
Similar cultural issues have been aired at the SDPRIA, with the psychosocial review finding 84% of participating workers were categorised as “struggling or unwell”, with just 5% classified as “thriving”, as the workforce grappled with sustained workload pressures, fatigue and organisational change.
The review followed concerns raised by the Health Services Union on behalf of its members, with the SDPRIA later requesting HealthShare NSW undertake the review.
It also found 73% of respondents reported feeling emotionally exhausted for a large part of the time or all of the time, while 65% reported physical exhaustion. More than 233 workers participated in the assessment process.
The assessment concluded the organisation’s overall current psychosocial risk rating was “High”.
On 18 August, the SDPRIA announced that the next scheduled rollout for the record – originally planned for four LHDs (Northern NSW, Mid North Coast, Northern Sydney, and Central Coast) and the rest of the Laboratory Information Management System North network – would be delayed until at least March of 2027, with only the integration of Northern Beaches Hospital going ahead in November.
Ms Pearce praised Dr Anderson’s “expertise, experience and strategic insight”.
“On behalf of NSW Health, we sincerely thank Teresa for her extraordinary service, leadership and contribution to the people of New South Wales and know colleagues across NSW Health will join us in wishing her every happiness and success in the next chapter of her life,” Ms Pearce wrote.