Simon Doyle, our new Director of Partnerships, has worked at many health services across the country, but he says the people at Northern Health are “particularly forward thinking” in designing how their services are run.

“I love hearing about pockets of innovation in different departments and hearing how passionate our people are about driving improvement. Part of my role is connecting these pockets across the organisation and with other external partners, and it’s great to see ideas become success stories,” Simon said.

Simon has been in the new role since February, but his Northern Health journey began in 2015 as an Emergency Medicine Registrar, after he moved to Australia from the UK. After three years at Northern Health, Simon decided to gain experience in healthcare management. Simon also works part time, one day a week, at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne as an Emergency Medicine Registrar.

“Before starting my role as Director of Partnerships, I worked as a Healthcare Management Consultant. This role took me around Australia and allowed me to be involved in some really progressive work which demonstrated what can be achieved in the public healthcare system,” Simon said.

“I gained experience in all kinds of healthcare management, from process and performance improvement to financial budgeting and strategic planning. I always knew I wanted to come back into healthcare itself, and the opportunity at Northern Hospital came at a perfect time. It’s great to be able to maintain both skillsets. I love the challenges that come with non-clinical roles in a busy health service, but I still love the hands-on patient care.”

“It’s great to be back at Northern Health and it’s fantastic to work with lots of familiar faces. Knowing lots of people made it really easy to transition back into life at Northern Health.”

A typical day for Simon tends to be busy meeting with internal and external stakeholders for a wide variety of projects.

“I meet regularly with partners such as primary health networks to understand how our priorities overlap and to design and deliver on projects that are mutually beneficial, and that help improve our shared patients’ experiences,” Simon said.

“Other partners include tech companies, education facilities, local councils, non-governmental organisations and other health services. The day tends to go very quickly, but it’s great to meet with such a wide variety of people from all kinds of backgrounds.”

Featured image: Simon Doyle, Director of Partnerships