Chief Health Officer

The new Chief Health Officer (CHO) Group is comprised of the Operational Unit Population Health (PoH), and the Departmental Units the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Statewide Forensic Medical Services (SFMS).

Clinicians and Medical staff in the Operational and Departmental Units across the DHHS will have professional leadership from the CHO while their line management will remain with their respective CEO/Director - for example a Clinician at the RHH will report to the RHH CEO, but receive professional leadership from the Chief Health Officer where needed.

Key functions of the Chief Health Officer Group are:

  • Population Health / Public Health
  • Monitoring, protecting and promoting health through food safety, nutrition regulation, communicable disease prevention and control, immunisation programs, radiation regulation, tobacco control, pharmaceutical services (drugs and poisons) and environmental health.
  • Preventing and reducing population risk factors, addressing national health priorities, developing health promotion and prevention strategies, Aboriginal health policy, refugee and multicultural health, women's health, youth health and men's health.
  • Needle and Syringe Program.
  • Epidemiology - Analysis of data and statistics relating to population health outcomes.
  • Infection Control and Surveillance
    -Clinical Advisory Committee
    -Cancer Network
    -Statewide Forensic Medical Services
    -Non-Government Organisations relating to the portfolio responsibilities for CHO

The Group is structured as follows:

Departmental Units

  • Population Health
  • Chief Medical Officer
    • Primary Medical Advisor - CHO
    • Clinical Governance: Health and Technology
    • Clinical Audit
    • Clinical/ Medical Workforce - training and education
    • Emergencies / Disaster Management - Coordinate the health sector response to major emergencies
    • Pharmaceutical Policy
    • Health Research and Ethics
    • Professional Governance - Medical
    • Create, develop and run clinical networks and statewide services
      • Professional Governance
      • Medical Directors
      • Statutory and other operational functions required of a senior medical health practitioner that maintain the operation of the health system
      • Intergovernmental relations
      • interstate/external relating to the CHO portfolio responsibilities, Strategy, Planning and Performance have overall responsibility