Damien Lloyd

Email: aaqhc@aaqhc.org.au

Damien has a long history in healthcare, first graduating as a registered nurse in the mid 1980’s. During his career, Damien has held a number of senior and executive leadership roles in acute and aged care. Damien’s experience in clinical governance, quality and patient safety extends over 25 years. Damien has extensive experience in quality and risk management system design and application in large, multi-site organisations. 

Damien is currently the National Director Clinical Governance at Healthscope. Prior to this, Damien was the National Director Clinical Risk and Patient Safety, also at Healthscope; and the Clinical Risk/Quality Manager at the Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance. 

In his current role, amongst other things, Damien has led the review of the clinical governance framework which has included the implementation of systems and processes designed to improve and sustain clinical and quality performance, and patient experience across a large multisite organisation. 

Damien holds or has held a number of advisory roles in aged care, and both the acute public and private sectors. 

Damien is a former Director of the Australasian Society for Healthcare Risk Management and the St Vincent De Paul Society (SA) Inc. 

Damien joined the Australasian Association for Quality in Health Care (AAQHC) Council in 2022 and was elected president in 2023. 

Jane Early

Prior to moving to Australia in 2000, Jane practiced fertility nursing at one of the largest teaching hospitals in the United Kingdom, and was involved with the training of fertility nurses at Leeds University.

Since 2006 Jane worked as IVFAustralia’s Director of Nursing providing training and support of upward of 80 nursing staff in NSW and ACT.

In 2018 Jane changed her career path and is now the Clinical Risk and Quality Manager at Kareena Private Hospital, part of Ramsay Health Care.

Jane has a Master in Health Service Management and experience in both ISO 9001 accreditation and the National Safety & Quality Healthcare Standards.

Dr Rob Griffin

Rob graduated from Sydney University Medical School and completed his residence and registrar years at Royal North Shore Hospital He became the Clinical Superintendent and Assistant Medical Superintendent there. After further training overseas he was appointed as the inaugural Director of Medical Services for Westmead Hospital. 

More recently he has been the Medical Director of the Calvary Hospitals in Canberra followed by the Executive Director of Medical Service for the Canberra Hospital and Health Region. He has retired from full time duties but still coordinates surveys for ACHS here in Australia and in Hong Kong. He is a Consultant Emeritus to ACT Health.

Sandy Thomson

Email: aaqhc@aaqhc.org.au

Sandy is the Director of GovernancePlus, established in 2006 to provide accreditation support and education to the health, aged care, community and disability sectors. She is a lead assessor for the Australian Council on Health Care Standards with over 12 years of surveying experience covering organisations providing acute public, acute private, community, not for profit, prison health, mental health, regional and remote health services.

She is also a member of the ACHS Improvement Academy including designing and delivering workshops, member of the Australian Hospitals and HealthCare Association, member of Standards Australia committees for medical device and member of ACHS WA State Advisory Council. 

Sandy has co-authored a Masters in Health Management Quality and Leadership at Murdoch University and a Masters in Clinical Governance at Edith Cowan University.

Her previous positions include Assistant Auditor General Strategy Policy and Innovation Office of Auditor General Director Accreditation WA Country Health, General Manager Peel and Rockingham Kwinana Health Service and National President Australasian Association for Quality in Health Care.

Sandy holds a Masters in Health Service Management, is a Fellow of the Australasian Association Quality in Health Care, the Governance Institute of Australia and Australian Organisation for Quality. In addition, she has NDIS certification/verification assessment qualifications.

Karen Mardegan

Karen has worked in healthcare for over 25 years and has a broad background which includes critical care, resuscitation, multidisciplinary education, safety and quality, and consumer engagement.  Her interests are in statistical analysis, improvement methodologies, and public health.  Karen’s roles in Safety and Quality have enabled her to develop an in depth understanding of the National Safety and Quality in Healthcare Standards, Mental Health Standards and Clinical Governance.  

This includes leading organisations’ preparation for NSQHS accreditation and assisting organisations in embedding these standards to the local level. Karen enjoys working within collaborative and inter-professional team environments to promote excellence in patient care within a system of robust clinical governance, and am committed to adult and lifelong learning as a core aspect of professional practice. 

Kathleen Ryan, FAAQHC

Kathleen has provided strategic leadership for the AAQHC serving on Council for six years and as President for three years, and was the first person in NSW to be awarded AAQHC Fellowship status.  In 2011, Kathleen was awarded life membership for outstanding services to the AAQHC.   A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors program, Kathleen is also a visiting Adjunct in the School for Community Health at Charles Sturt University and currently completing the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) Fellowship program.

Dr Marjorie Pawsey AM

Email: aaqhc@aaqhc.org.au

Marjorie graduated from medicine in 1969 and after working in health services research, balanced family life and the role of implementing the quality and accreditation program at Concord Repatriation General Hospital from 1979.

She joined The Australian Council on Healthcare Standard (ACHS) as the Project Coordinator of the Charter for Change in 1994, the outcome being the program that is now known as EQuIP.

Marjorie held an Executive Manager position at ACHS from 1995 with responsibilities for standards development, clinical indicators, education, accreditation services and surveyors. From 2003 she was involved in evaluation and research of ACHS activities until her retirement in 2007.Since her retirement, Marjorie has worked on projects on standards, accreditation and evaluation for the ACHS, the Commonwealth Department of Health, NATA and White Ribbon Australia. She also held a Senior Visiting Fellow position at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University working on research into health service accreditation.

Roisin Dunne

RN, H-DipNeuroScience Nurs., Dip.Mgt., Cert IV PM, ALS, Cert. Clinical Governance.

Roisin Dunne is a registered nurse and has worked in health care in Australia and Ireland for over 25 years and has held a variety of senior positions in both public and private organisations. Roisin is the Quality Manager at Greenslopes Private Hospital, Brisbane and is passionate about interdisciplinary partnership, clinical governance in health IT,  leadership and its impact on patient safety and their experience.

Sarah Bird

RN, RM, Grad Dip Hlth. Mgt and Info Systems, Perioperative Management Cert, Cert IV Training & Assessment, Laser Safety Officer certificate.  MACN, MIFPN, FACORN,FAAQHC  

Employment history

Sarah is currently the Perioperative Quality and Education Coordinator including Policy, Radiation portfolio’s, at Hobart Private Hospital, Tasmania, Sarah has held this position from 2014.

Sarah has worked within the Health sector for 30 years moving to Tasmania in 1986. Sarah previously was ADON Perioperative Services role from 1999- 2014 at Hobart Private Hospital. Sarah has been actively involved with the Australian College of Perioperative Nurses (ACORN) at State, National and International level. Roles at ACORN included State President, ACORN Board member 2012-2018, Including holding the role of ACORN Journal Editor ( 2014-2016). Sarah, is a Past President of ACORN 2016-2018 and has just completed a term as Board Secretary 2018-2021 on the International Secretariat of IFPN International Federation of Perioperative Nurses (IFPN). She maintains her ACORN contact being an ACORN Tasmania Committee member and also on the ACORN Censor Panel.

Sarah is part of the Hobart and Healthscope National Private Quality team and several other Healthscope National committees. In 2019 was the Private Hospital Associations Representative on the ACHS review of the ACHS Anaesthetic Clinical Indicators.

Expertise

Sarah has extensive management experience at local hospital and national private hospital organisations Including Healthscope, Mayne Health and Calvary Health Care with active participation in in policy development, project management, leadership, change management, organisational reform, quality and safety and corporate and clinical governance. Sarah has wide-ranging expertise and interests in surgical patient safety, infection control, and education. Sarah’s passion to ensure safe patient care which is central to the time she has held positions on ACORN board, Sarah has spoken at local , national and International conferences on related Perioperative topics. In 2019 Sarah was keynote speaker at ASIORNA International Asian Summit, in Kuala Lumpur , discussing Patient Safety in the Perioperative Setting and Communicating the key to success.

Sarah is passionate about staff training and has a keen interest in online education and training. A strong advocate for quality and safety and the principles of accreditation Sarah has participated on strategic planning and quality improvement committees at all levels, providing education programs related to patient care and safety and all areas of NSQHS Standard training to her current work employees.

In 2019 Completed ACSQHC Assessor training and ACHS Assessor training. COVID 19 and isolation in Tasmania curtailed till commencing Hospital facility assessing. In 2020 I commenced consulting as an ACSQHS qualified assessor with Quality Innovation Performance , QIP and Global Mark.

In 2021 I was awarded a fellowship to AAQHC and in 2022 completed further quality training with a Lead Auditor TAFE skill set module.

Gary Pratt

RN – PGC Quality and Safety, Cert IV TAE, Cert IV WHS, PGC Education, BSc Nursing, Diploma in Dementia Care, Diphe Nursing.  

Gary Pratt is a registered nurse and has worked in the health care setting in Australia and the United Kingdom for over 31 years. Gary started his nursing carer as an Auxiliary Nurse prior to undertaking his RN training, since qualifying Gary has held a variety of nursing positions including Charge Nurse & Nurse Practitioner in Accident and Emergency and Walk in Centre’s, Professional Development Nurse across medical, surgery and elderly care wards and clinical facilitator for Foundation Degree in Social Care for Assistant Practitioners with London South Bank University.  

Gary’s positions in Australia have included Nurse Unit Manager of a GP led casualty and Patient Safety Quality Manager in Emergency & Clinical Governance Manager of Oral Health Services, prior to returning to his clinical roots currently as an RN and Nurse Unit Manager of Oral Surgery.

I have been an active member of AAQHC since 2014 and my passion for both quality improvement and education are as equal partners in providing person centred quality care for our consumers.

I was privileged as professional development nurse and as a Royal College of Nursing steward and learning representative to be the vice chair of the London Learning Representatives’ council a position I held until I relocated to Australia in 2008.

Mary Miller

Mary is an experienced health Executive with a breadth of experience across a range of health roles in both Western Australia, Victoria and the United Kingdom. Mary was the  Executive Director Safety Quality and Innovation at WA Child and Adolescent Health Service for 4 and a half years, which included leading two organisation- wide accreditation surveys.  Her current role is Manager Integrity and Ethics at South Metropolitan Health Service, which has a focus around professional standards, governance and policy. 

Mary’s clinical background in paediatric nursing, plus 25 years broad management experience across a range of metropolitan and rural health services, including senior policy roles in the Department of Health and professional the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, equips her with an understanding of the complex systems in which we work. Mary is committed to continuous improvement and believes its an exciting time in health care to optimise new technologies in our pursuit of a great patient experience.

Mary holds Masters qualifications in Health Service Management, and Fellowships with the Australasian College of Health Services Management, and the Australasian Association for Quality in Health Care.

Mary has a keen interest in professional mentoring and career development, and has mentored a number of people across different disciplines, believing that both parties gain something from the relationship.