UPDATE (1 October 2019): It's understood that Adrian Pennington has resigned as chair of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association board.
EARLIER (3 September 2019): Adrian Pennington has been elected chair of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association board.
AHHA is the national peak body for public and not-for-profit hospitals, primary health networks and community and primary health care services.
Mr Pennington is chief executive of Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.
He has almost 40 years health care experience, more than half of which has been at executive and senior management levels in acute hospitals and leading national programs within the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS).
Bundaberg Region Mayor Jack Dempsey congratulated Mr Pennington on his election.
“This is a great honour for Adrian Pennington and the Bundaberg Region,” he said.
“It’s fantastic that someone from Bundaberg is leading a national organisation.
“Mr Pennington has been instrumental in obtaining State Government support for a new hospital in Bundaberg and he has provided strong leadership to Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.”
During Mr Pennington’s career he has managed every department within a hospital, including support services.
His previous employment includes chief executive officer of the James Paget University Hospital's NHS Foundation Trust and chief executive of NHS Heart Improvement.
In 2016, Mr Pennington was appointed Queensland representative to AHHA’s board, and Australian representative to the Council of the International Hospital Federation.
In March 2018, he was named the national Healthcare CEO of the Year as part of the Australian Healthcare Week Excellence Awards in Sydney.
“I am honoured to have been elected by my peers as AHHA board chair and excited to work with the passionate members of AHHA’s board towards a healthy Australia supported by the best possible health-care system,” Mr Pennington said.
“AHHA plays a leading and influential role in health advocacy, education and research, so that the health-care system achieves better outcomes, better patient and provider experiences, and greater equity and sustainability.
“AHHA truly is the voice of public health care.”
Mr Pennington paid tribute to outgoing AHHA board chair Dr Deborah Cole.
Dr Cole will continue to serve on the board.
“It is now my job to pick up the baton and move forwards in an ever-changing health-care landscape,” Mr Pennington said.
“We can no longer reward service volume when we need to shift the whole system to value-based health care.
“Simply throwing new money at old problems will be doing current and future generations a disservice.”
