What is the role of the Board of Directors of a Victorian public health service?
A health service board is accountable to the Minister for Health for the performance of the health service and ensures the hospital adheres to Government policy.
The role of the board includes overall governance of the health service, setting the strategic direction of the service, oversite of financial and service performance, responding to the needs of the local area, such as addressing changes in population and demographics, and meeting the regulatory and government policy requirements and standards for health services.
The Board of Directors would be made up of between 6-12 members who have varied skill sets relevant to the operation of a large public entity, including clinical governance, legal, financial, ICT and risk management expertise.
Board of Directors are also required to be representative of their communities, with membership including representation for both men and women, indigenous Australians, people with a disability, young people and people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.
How are the Board of Directors appointed?
Directors are appointed by the Minister for Health through an annual Board Appointment Round. The annual round typically starts in November of each year with the positions being advertised in local newspapers and vacancies listed on the Victorian public sector boards website.
Applicants are required to submit a formal application which demonstrates their experience and expertise against key selection criteria.
A Board of Directors for a publicly operated Mildura Base Hospital will be appointed to commence in 1 July 2020.
Applications for the Board of Directors close at 5:00pm Monday 2 December 2019.
For further information, including information on how to apply, please visit health.vic's health service boards and governance section.
Why is the board starting 1 July 2020 and not 15 September 2020?
The newly appointed board of Mildura Base Hospital is commencing at an earlier date than the handover date to ensure that the board is fully prepared to commence their role when the hospital returns to public management.
As there has not been a board in place, the new board will spend time preparing for the handover and working with the Department.
The work of the board will include the provision of overall governance of the health service, and as such has range of responsibilities they will need to prepare for, for example:
- setting the strategic direction of the service,
- oversite of financial and service performance,
- responding to the needs of the local area, such as addressing changes in population and demographics, and meeting the regulatory and government policy requirements; and
- standards for health services.
Will the board have operational control over the privately managed Mildura Base Hospital?
No, the newly appointed board will not have operational control over the privately managed Mildura Base Hospital. The current agreement between the private operator and the Victorian Government ends on 15 September 2020