news, act-politics, act health, michael de'ath, act government, coronavirus, covid-19

The shock resignation of ACT Health boss Michael De'Ath won't derail the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic or delivery of the $500 million Canberra hospital expansion, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says. Ms Stephen-Smith announced in a statement on Monday afternoon that Mr De'Ath had quit his position as ACT Health Directorate director-general, effective immediately. She later told a press conference that she had "conversations" with the highly-regarded executive in the past week, but conceded the resignation came with "kind of short notice". Australian Medical Association ACT branch president Antonio Di Dio, who has clashed with Mr De'Ath in the past, said he was "very surprised, even amazed" to learn of the departure of the director-general, whom he now holds in high regard. Ms Stephen-Smith said Mr De'Ath wanted to return to Melbourne to be with family. She said each of his three daughters had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in some way, although she didn't elaborate on how. READ MORE: It was understood that Mr De'Ath has already returned to Melbourne. Asked if Mr De'Ath's resignation was linked in any way to the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Ms Stephen-Smith said: "he has not conveyed to me that was part of his thinking". "Obviously this past month have been very difficult for everyone," Mr Stephen-Smith said. "Michael was very clear that he wanted to return to Melbourne to be with his family." The departure of Mr De'Ath comes a critical time for the territory's health system. The combined forces of the ACT's public and private health systems are being mobilised in anticipation of a potential influx of coronavirus patients. The government last month committed an extra $126 million to the fight, including funding for a field hospital on Garran Oval to treat cases of COVID-19. The government is also deep in planning for the delivery of the long-awaited SPIRE project at Canberra Hospital. Ms Stephen-Smith said she was "very confident" that the senior leadership at ACT Health and Canberra Health Services could press on in Mr De'Ath's absence. ACT Health Directorate deputy director-general Kylie Jonasson will step into the job for the next six months. "I am very confident that we have really excellent leadership across our ACT public health system to both respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to continue to lead the strategic work that we continue to do in ACT Health," she said. Mr De'Ath joined the ACT public service in 2016 as the director-general of the territory's Community Services Directorate. After taking the top job at ACT Health Directorate in April 2018, he oversaw the process of re-accrediting Canberra Hospital, a well as the restructure of the department which resulted in the creation of Canberra Health Services. He has also been at the helm throughout the independent review of the ACT health system's workplace culture, which was ordered amid a string of scandals. The government only agreed to the independent review after rejecting calls for a royal commission-style inquiry, which the Australian Medical Association and the Opposition had been pushing for. Dr Di Dio said he had "huge disagreements" with Mr De'Ath over the need for a review. But Dr Di Dio said once the culture review started, Mr De'Ath was "very sincere and very professional". "When we were on the opposite of an argument, his behaviour was impeccable," he said. "He might have been on the opposite side, but he didn't have a personal agenda." Dr Di Dio praised Mr De'Ath, along with Canberra Health Services chief executive Bernadette McDonald, for their efforts in helping to turn around the previously scandal-plagued organisation. "He's done a pretty good job and he's been pretty transparent and I have a lot of praise for him," he said. "He's going to be missed ... but it's to his credit that the transition [to a new boss] is not going to be horrible." Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. If you're looking to stay up to date on COVID-19, you can also sign up for our twice-daily digest here.

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