Ballarat Health Services chief executive Andrew Rowe has retired from his position.
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Mr Rowe did not attend the BHS annual general meeting on Monday night but in a statement read out by the service’s board chairman Andrew Faull, ill health was cited as the reason for his resignation.
The sudden departure will mark a new era for the health services which has been under Mr Rowe’s leadership since 2003.
Mr Rowe will officially finish his role at BHS on December 31. A search for a new chief executive is expected to begin in the new year.
This comes months after it was claimed the organisation had serious problems with a culture of bullying within specific departments.
The Courier understands Mr Rowe was dealing with unrest among senior staff members within BHS as well as pressure from the BHS board.
It is also understood his resignation follows a meeting with board members held at the beginning of last week. Mr Rowe did not attend work for a number of days following this meeting.
The unrest among staff had grown over the past two months. The Courier has sighted a letter sent to Mr Rowe and to the BHS board from senior clinicians lamenting the lack of action to address an alleged bullying culture.
A series of stories published in The Courier revealed allegations of severe culture of bullying and harassment within the Mental Health Services youth division, a culture which was strongly denied by BHS.
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It is this denial which upset a number of staff the most, with some saying they had pleaded for action on the issue for years and were shocked to see BHS “reject the claims entirely” when the stories were published.
This is despite a significant outpouring from both current and former staff who supported the claims made in The Courier.
This outpouring also made its way to local MP Sharon Knight who held meetings with Health Minister Jill Hennessy discussing the issue. This ultimately lead to the Department of Health and Human Services requesting BHS to appoint another industry expert to examine closely the culture that exists within the organisation.
BHS has also appointed alternative dispute resolution company Peacemaker ADR to deal with what they described as “concerning” allegations made by The Courier.
Search begins for new CEO
THE search for the next chief executive of Ballarat Health Services will now begin.
The retirement of Andrew Rowe came as a shock to many in attendance at the BHS annual general meeting on Monday night.
In a statement read out by chairman of the BHS board Andrew Faull, Mr Rowe said it was a “difficult decision to retire”.
“It is not a decision I have made lightly, but I am confident it is the right one,” he said.
“After 12 years as CEO the time is right and I am proud of what I have achieved in my 12 year tenure.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to the the 4000-strong workforce, who provide an outstanding service to the residents of Ballarat. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time leading this team under the direction of the board and wish them every success into the future.”
Mr Faull also paid tribute at the meeting to the work done by Mr Rowe.
However, Mr Faull said the board would now look to start a comprehensive recruitment process to fill the position.
“I think there are difficulties doing anything close to Christmas, but I would expect we would look to move very early in the new year to a full recruitment process,” he said.
“The organisation is going through enormous change, as the system is going through enormous change and we are very keen to attract very high level replacement for Andrew in due course.
“It goes without saying we recognise Andrew’s contribution to the organisation over the past 12 years, it is clear that the organisation has laid some great foundations for the future challenges that are upon us
“We have excellent staff here right through from senior executive management, right through to everyone who contributes to the day to day care of our patients.
“I think we will attract someone of a very high caliber who will take us into the next period of our exciting future.”
Chief financial officer Andrew Kinnersly has been appointed acting chief executive while the hiring process begins.
Mr Rowe had worked in health administration in Victoria for 39 years.