Associate Professor Aldrich is asking senior Ballarat Health Services leaders to take a straight approach on addressing bad behaviour and, while she said bullying and harassment were never acceptable, it was important to understand where people were coming from in such actions.

The new BHS executive’s appointment is part of a continuing cultural shift under chief executive officer Dale Fraser, who arrived a year ago, amid investigations into the organisation’s alleged bullying culture.

“You can’t let it go on, even if you have to have the uncomfortable conversation,” Associate Professor Aldrich said.

“Sometimes there can be personal circumstances – difficulties and illness...once I’ve established what’s going on, then I can deal with it from there. It would be unfair not to. Coming from a big family, I’ve always had a strong sense of fairness and justice.”

Associate Professor Aldrich said cultural change took time and sometimes people did not realise they were acting out of line because goal posts had shifted.

Open communication is a method Professor Aldrich aims to bring to all areas of the business.

One month into the role, Professor Aldrich had been travelling across western Victoria and into Melbourne to meet with partner health organisations in a bid to ensure all were working together.

She was also keen to start talking more to BHS patients about the kind of care they were getting and extent of their care to ensure they felt their needs were being met.

This was a technique Professor Aldrich had used in other high-performing health services, and she found it could make a big difference.

“What we found was people harboured what we call invisible injuries – they put up with stuff,” Associate Professor Aldrich said. She cited a case where a junior nurse was referring to a patient as “mate”, and the patient did not like it, found it disrespectful – how the power of words could make an impact on a patient’s experience.

A former Newcastle Herald journalist, Associate Professor Aldrich has always loved stories. Whether in clinical practice, or later in public policy and mangement, Professor Aldrich found herself absorbed in peoples’ stories.

Professor Aldrich felt her role in BHS was bringing her full circle in her career, drawing together all the experienced she had developed, gathering stories the whole way. She listens to learns.

“I think the reason I love healthcare and medical practice is because people trust us with themselves and all at their most vulnerable,” Associate Professor Aldrich said. “It’s incredibly humbling to be part of one community and able to do that.”

In turn, she said the wider Ballarat community had instantly made her feel at home and welcome.