More Speakers to come!
Keynote speakers
Dr Jillann Farmer
Dr Jillann Farmer was Medical Director of the United Nations, based at the headquarters in New York for 8 years. During tenure at the UN, she was responsible for the health, safety and wellbeing of all UN personnel deployed throughout the world and was also responsible for the standards in healthcare facilities operating under the UN flag. She managed the UN’s response to the New York wave of COVID-19 in 2020.
Since leaving the UN, she has worked as a Deputy Director General in Queensland Health and as a front-line clinician in primary care and emergency medicine. Prior to serving in the UN, she was the Medical Director of the Patient Safety Centre in Queensland Health, and the inaugural Director of the Clinician Performance Support Service.Jillann currently balances her role as CEO with clinical work in a rural ED. Outside of work, Jillann has been a martial arts practitioner for over 30 years, and is a keen hiker, kayaker, cyclist and cross-country skier.
Dr Audrey Koay
Dr Audrey Koay is Executive Director of the Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Directorate in the Department of Health.
In this role, she responsible for the operations of the Patient Safety Surveillance Unit, Licensing Accreditation and Regulatory Unit, Healthcare Quality Intelligence Unit, Medicines and Technology Unit, Reproductive Technology Unit and Assisted Reproductive Technology Legislative Unit, the Executive Office, Policies and Special Projects team, the S&Q Workforce Capability and Strategic Plan Project Management Units.
Together these areas deliver the Department of Health’s safety and quality portfolio with a special focus upon clinical governance, clinical registry and data systems to inform clinician behaviour and improve patient outcomes, safe introduction of new procedures and technologies, quality use of medicines and regulation of the private hospital sector. Additionally, the PSCQ leads programs to build safety and quality staff capability and infrastructure to support quality improvement initiatives statewide.
Audrey is a medical administrator with local and international clinical, research and commercial experience. Prior to the Department of Health, Audrey worked in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and then in post-graduate research in Vanderbilt and Oxford Universities, and within the commercial sector in Roche UK and as Associate Medical Director in General Electric Healthcare’s Northern European operations.
Judge Laurie Levy SC
Judge Levy SC was appointed a judge of the District Court in December 2014. Prior to his appointment, Judge Levy practised as a criminal lawyer for 25 years. Judge Levy commenced his legal career as a barrister and solicitor working for David Grace QC in Melbourne. He was later admitted to the bar in Victoria, before moving to Western Australia in 1997 where he practised both as a solicitor and a barrister. In 2008 Judge Levy was appointed Senior Counsel in Western Australia. His experience as an advocate included appearing in numerous high profile trials, including murders, serious drug trafficking and complex fraud cases. He also appeared in more than 100 appeals to the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the High Court of Australia.
Judge Levy SC is a member of the council of the National Judicial College of Australia, a body providing judicial education to judges and magistrates across all Australian jurisdictions.
Ms Tina Chinery EMPA, DipEd, BAppSc (Nursing), GAICD
Tina Chinery joined St John of God Subiaco in 2022. Tina is a health executive leader with significant and broad experience in the hospital and health care sector across all service areas.
Formal qualifications include Australian New Zealand School of Government Executive Masters of Public Administration and the completion of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.
Tina also has extensive experience in health strategic service planning, capital project management, implementation of new technology, research and education.
Having started her career as a nurse, Tina is strongly committed to delivering high quality person-centred care and is pleased to work within an organisation that is focused on the Values of hospitality, compassion, respect, justice and excellence.
Mr William Edmond
William is the Chairman and co-founder of Trier Medical – an innovative start-up that is revolutionising Emergency Department waiting room safety, communication and efficiency. He is also a Chief Customer Architect at Oracle Corporation, working with some of Oracle’s most strategic customers in Japan and Asia Pacific where he brings together industry points of view that are supported by cutting edge solution architectures.
William is an experienced executive with over three decades of international experience across a range of industries. He is an MBA graduate with base degrees in Computer Science (Hons) and Economics. Previous roles include General Manager of safesearch (a subsidiary of the global Manpower Group), Executive Director at Ernst & Young (co-founding EY’s IT advisory practice in WA), and Director of Sapient (Europe). He has sat on numerous advisory boards and held directorships of public companies including Chairman of ARCS - a not-for-profit health care organisation that strengthens and connects families in Western Australia.
William’s expertise spans management and technology consulting across a range of domains, including Enterprise Architecture, Strategy, Information Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud, Enterprise Risk, Mergers & Acquisitions, CRM, Supply Chain, ERP, Operational Consulting Safety, Environment, Recruitment and Project Direction. Industries of focus include Government, Healthcare, Education, Resources, Retail and Insurance. He has a particular interest in AI having completed his honours thesis in this field.
Invited speakers
Mr Suchit Handa
Suchit is an experienced health service executive with a demonstrated history of improving quality and outcomes in the healthcare industry with a focus on tertiary care. He has a background in Mental Health, Drug & Alcohol, and has led health organisations through wide-ranging changes, including redevelopments, implementation of new models of care, and managing the COVID-19 pandemic in both a metropolitan CALD community and in rural remote NSW. With a Master’s Degree focused in Health Service Management, Suchit strives to deliver safe and innovative healthcare. Currently, he is the Director, Measurement for Improvement at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Suchit is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ms Kirstine Sketcher-Baker
Kirstine Sketcher-Baker has worked in the public health sector for over 20 years; first as a statistician and more recently since 2012 as Queensland Health’s Executive Director, Patient Safety and Quality. Kirstine has contributed to the safety and quality agenda in leading responses to address emergent and long-standing statewide issues e.g. Transvaginal mesh, button batteries, often influencing the national approach to addressing these issues. Kirstine has also been active in the establishment and coordination of various patient safety and quality initiatives e.g. Patient Safety Net, a new approach to provide staff with a consistent, streamlined and transparent process for raising a patient safety concern they feel has not been addressed through the standard reporting processes in a timely, proper or sufficient way.
Dr Rajesh Sehdev
Rajesh is an Emergency Physician in Townsville and has been advocating for clinician wellbeing at Department, Hospital, State and College levels for many years.
He has a deeply held belief that our diversity as a profession and as a society is our strength. He has an interest in coaching conversations to help unlock potential.
He is energised by music, travel, exercise and the great outdoors.
Dr Michael Levitt
Michael is a colorectal surgeon who has been in continuous clinical practice in Perth since 1990. Currently he is the Medical Co-Director for Surgical Services at Sir Charles Gairdner and Osborne Park Hospitals, a Director of St John of God Health Care and a Clinician Member of the Medical Board of WA. He has previously held a number of leadership positions in public and private hospitals, the RACS and the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand.
He has a particular clinical interest in proctology and functional bowel disease and has published a number of books for the general public on this topic. More recently, he has published two novels set in the Australian art world.
In 2003, he was awarded a Centenary Medal for services to public education about bowel cancer. He was nominated for Australian of the Year (Western Australian branch) in 2018 and was awarded an AM for services to Medical Administration and to professional bodies in January 2023. He continues to be actively involved in community and not-for-profit board roles and has developed particular interests in board governance and organisational culture.