THE man given the task of driving major health reforms in Tasmania will be paid $150,000 for the part-time position and continue to live in Melbourne.
Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne yesterday named Graeme Houghton, former chief executive officer of the Austin Hospital and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital as the inaugural chairman of the three new Tasmanian Health Organisations.
The appointment comes as the health department is slashing $100 million from its budget and a week after the cuts forced the cancellation of the $175,000 Hospital in the Home service.
On top of his remuneration, taxpayers will also foot the bill for his travel expenses as he commutes from Victoria.
A spokesman for Ms O'Byrne said the generous package allowed the state to secure the best possible candidate.
Mr Houghton is expected to put in about four days work a week during the first few months, the spokesman said.
At the announcement, Ms O'Byrne said Tasmania was fortunate to have secured someone with Mr Houghton's experience.
The THOs will take over from the existing area health services from July this year.
``(Mr Houghton's) job is to really lead and drive the way we provide health services for our entire community,'' Ms O'Byrne said.
She said the establishment of the THOs would correspond with a reduction in the size of the health bureacracy which would generate ``significant savings''.
``This is about making sure that the decisions can be made locally and therefore you do get a more efficient spend rather than a statewide bureaucracy model,'' she said.
Under the new model, the smaller health ``ministry'' will buy services from the THO, which must decide how to provide those services.
Mr Houghton, who will formally start work later this month, said he was not deterred by the state's health budget woes.
``It's what life is like in health service management. Tasmania's not unique in that,'' Mr Houghton said.
``We have to buckle down and do the best we can.''
He supported the model of three separate bodies, but a single chairman would provide consistency.
``I think it's a good idea because one of the objectives is returning a greater level of control to the local level,'' Mr Houghton said. ``Tasmania is too big to regard local as the whole state.''
Mr Houghton will play a key role in recruiting other governing council members and appointing the chief executive officers for each of the organisations, which will not necessarily be the existing heads of the health area services.
Ensuring a better connected health system was his priority.
``We have an ageing community. As people get older they tend to have more chronic diseases and also they haven't just one thing wrong with them.
``We need a system that can deal with that greater level of complexity.''
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