Making sure Hutt Hospital has the staff and facilities to deliver high quality services has been my main aim as Chair of the Hospital Advisory Committee since February 2002. I am fiercely committed to protecting the future of the hospital and supporting front line health services that give everyone access to affordable and appropriate health care.

I am a Korokoro resident, my roots in the Valley dating back to 1840. I have been a member of the Hutt Valley DHB since 2001 and Deputy Chairperson since early 2004. I have been closely involved in the planning of the 8 new operating theatres, an expanded Intensive Care Unit and a trebled in size Emergency Department which open next year.

In 2007, I received a QSO for services to health which recognised my involvement for over 30 years as a member of many health-related groups at local and national level. 

Top 5 Issues

1. Protecting a strong and viable Hutt Hospital which provides core services to people of the Hutt Valley
2. Supporting primary health services so that they deliver care where and when people in the Valley need it
3. Supporting older people to be safe and well in their homes
4. Promoting healthy eating and exercise which are critical to good health
5. Promoting intersectoral collaboration so that everyone has a role to play in ensuring we have healthy individuals in healthy families in a healthy Hutt community

Personal Profile

I am the Director of the Wellington Catholic Education Centre, taking up the role in early 2009 following a five year appointment as Deputy Chief Families Commissioner.

I have  worked in the public and community sectors for many years. My public work includes an extensive involvement in health, having current roles as:

• Deputy Chair of the Hutt Valley District Health Board
• Deputy Chair of the Midwifery Council (and the current Chair of its Professional Conduct Committee)
• Member of the ACC Purchasing Guidance Advisory Group
• Member of the WHO Code Compliance Panel
• Co-chair of the ACC Research Ethics Committee
• Chair of the Families Commission and Weltec Ethics Committees
• Member of the Lawyers and Conveyancers’ Disciplinary Tribunal
• Member of the Physiotherapy Board Professional Conduct Committe
• Member of the National Maternity Referral Guidelines Expert Group

I have been:

• Member of four advisory groups to the National Screening Unit 
• Member of a NZ Guidelines Working Group
• Member of Pharmac’s Consumer Advisory Committee
• Chair of the Wellington Regional Health Authority Ethics Committee
• Member of the National Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology 
• Member of the Medical Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal
• Independent Advisor to ACC on Medical Misadventure

I have had a broad range of involvement in the community including my current role as Chair of Parents Centres New Zealand of which I have been a member for almost 30 years, as a trustee of the Communities Action Trust NZ  and as a board member for Natural Fertility New Zealand.

My education background is in the tertiary sector.  I hold a Masters degree and a post-graduate Diploma in Education from Massey University where I worked as a tutor for the History Department for 20 years and as a Study Skills tutor for the Centre for Extramural Studies for a number of years. I have also worked in adult education in the community sector, facilitating Treaty workshops, childbirth education courses and a wide range of life skills workshops.

I am married to Richard and in the 35 years we have been married, we have lived in Palmerston North, Wellington, Mangakino, Rotorua and now in Petone for the last 15 years. It seems fitting that I have ended up living in Petone as my passion for genealogy led to the discovery that my father's great grandfather was an original Wakefield settler who arrived in Petone in January 1840. My maternal grandmother's family were Highland Scots who came to Waipu via Nova Scotia as followers of the Rev Norman McLeod. My maternal grandfather was part of the large Irish Catholic community on the West Caost, his family settling there in the early 1860's.

In addition to genealogy, my interests are sports although sadly my playing days appear to be behind me.  I really love rugby, having grown up in Hastings during the great Ranfurly Shield era of the 60's.  I also like going to films at the Lighthouse in Petone, eating out locally, walking and doing cryptic crosswords.

Richard and I have 4 adult children.  Our older son Nick lives with his partner in Thorndon and works for an IT firm in Petone.  Our older daughter Rebecca completed a BSc (Hons) at Victoria University and has since had conferred a PhD in neurobiology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney.  She is now a medical student at Notre Dame University and will be graduating as a doctor next year.  Emma our younger daughter has a MA in Latin from Victoria University and has almost completed her PhD from the University of Sydney.  Our younger son Thomas still lives at home and works for an IT company in Wellington.