Board Members
The Minister of Health, Hon. Tony Ryall appointed the following chair and members to the Health Workforce New Zealand board.
Professor Des Gorman (Executive Chair)
Professor Des Gorman is a Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. He was the Head of the University’s School of Medicine from 2005 to 2010 inclusive and was the first graduate of the School to hold that position.
He has a strong interest in the development and maintenance of an effective health workforce. He was a Commissioner on the Ministry of Health’s Commission on Resident Medical Officers and was also the Chairman of the Minister of Health’s Taskforce that reviewed the funding of the training of the New Zealand health workforce in 2009. He has subsequently been appointed as the Executive Chairman of Health Workforce New Zealand and as a member of the National Health Board (including the Capital Investment Committee). He is also a member of the Welfare Working Group for the Minister for Social Development.
Professor Gorman has dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship and is ethnically European
and New Zealand Māori. His iwi (tribe) is Ngapuhi. In part because of personal experience, he
is strongly committed to promoting indigenous peoples’ health.
He holds bachelor’s degrees in Science (BSc), and in medicine and surgery (MBChB). He has a
doctorate in medicine (MD), which was conferred by the University of Auckland, and a doctorate
in philosophy (PhD), which was conferred by the University of Sydney. Both doctorates were
awarded on the basis on in vivo research into brain injuries. In addition to brain injuries, his
clinical interests are largely in the disciplines of toxicology and occupational medicine.
Professor Gregor Coster (Deputy Chair)
Professor Gregor Coster is Deputy Chair of Health Workforce New Zealand, Chair of the Counties Manukau District Health Board and Dean of Graduate Studies at The University of Auckland. He was formerly Deputy Chairman of Pharmac, and Chairman of the West Coast District Health Board. In addition, he was Chairman of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners from 1995-97 and subsequently was made a Distinguished Fellow. He was previously a board member of the Health Funding Authority.
He has had extensive experience in health as a general practitioner, academic, and in numerous governance roles within the public sector. He had 15 years of full-time general practice experience before joining The University of Auckland in 1995 as Head of the Department of General Practice, prior to commencing his role as Dean of Graduate Studies in 2005.
Professor Max Abbott
Professor Max Abbott is Professor of Psychology and Public Health, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), and Deputy Chair of Waitemata District Health Board. He is also Co-director of AUT's National Institute for Public Health and Mental Health Research. Professor Abbott was a member of the Ministerial Taskforce on the Funding of Health Workforce Training (2009). He was National Director of the Mental Health Foundation (1981-1991) and President of the World Federation for Mental Health (1991-1993). He has served on various government and NGO boards in health, education, criminal justice and media.
Ms Helen Pocknall
Helen Pocknall is Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Wairarapa DHB, and Chair of the national lead DONs’ group. She is a member of the Central Region Clinical Board and Nurse Executives of New Zealand. She is a Wairarapa representative on the sub regional Clinical Leadership governance group for Capital and Coast, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs’ 3 DHB Health Services Development programme. She is the Nurse Executive national representative for Nursing's Professional Development and Recognition Programmes. Ms Pocknall is also a member of the Advisory Group to the National Maori Nursing and Midwifery Workforce Development Project, Ngā Manukura o Apopo. She was a member of the 2009 Ministerial Task Group on Clinical Leadership.
Dr Andrew Wong
Dr Andrew Wong, who is a specialist in Public Health Medicine, is CEO of MercyAscot (private) Hospital and also Managing Director of HealthCare Holdings Limited. Other directorships include Mercy Angiography, Endoscopy Auckland, Laproscopy Auckland, Mercy Radiology, Kensington Private Hospital Ltd, Mercy PET/CT, Medtral NZ Ltd, and Chair of Auckland Radiation Oncology Ltd. Dr Wong was formerly Vice-President of the NZ Surgical Hospitals Association, a member of the Executive Committee of the NZ Private Hospitals Association, the NZ Council of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, and National President of the Resident Medical Officers Association.
Mr Graham Dyer
Mr Graham Dyer is the current Chief Executive of both the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHB's. He is also the Lead Chief Executive for DHB Employment Relations. Prior to his role at Hutt Valley DHB, Mr Dyer was the Chief Operating Officer for Waitemata DHB. He has also held other executive roles in Planning and Funding, Finance, and as Chief Operating Officer at Bay of Plenty DHB. Mr Dyer is also a Director of Central Regions Technical Advisory Services Ltd (the lower North Island’s DHB shared services agency), and a Trustee of the Hutt Hospital Foundation Trust.
Professor Tim Wilkinson
Professor Tim Wilkinson is a Consulting Geriatrician and Associate Dean (Medical Education) at the University of Otago, Christchurch. He also chairs a number of faculty committees, including the Curriculum and Assessment Committees and the Medical Education Group. He is also a Trustee of the HealthEd Trust (a charitable trust that provides educational courses for residential care workers), a past President of ANZAME (the association for health professional education), and a past office holder in the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Professor Wilkinson’s research interests lie in the areas of medical education, assessment of competence, workplace learning and geriatric medicine, and he has published a number of academic papers on these subjects.
