Armidale Director of Nursing appointed

Hunter New England Health’s General Manager of Armidale and Tamworth Hospitals, Fergus Fitzsimons is pleased to announce the appointment of the new Director of Nursing at Armidale Hospital, Sally Bristow.

Sally Bristow’s appointment completes the Hospital’s executive management team – with Dona Withnell (Health Service Manager), Dr Peter Gillies (Director of Medical Services) and Fergus Fitzsimons (General Manager Tamworth and Armidale Hospitals), all permanently appointed to their roles.

Sally is passionate about nursing and says she is excited about the future of Armidale Hospital.

“Having spent the past six years leading the Renal Dialysis team across the northern part of Hunter New England Health, I’ve developed strong leadership skills, and look forward to putting these into practice to help to drive the hospital’s nursing team forward,” Sally said.

“There are the inevitable challenges with the position such as the Australia-wide shortage of skilled and experienced nursing staff. However this situation presents us with a different challenge - the challenge of developing new and innovative ways to deliver care to patients.

“I want to be part of the team which takes nursing into this new phase,” Sally said.

“Clinical ‘redesign’ is the new buzz word within health circles, and Sally said it’s about improving systems, procedures and protocols to deliver high quality patient care and provide staff with a safe, challenging and enjoyable workplace”.

Sally said despite the nursing shortage, Armidale Hospital has been fortunate to be able to recruit nurses to fill recent vacancies, largely because of the close relationship with the University of New England’s Nursing School.

“It’s often the case that nurses come here for their training, meet someone special and decide to stay in the area. Being the only major hospital within an hours drive in any direction, we are in a fortunate position to be able to recruit new nurses,” Sally said.

Sally also praised the skills and diversity of her existing nursing workforce.

“They are a dedicated team, and I am looking forward to working with the strong leadership teams in both nursing and executive management,” Sally said.

The range of experience Sally brings to the Director of Nursing position includes many years in clinical and management roles, stretching across renal, surgical, midwifery as well as remote area nursing within the Normanton community.

Sally also says having two young children helps to keep perspective about the importance of creating balance in your life.

“It certainly is a challenge, but one I am passionate about. Every day is different and that’s exciting,” she said.

Media inquiries: Emma Gibbs (Communication Unit)  Ph:  6767 7137
(HNE – 1212)

Contact: Emma Gibbs

Phone: (02)6767 7137