New Chair Announced for Tairawhiti Healthcare

Health Minister Bill English announced today that Ms Patricia Seymour had been appointed chair of the Board of Tairawhiti Healthcare Ltd.

"Ms Seymour has been on the board since its inception in 1993 and was previously deputy chair. She succeeds Mr Michael Chrisp who has decided to step down from the board," said Mr English, who met the board in Gisborne today.

"Ms Seymour is a woman of considerable energy with a strong personal and professional interest in health issues. She chairs the Early Childhood Development Unit and is a director on the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust. She was awarded an OBE in 1994 for services to the community.

"In 1996 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship and visited the United States and the United Kingdom. There she completed a project on Parents as Teachers and explored developments between general practice and NHS Trust Hospitals in the context of the UK's health reform environment.

"I would like to thank Mr Chrisp for the significant contribution he has made to Tairawhiti Healthcare. I am confident that Ms Seymour will capably build upon and extend the foundation he and the other directors have provided," said Mr English.