Board Chairman - Dr Michael Clements Expand B.Econ (Hons) MBBS DAvmed MPH FRACGP FRACMA FACAsM GAICD MRAeS Dr Michael Clements is a Northern Australia Primary Health Limited’s (NAPHL) Non- Executive Director. He’s also an experienced General Practitioner and Practice Principal of two Townsville based private practices and an outreach medical services to remote North-West QLD. After joining the board in 2016, Dr Clements has been heavily involved in strategic policies and shaping the long term objectives and directives of the organisation. With over a decade of medical practice, he’s gained a wide variety of skills, specialist qualifications and experience in primary health care. He’s also undergone specialised medical training in various locations throughout Australia, United Kingdom, the Middle East and across the world. Dr Clements first came to Townsville as a posting with the Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) as a Medical Officer in 2010. During his service in the RAAF he worked across the New South Wales, Northern Territory, Western Australia and gained first-hand experience delivering healthcare and disaster relief to remote and hostile environments and war-torn countries. This experience inspired him to gain a special interest in delivering quality health care to remote and rural communities. “It’s always been my dream to provide care where it’s needed most and as a junior medical student, I attended many remote clinics where there was a stark lack of health care services. This drove my medical learning and desire to meet the needs and expectations of rural and isolated communities.” Dr Clements strongly aligns with NAPHL’s values, particularly commitment to community. He emphasises on providing city-level care within a wide reach in North Queensland. He assists NAPHL in continuing to identify gaps in health service provision, finding innovative solutions in fulfilling the needs of Queensland’s diverse communities and targeting opportunities for superior service delivery. He credits Townsville City for providing a well-established hub for a lot of the healthcare that goes on in regional and remote communities. When asked about the best approach to delivering primary health care to communities in need he states, “the best thing we can we do as an organisation is helping communities to help themselves by providing high-level training, education, resources, guidance and superior service provision.” Dr Clements moved to Townsville with his family for the relaxed lifestyle and family-centred atmosphere. His greatest satisfaction comes from helping patients navigate their health journey and achieve their health goals. Professional Summary Dr Michael Clements is an experienced Townsville based General Practitioner and Practice Principal at Fairfield & Townsville Central Medical Practice. Dr Clements has accrued a wide variety of skills and special interests in his time with the Royal Australian Air Force and with QLD Health as Director of Medical Services at Ingham Hospital. Interests include veterans’ health, pediatric care, mental health, chronic disease and palliative care.
Deputy Chair - Helen Stanton Expand Bachelor of Engineering, Minerals Processing Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors GAICD Mastering the Boardroom, Australian Institute of Company Directors Mrs Helen Stanton is a Northern Australia Primary Health Limited’s (NAPHL) Non-Executive Director and Chair of People and Culture Committee. She is also a company director and business improvement consultant. During her career, she has had governance roles in employment services, disability support services, community services and not-for-profit health sectors. Mrs Stanton joined the board in 2012, when NAPHL was previously known as Townsville Mackay Medicare Local (TMML). Mrs Stanton is passionate about the transition NAPHL has made from a funded model to a service delivery model with a focus on innovation. She praises NAPHL on applying practices that utilise years of industry knowledge to make a real difference in our communities. Mrs Stanton currently lives in a small regional town and this fuels her passion for bridging the gap in rural and remote community access to healthcare. She believes the importance of primary health care comes back to listening to people and understanding that each community is different in how they view and prioritise their health. Mrs Stanton strongly believes that there should be no barriers to the quality of healthcare in remote and rural communities. Differences, but no barriers. Professional Summary Mrs Helen Stanton is the Company Director of Mater Health Services North Queensland, Energy Queensland and Business Improvement Consultant. She specialises in strategic planning, operational risk, team problem solving and facilitation. Her career includes operational, leadership and commissioning roles in the mining industry.
Director and Chair of Growth and Innovation - Christopher Castles Expand Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (Marketing), University of Newcastle Post-Graduate Diploma of Business (Accounting), Monash University Diploma of Financial Planning, Financial Planning Association Certified Practising Accountant, Australian Society of CPAs Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Mr Christopher Castles is a Northern Australia Primary Health Limited’s (NAPHL) Non-Executive Director and member of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, People and Culture Committee, and is Chair of the Growth and Innovation Committee. Chris has significant commercial experience gained from operating his financial services business as well as directorships on listed and unlisted public companies spanning the finance, funds management and agricultural sectors. His experience includes international operations in South-East Asia, China and North America. He is also a current Board Member of the Townsville Hospital and Health Service. Mr Castles’ interest in the health sector has stemmed from his experience with the health sector as a regional user and the sustainability of service provision in the region’s primary health care and acute care. He has seen services in many regions decline and now start to return as there is a renewed focus on accessibility to health care. He believes that primary health care is the first line of defence in ensuring a healthy society and for the prevention of many of the acute instances that present in our hospital system. Mr Castles joined the board in 2012 and has been part of NAPHL’s transition journey from a block funded organisation to a commercially orientated, effective and efficient primary health care service provider. Mr Castles believes that NAPHL is in a unique position to leverage our organisational experience to lead innovative delivery of healthcare services throughout North Queensland and make a real difference in the lives of the people we look after. Professional Summary Mr Castles started his professional engineering career in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1982 and after 13 years of service moved into the financial services sector as a Company Director and small business owner. Since making that move he has held a number of company directorships and been involved in several mergers and acquisitions and a number of diverse international business operations. He brings a unique level of corporate experience, overlayed with the practical approach of small business.
Director and Chair of Finance, Audit and Risk Committee - Will Fellowes Expand Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), University of Queensland Chartered Accountant, Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors Mr Will Fellowes is a Northern Australia Primary Health Limited’s (NAPHL) Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. Mr Fellowes has significant experience gained from providing assurance and advisory services to clients ranging from not-for-profits, private clients in start-up phases, local, state and federal government entities. He has also worked extensively with multinational listed and private companies across the world. Will also has corporate experience where he has worked in various senior executive roles including Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Through interactions with the healthcare systems throughout his life, Mr Fellowes grew a strong interest in health economics and sustainability of healthcare. He is particularly interested in the importance that primary health care plays in achieving sustainability in the healthcare system. Mr Fellowes has great interest in how to create the best experience for our aging populations and how we can influence the clinical service delivery models to create sustainability into the future. Mr Fellowes aligns strongly with NAPHL’s values, particularly integrity and innovation. He believes that working as a finance professional is about having authenticity and being able to have open, frank and honest discussions. He was drawn to working alongside NAPHL because of the difference the organisation is making to the lives of everyday people and is looking forward to continuing to assist the organisation in providing innovative solutions and best practices. He lives by the motto, “dare to be different and don’t be afraid of failure as you won’t achieve success without first achieving failure.” Professional Summary Mr Fellowes has 14 years working with PwC where he is as an experienced Advisory & Assurance Director and specialises in internal and external audit with organisations across Australia and globally. He is also on secondment as the Co-CEO of InnoWell Pty Ltd, a mental health technology company delivering digital health solutions to promote person centred mental health care and to ensure that people receive the right care at the right time.
Director - Donald Whaleboat Expand Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors Masters of Public Health Bachelor of Health Science Indigenous health Mr Donald Whaleboat joined the NAPHL board in May 2018. He is an experienced Company Director, serving his seventh year as Board Member for the Townsville Hospital Health Service and with prior experience as chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Service from 2011 to 2016. His board experience and interests are in consumer and community engagement, quality and safety in health care and health workforce. Donald is passionate about building quality, responsive, sustainable primary health care for people in the region. In particular, the need to reduce the differences in health outcomes such as life expectancy, child development, and chronic health conditions, between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community. Mr Whaleboat believes the many challenges and opportunities for health care providers and stewards of health care, lay outside the four walls of the consult room, and it’s about the interaction and relationship between health services and communities. He is a member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in north Queensland Professional Summary Donald’s professional career started in early 1990s as a community nutrition worker, and public health nutrition policy and strategy officer. His experience developed into health promotion and community development with the Queensland Department of Health. He later moved into the field of primary health care as consultant for strategic workforce and health service planning, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker scope of practice and professional development pathway. His current role, apart from board duties, as senior lecturer College of Medicine and Dentistry and Associate Dean Indigenous health at the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine James Cook University.
Director - Dr Elissa Hatherly Expand Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, University of Queensland Bachelor of Science (Hon 1st Class) UQ Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Certificate in Family Planning Director at the Mackay Hospital and Health Service Dr Elissa Hatherly joined the NAPHL board in March 2021. She is an experienced General Practitioner with a special interest in women’s health and regional medicine. Dr Hatherly believes regional medicine offers enormous scope for practice if you enjoy wearing more than one hat. She is testiment to this, bringing experience across general practice, family planning, women's health, cancer screening, university supervisory roles and community education speaking. Born in Melbourne and growing up in Sydney, Dr Hatherly fell in love with North Queensland when she completed an internship at Mackay Base Hospital, so much so that she never left the coastal town. Dr Hatherly is one of the founding doctors of the Family Planning and Well Women’s Clinic and also practices medicine at Southside Medical Centre. She has experience in supervisory roles for medical students and general practice registrars and also has over a decade of experience in community cancer screening services. Along with the NAPHL Board, she also serves on the Board of the Mackay Hospital and Health Service. She believes the biggest challenge facing general practice is the rise and ubiquity of social media, saying the free access to information, and misinformation, can be a bonus and a hindrance to patients' health. She says the biggest triumph for general practice in the past decade has been embracing technological advances, especially in recent years moving away from the fax to electronic referrals, prescribing and even now telehealth consultations. Professional Summary Dr Elissa Hatherly spent some time travelling, and completed a science degree before finally studying Medicine at the University of Queensland, achieving her FRACGP in 2005. As well as working in General Practice and Family Planning, she serves on the Board of the Mackay Hospital. Elissa has worked in medical education for James Cook University, and has also spent 12 years in the BreastScreen Mackay service.
Director - Dr Chris Stelmaschuk Expand Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, James Cook University Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Dr Chris Stelmaschuk joined the NAPHL board in March 2021. He is an experienced General Practitioner with special interests in men’s health and Indigenous health. He is Practice Principal and Director at North Shore General Practice and helped established the men's health clinic in North Shore, Townsville. Along with general practice, Dr Stelmaschuk's experience extends to child and adolescent mental health, refugee health, GP training and Indigenous health. Born in Canada, Dr Stelmaschuk has lived in North Queensland since a young child, completing his qualifications and training in Townsville. He says some of the biggest challenges he would like to make an impact on are primary care for people living in aged care, shortages of GPs and GP Registrars in our region and culturally appropriate healthcare for our region's First Nations peoples. Dr Stelmaschuk's passion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health has led him to deliver outreach to Palm Island and Happy Valley. He says he hopes he can use his background and experience to help NAPHL continue to make headway in the ongoing challenge of providing quality and culturally appropriate healthcare to our first nation's populations across the region. Professional Summary Dr Stelmaschuk completed medical school with the first cohort of medical students at James Cook University in 2005, before spending his junior hospital years at the Townsville Hospital (now Townsville University Hospital). After a short hiatus travelling through South America, Dr Stelmaschuk began GP training through Tropical Medical Training in 2009, finishing his fellowship with RACGP in 2011.