Congratulations to our WA Health leaders awarded in the King’s Birthday Honours for their exceptional leadership and commitment to quality healthcare for our community.
A trio of Department of Health public health physicians, Dr Tudor Codreanu, Dr Clare Huppatz and Dr Paul Armstrong, was among a range of clinicians from WA and around the country were acknowledged with Public Service Medals earlier this year.
As leader of the State Health Incident Coordination Centre, Tudor was crucial to WA’s response to the pandemic.
With extensive emergency and disaster medicine experience, he had a key role in the management of outbreaks across Western Australia’s aged care facilities and remote Aboriginal communities.
Tudor stepped in to coordinate St John Ambulance’s emergency response, led several missions and critical operations aboard cruise ships and rolled out virus outbreak plans in all kinds of places, from hospitals to prisons.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work we did to keep our most vulnerable people safe,” he said.
As COVID-19 took hold around the world, Clare stepped up to coordinate the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, helping lead WA’s response to the public health crisis.
By late 2021, Clare had taken on the role of Deputy Chief Health Officer for Public Health, providing critical public health advice to keep the community safe.
After being consumed by work during the pandemic, Clare says it means an awful lot to be recognised this way – for her and her family.
“It’s nice for them to know that the efforts were really appreciated,” she said.
As Director of Communicable Disease Control, Paul was central to our pandemic response before the virus even surfaced here in WA.
By chance, he had put together an emergency plan the year before, in the event of a coronavirus reaching pandemic status in WA. The coincidence surprised even him.
When the virus eventually reached our shores, Paul’s expertise in infectious disease control and pandemic planning saw community transmission of the virus eliminated.
Paul’s work set the national benchmark for the way Australia managed marine vessels such as cruise and cargo ships during the health crisis, his advice serving as a best practice guide for other jurisdictions in Australia and overseas.
“There were very long days but our work showed that these public health measures work,” he said.