Rural Northwest Health will have some big shoes to fill in coming months with Executive Manager Environmental Services David Siddall announcing his stellar career will come to an end this week, as he retires in search of some warmer weather and appeasing that travel bug.
Having been a valuable part of the RNH team since 2022, Dave had previously worked in similar roles including four years in Darwin, 10 in Queensland, and eight at the Wimmera Healthcare Group.
“In each of these roles I started in supply and ended up as a Support Services Manager. Moving to the Executive Manager Environmental Services role was a natural progression for me,” he said.
Arriving in Australia from England in 1963 after his father, a Navy Submariner was posted for three years to train the Australian Navy in the use of their newly purchased submarine fleet, his family were determined to come back to the sunny Australian shores as soon as they could.
And come back they did, arriving back in the country in 1973 after a six-week cruise as “10-pound Poms”.
A quiet achiever who never quite lost his strong English accent and that cheeky wit, Dave said he feels fortunate to have been placed with “a remarkable and dedicated team”, thanking everyone for their support in making his directorate great.
“I think we are now a more cohesive organisation that has undergone some change for the better under CEO Jenni Masters,” Dave said.
“We have also spent the past 18 months or so trying to recruit into our vacant positions, and during this time we have rented 14 properties locally to house new team members,
“I suppose I have grown into this role and have done my very best to achieve what I set out to do, which was to leave RNH a little better than I found it, and that our residents, patients and our community have seen an improvement in the way we provide sustainable and care oriented services,” he said.
Post-retirement, Dave said he plans to spend some quality time with his family including his parents now aged in their late-80s before considering his options.
“The tropics are definitely on the cards however, I may even buy an RV and take some time to revisit the great Australian outback,” he said.
Thanking Dave for both his commitment and tireless dedication to achieving the organisation’s goals, CEO Jenni Masters said: “You will be a big loss and we will miss you, but we wish you all the very best for your well-deserved retirement”.