Health Minister Jillian Skinner today paid tribute to Emeritus Professor Stephen Leeder on his departure as Chair of the Western Sydney Local Health District Board.

Mrs Skinner appointed Professor Leeder as the inaugural Chair of the newly-created Board in 2011.

“I had been fortunate to work with Professor Leeder over many years in Opposition and admired his views on reform, from the need for greater involvement by clinicians in local decision-making to a greater focus on preventive health, new models of care and integrated health services which focus less on acute hospital beds,” Mrs Skinner said.

“His public comments - or ‘Leederisms’, as I call them - in his role at the University of Sydney very much influenced my thinking as we set about developing policy for the change of Government in 2011.

“On becoming Minister, I was acutely aware of the need to appoint a widely-respected person to set the path for the clinical community in Western Sydney - and I knew he was the best person for the job.”

Mrs Skinner said Professor Leeder led one of the state’s largest Local Health Districts with distinction and success.

“In so many ways, and for so long, Professor Leeder has said that good public health is everybody's business,” she said.

“As Chair of the Western Sydney Local Health District, he forged close ties with universities, local government and a range of government and non-government businesses. He chaired the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Preventive Health, which I established in 2012 and from which the recently-released NSW Diabetes Plan emerged.

“The extraordinary innovations introduced into Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals and the concept of the Westmead health precinct are just two aspects of his marvellous legacy. I thank him heartily and wish him a long and happy retirement.”