New associate chief medical officer appointed at Waitematā DHB

Nineteen years have passed since Dr Andrew Old’s classmates at the University of Auckland honoured him with the Good Samaritan Award.

The award was reserved for the student who showed the most altruism, support and help for their peers.

Dr Old, the newly appointed Associate Chief Medical Officer at Waitematā DHB, has stuck close to that same kind of service ethos throughout a career in clinical medicine and population-health that spans nearly two decades.

“Being trained in both allows me to see the detail and the big picture,” the father-of-three says. “I am naturally curious and am keen to find new ways to contribute to my profession, the health system and society more generally.”

Dr Old will work closely with Waitematā DHB Chief Medical officer Dr Jonathan Christiansen who spent several years in the associate role before taking on his current position last year.

Both are aligned in their thinking around quality of service and equity-of-care.

“I am particularly interested in the whole concept of partnership within the health sector to support societal health and wellbeing,” Dr Old says.

“Whether it’s between professional leaders and managers, health and other social agencies, or patients and their families – it’s all about enhancing experience, outcomes and equity while achieving better overall value for the system.”

Dr Old has worked in multiple senior positions across the Waitematā and Auckland District Health Boards since starting as a Resident Medical Officer shortly after his graduation in 2001.

The keen musician spent five years on Auckland DHB’s Executive Leadership Team as Chief of Strategy, Participation and Improvement from July 2013 before embarking on a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy and Practice in the USA where he was based at Stanford University as well as the University of California in San Francisco. He has been working as Acting Clinical Director of Health Gain at both DHBs since his return to New Zealand in late 2019.

Professional service has been a hallmark of his career and he spent seven years on the Board of the New Zealand Medical Association - as well three terms on the Council of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine.

In 2011, he was honoured with Fellowship of the New Zealand Medical Association for services to the profession and the public - the youngest person to receive the award.

“I am an experienced clinical leader with a drive to make a meaningful contribution to improved health, wellbeing and equity for all New Zealanders,” he says. “Most of all, I believe strongly in the values of kindness and integrity and am excited about serving the Waitematā population in my new role.”

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