Meet Simon Templeton
With a range of high-level experience in the health sector, our new General Manager brings a patient-focused balance to business sustainability.
We are proud to announce the arrival of Simon Templeton at Southern Eye Specialists. After previous years at the Canterbury DHB, Simon’s most recent role was as CEO of Age Concern Canterbury.
“After nine years in the role (at Age Concern), it was a good time to seek new challenges,” he says. “I’ve built a lot of transferable skills over my career – which I’m looking forward to applying here at SES.”
This experience provides a wide-ranging perspective on the different groups within healthcare.
“It’s an advantage having a nursing background in this type of role,” he says. “While I’m not at the coalface, I understand what people are facing in their work.”
He wholeheartedly believes in “working out the ‘because’ behind systems”, understanding why processes occur then using this clarity to simplify systems and cut through wasteful practice.
“The health sector always talks about the patient being at the heart of what we do – and it absolutely should be,” he says.
“But, as a manager in health, where these systems often fall down is that rules and systems are created that are good for management but not necessarily for the patient.”
Reporting and accountability are vital, but not when systems become so convoluted and unwieldy that they affect patient care.
“I ask simple questions of each system: Does it waste time? What are you hoping to accomplish? Can we reassess and minimise the impact on the patient, and can we improve their experience?”
With this integrity, insight, and management acumen we’re looking forward to the next steps in the SES journey with Simon at the helm.