Shared from the 8/14/2020 Financial Review eEdition

Woolworths appoints medical chief

Exclusive

Picture
Picture

In a telling sign of the challenges faced by corporate Australia operating during a pandemic, supermarkets operator Woolworths will announce the appointment of a chief medical officer today.

This latest addition to the C-suite comes as companies continue to spend millions of dollars on equipment and other measures to protect employees and customers against the deadly COVID-19.

Woolworths will reveal the appointment of occupational physician Rob McCartney as its first CMO, ‘‘reaffirming the company’s commitment to health and safety during COVID-19’’.

Dr McCartney

will continue to work in private practice while consulting to Woolworths on the company’s pandemic policies for customers and staff. One of his first tasks is to help Woolworths, which has more than 200,000 staff and is Australia’s largest private employer, develop a nationwide policy for face coverings.

‘‘There is a plethora of medical information and advice to consider in the planning and implementation of a COVID-safe workplace. This appointment ensures we have an internal expert, with a grounding in medical advice, to help make well-informed, long-term decisions on the safety and wellbeing of our teams and customers,’’ said Brian Long, general manager of group safety, health and wellbeing at the supermarket retailer.

Dr McCartney will report to Mr Long and provide ‘‘direct input’’ to the board and group executive committee.

Other companies employ chief medical advisers and officers, but they are mostly firms with significant inherent safety hazards, such as airlines and miners, and are required to provide access for staff to qualified doctors.

Dr McCartney predicted other companies would follow Woolworths’ lead, particularly given the increasingly recognised links between physical and mental health and productivity.

The COVID-19 pandemic had bolstered the focus on employee and customer health, but the need to look after their wellbeing predated the spread of coronavirus, Dr McCartney said.

‘‘A lot of this is driven by COVID-19, but the value proposition existed before COVID. If organisations that employ a lot of people who provide services are not looking after the physical, psychological and cognitive health of their workforce, they can’t be competitive. This can have a significant impact on the bottom line,’’ Dr McCartney said.

‘‘If you are not getting proper advice from a chief medical officer, how do you know if you are not exposed to liabilities in the health and safety areas?’’

Dr McCartney has worked in occupational medicine for more than 20 years. He officially started at Woolworths earlier this week.

Earlier this month its chief executive Brad Banducci revealed one of his daughters had tested positive for COVID-19.

See this article in the e-Edition Here