Murdoch management team

Ben Irish joined St John of God Murdoch Hospital as the Chief Executive Officer in July 2023.

With more than 30 year’s nursing experience in Australia and the United Kingdom, Ben is a well known and much respected health care executive in Perth. He was most recently the Deputy CEO at Joondalup Health Campus, after serving in the role of Director of Clinical Services for 3 years.

Prior to his roles at Joondalup Health Campus, Ben held other executive roles including Clinical Lead for Perth Children's Hospital Project and other clinical leadership roles at both Princess Margaret and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospitals.

Ben is an Adjunct Associate Professor at ECU and holds a Masters in Nursing Leadership from Leeds University, along with several other postgraduate nursing and management qualifications.

Ben is also General Manager Mid West Region for St John of God Health Care.

Dr Edward Debenham is the Director of Medical Services with extensive experience across both public and private health care.

He trained in the United Kingdom before completing his fellowship and commencing specialist practice in Australia in 2012.

Dr Debenham has held appointments at Fiona Stanley Hospital and St John of God Murdoch Hospital, where he served as Head of Anaesthetics and Pain Management. His professional expertise includes medical leadership, clinical governance, and the management of procedural services.

He is committed to promoting excellence in patient care, clinician wellbeing, and system performance through collaborative and accountable leadership.

Sarah-Jayne has been at St John of God Murdoch Hospital since 1998, having commenced her career as a registered nurse in orthopaedics, then progressing through the hospital in a range of nursing roles, including Nurse Manager positions.

Sarah-Jayne held the position of Deputy Director of Surgical and Midwifery Services from 2015 to 2019.

Sarah-Jayne holds a Bachelor of Nursing along with The Catherine McCauley Award for developing women in Leadership and Service. Sarah-Jayne also holds post graduate certificates in clinical nursing, orthopaedics, frontline management and leadership and Catholic culture.

Sam has over 20 years of accounting experience and is a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

After honing her skills in the resources sector in Australia and abroad, Sam moved into health care in 2018.

Prior to her permanent appointment as Director of Finance at St John of God Murdoch Hospital, Sam acted as the Director of Finance at St John of God Subiaco Hospital.

Ben joined St John of God Murdoch Hospital as Director of Business and Service Development in 2020.

With substantial project experience at St John of God Health Care and the public sector prior to this, he successfully implemented a range of innovative technology and process changes including the Clinical Command Centres at St John of God Murdoch, Subiaco and Geelong Hospitals, and led the roll out of the St John of God Health Care patient experience monitoring program through the Net Promotor Score methodology.

Prior to joining the organisation, Ben worked in management consulting with PwC gaining experience across the resources and health care sectors with a particular focus on hospital commissioning management.

Prior to taking on the role as Director of Mission Integration at St John of God Murdoch Hospital, Jenni was Manager of Pastoral Services, responsible for establishing contemporary pastoral services at the hospital.

Jenni has over 35 year’s experience in hospital pastoral care and mission integration. She holds a Masters in Social Science: Counselling and Psychotherapy, a Bachelor of Theology, and Diploma of Ministry and Leadership.

Tasha joined St John of God Murdoch Hospital as Procurement Director in 2024.

She began her career as a Clinical Neurophysiology Scientist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital before moving into the medical device field launching cutting-edge, operating theatre technology in hospitals across Australia.

Since 2021, she has worked in the private health sector in management consulting and business development roles.