Management team

St John of God Murdoch Hospital management team

Ben Irish - Chief Executive Officer

Ben Irish joined St John of God Murdoch Hospital as the Chief Executive Officer in July 2023. With more than 30 years' 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 three years. Prior to his roles at Joondalup Health Campus, Ben has held other executive roles including the Clinical Lead for the 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 a number of other postgraduate nursing and management qualifications. Ben is also General Manager Mid West Region for St John of God Health Care.

Andrew Wesseldine - Director Medical Services

Andrew Wesseldine joined Murdoch Hospital in 2021. A dual trained General Physician, Geriatrician and Stroke Physician, Andrew has held a multitude of leadership positions including Head of Department of General Medicine and Director Post Graduate Medicine at St John of God Subiaco Hospital, WA State Stroke Director, Director Clinical Innovation and Reform and Deputy Director Medical Services at Joondalup Health Campus. He was born in New Zealand and moved to Perth in 2002 to complete his training.

Sarah-Jayne Powell - Director of Nursing

Sarah-Jayne has been at 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 2015-2019.
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 Atkin - Director of Finance

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, very successfully, as the Director of Finance at both St John of God Subiaco and Murdoch Hospitals.

Ben Dellar - Director Business and Services Development

Ben joined Murdoch 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. 

Jenni Ashton - Director of Mission Integration

Prior to taking on the role as Acting 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 years' 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.