By Alesha Capone
The new director of surgery at Werribee Mercy Hospital is a familiar face to many people in the Wyndham community.
Iain Skinner has lived in the municipality since 1973.
Mr Skinner’s family moved to the area when he was a child, and he attended Glen Devon Primary School and Werribee High School (now Werribee Secondary College).
Since completing his surgical training and colorectal fellowship in 2001, he has been practicing as a specialist colorectal surgeon at public and private hospitals in the west.
This has included working as a public appointment at Werribee Mercy for the past 16 years. Mr Skinner said that he had seen the hospital transform from a low complexity, medical, surgical and maternity hospital to a state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit (ICU), including six new operating theatres and a surgical ward built last year.
Mr Skinner said he was “incredibly excited about, and honoured by” the opportunity to lead development of Werribee Mercy’s surgery department in his new role.
“Since the opening of the expanded services we have seen the hospital equipped with an ICU the equal of any in the state,” he said.
Mr Skinner recently hosted a Colonoscopy Leaders’ Update, run as part of the National Endoscopy Training Initiative, showcasing new integrated audio-visual systems built into the Werribee Mercy theatres.
Mercy Health chief executive of health services Adjunct Professor Linda Mellors said she was thrilled to welcome Mr Skinner into his new position.
“Mr Skinner is a passionate surgeon and a great advocate for the local community,” Adjunct Professor Mellors said.
