Barbara Forrest has been Supply Manager at Ramsay Health Care's Dudley Private Hospital in New South Wales' Central Tablelands region since 2019, having started out in the department nine years earlier.
What’s the best part about your job?
The people I work with.
What is something about your job that not many people know about, and what would surprise other people about working in a private hospital?
Private hospitals are more focused on patients and staff as individuals, resources are well managed. Turnover of staff is very low.
What do you love about working in a private hospital?
The difference about working in a private hospital is it gives you the opportunity to multitask and be involved in more than one area. Gaining knowledge and understanding of all departments and how they all contribute to the care of each patient.
What do you like to do outside of work and/or what is something your colleagues don’t know about you?
Some of my work colleagues would not know that I start working at Dudley Private in January 1982, in the catering department as an apprentice chef. I was 16 years old.
After finishing my apprenticeship, I stayed on and only left to start a family. I returned in 2005 and again worked in the kitchen before taking on the role as Hotel Services Manager in 2008, managing catering, housekeeping and laundry. I added supply and prosthesis processing to my role in 2010 and took over as Supply Manager in 2019 when I stepped back from Hotel Services.
I hold fond memories of the people I have worked with over the years.
Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family, being outdoors and going for a drive in our 1969 Camaro.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well.
- Are you looking for a role in private healthcare? Check out APHA's jobs site here.
