Welcome to Dr Robert Weir

21/02/2011 | New Public Health Physician

Dr Robert Weir has been appointed MidCentral Health’s new Public Health Physician, filling the vacancy created by Dr Jill McKenzie’s resignation. Dr McKenzie continues to work part-time for MidCentral Health largely on environmental health issues. Dr Weir began in his position on Monday 7 February.

Dr Weir worked as a Public Health Medicine Registrar at Crown Public Health (now Community and Public Health) in Christchurch, gaining his Fellowship of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (FAFPHM) in 2001. 

He worked as a Senior Research Fellow and then as Director of the Otago University New Zealand Health Technology Assessment Centre (NZHTA) before taking up his most recent position as General Manager, South Island Shared Agency Limited (SISSAL). SISSAL is the South Island equivalent of Central TAS, providing support to the South Island District Health Boards with an emphasis on service planning and facilitating regional collaboration.

Dr Weir has significant experience in communicable diseases having worked in microbiology, and led a range of research projects on vaccination and the epidemiology of communicable diseases.  His research experience has been characterised by an interest in areas of communicable disease epidemiology that have well recognised preventive strategies. 

As MidCentral Health is working to progress his designation as a Medical Officer of Health, Dr Weir’s role will be that of Public Health Physician, and he will be based in the Palmerston North Public Health Unit.

Contact: Communications Unit (06) 350-8945