Dr Maha Rajagopal was appointed area director of nursing and midwifery for East Metropolitan Health Service in July 2016. As a senior health service executive, she provides leadership across a number of essential portfolios including nursing education, training, credentialing and research. Dr Rajagopal also advises the chief executive and executive directors on strategic clinical matters related to patient care, clinical priorities, workforce models and mental health. For more than 20 years, she held senior leadership roles with Royal Perth Hospital. From late 2012 through to 2015, Dr Rajagopal was the commissioning lead responsible for leading Royal Perth Hospital in the transitioning of services to Fiona Stanley Hospital, as well as the de-commissioning of Shenton Park Hospital. In July 2011, Dr Rajagopal was awarded the Adjunct Associate Professor from Curtin University which recognised her outstanding contribution to nursing and midwifery healthcare in Western Australia. She also holds a Master in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Nursing from Edith Cowan University. Dr Rajagopal has co-published a number of nursing research clinical care papers, and is chair of the Nursing Research Foundation which facilitates opportunities to further clinical nursing research. She also sits on the advisory boards for Curtin University School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, and Notre Dame University School of Nursing and Midwifery. Dr Rajagopal has been a guest lecturer at universities and hospitals in her home country of Malaysia.
