Having been appointed to take over where Steve Wisnewski-Smith left off after his shock exit in October, Mr Shields has been charged with the task of redeveloping the hospital’s medical centre and ensuring its long-term growth and prosperity.

And, at the beginning of just his fourth week at the local campus, Mr Shields is already enjoying his new position.

“I absolutely love it,” he said.

“I really do.”

The former rugby union player has been in health administration all his life and worked around the world in all kinds of hospitals.

It was his expertise that took the relatively new Murdoch St John of God campus through its initial planning and construction stages through to its first three years of operation.

Mr Shields has worked in Africa, Europe, the USA and the Middle East and was most recently overseeing the operations of a number of south Pacific island hospitals.

His family initially visited Australia on holiday but “loved it so much” they bought a house in Perth.

Now looking for a local home Mr Shields said his commitment to Mandurah and the local hospital was a long-term one.

“I want to bring the number of professionals in this area up,” he said.

“And I want to look at redeveloping the medical clinic.

“This hospital is capable of huge growth and we have to take into account the community’s needs.”

Mr Shields has already shown himself to be a hands-on leader and has devoted the first few months of his appointment to meeting key people involved in the day to day running of Peel Health Campus.

“This is a well-run hospital,” he said.

“The staff are brilliant and there are excellent programs in place.

“It’s a real credit to [former CEOs] Steve and Ann Fletcher.