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Ms Heather Gunter

ChPOM Board member
Community representative

Heather Gunter

I was on the POM Steering Committee for about four years before joining the newly formed Chapter of Perioperative Medicine Board. My passion for this stems from a commitment to see the perioperative space be safer and better for all who pass through it. Tragically in 2012 I lost my 15-year-old son Matt, following a simple appendectomy that went terribly wrong, and I have fought for safer health care ever since. I strongly believe that healthcare can be better, and that the new POM course is an integral part of a future where patients are heard with a collaborative view towards ensuring the safest treatment for the best outcome. 

I’ve been a nurse for over 30 years, and presently work as a District Nurse for Te Whatu Ora Nelson Marlborough in New Zealand. My background also includes time on the Nursing Council Board, and I’m presently a member of the National Collaborative for Health Care. I’ve presented “Matt’s Story” at over 200 hospitals and Nursing Schools in NZ and Australia, supported by Accident Compensation Corporation as a part of their Deteriorating Patient Programme and the Health Quality & Safety Commission New Zealand. I also hold micro credentials for Restorative Responses in Health Care.