Aluminium industry expert joins KINNECT’s clinical team
KINNECT has welcomed a highly experienced Occupational Physician, Dr David Pfidze, to our Clinical team as demand for services continues to increase.
Dr Pfidze has joined KINNECT as an Occupational Physician
Dr Pfidze is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (FAFOEM) and has worked within the resources sector for more than 12 years.
Dr Pfidze is the Principal Medical Advisor to Rio Tinto Aluminium businesses in Australia and Canada. Based at Rio Tinto in Gladstone, he worked in partnership with KINNECT to help to develop the pioneering Gladstone 3-Site Medical, and later the Gladstone Industry Medical Pass.
Dr Pfidze will contribute to KINNECT’s work in a range of different areas including Occupational Physician consulting services, health surveillance and biological monitoring, pre-employment and specialist medicals including rail, and return to work programs.
On joining KINNECT, Dr Pfidze said: “I first met Kevin (Conlon) and Clark (Hopley) from KINNECT in 2009 and have long-admired their personal and people-centred approach. I always felt that should the time and opportunity be right; I’d love join the KINNECT team. Serendipitously, that moment has now arrived.
“In my early career I worked in the field hospitals in Zimbabwe and Botswana during the HIV and Aids epidemic. Even now, one of my real passions as a Physician is getting onsite and meeting people. I believe there is no better way to really understand the health risks that workers deal with every day than by getting on-site and experiencing what they go through.
“At the same time, I also know that data is key to helping us come up with long-term solutions to the health challenges faced by workers in different industries. I’m keen to explore KINNECT’s Carelever technology in more detail and the ongoing machine learning projects to more accurately predict changes in workers’ health over time.”
Kevin Conlon, Chief Executive, added:
“David is a highly-skilled Occupational Physician with a unique skill set and we are delighted to have attracted him to our team. Our team and clients will certainly welcome his expert counsel across the breadth of our service delivery.”
Dr Pfidze, joins KINNECT’s existing Occupational Physicians including Dr Graeme Edwards and Dr Matthew Brandt, along with a further 10 Occupational Health Doctors.
About Dr David Pfidze:
Dr David Pfidze graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine / Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Zimbabwe in Harare in 1996. He spent the first years of his early career working in field hospitals in Zimbabwe and Botswana during the AIDS / HIV epidemic.
Dr Pfidze came to Australia in 2004 where he firstly worked as an Emergency Doctor in Bankstown in Sydney before making the move into Occupational Medicine for Medibank Private in 2007. He completed his fellowship with the AFOEM (Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine) before relocating to Gladstone in and taking on the role of Principal Medical Advisor for Rio Tinto Aluminium in 2009 where he has been ever since.
Dr Pfidze has considerable expertise in dealing with workers in high-risk, safety critical roles. He has a particular interest in health surveillance encompassing work site hazard assessment, identification and control, as well as developing targeted health surveillance and biological monitoring protocols. He is also a strong advocate for good work and has comprehensive experience in supporting employers to optimise workplace rehabilitation and return to work outcomes.
Dr Pfidze has considerable experience across the wide array of Occupational Health services. This includes:
- Assisting business leaders to identify, assess, manage and review risks arising out of occupational and environmental health and safety hazards and to optimise the wellbeing of organisations,
- Fitness for duty – safety-critical work,
- Planning and medical management of health surveillance protocols, and biological monitoring,
- Assisting organisations to plan and implement best-practice, rehabilitation and return to work for individuals with a broad range of medical and psychological conditions,
- Provision of evidence-informed medical guidance to support early intervention and rehabilitation for workers with a workers’ compensation claim,
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