DOCTOR and former National Party candidate Sue Page Mitchell, who unsuccessfully stood against federal Labor MP Justine Elliot in the seat of Richmond, has been given a seat on a new local health board announced by the NSW Coalition government late on Friday.

She is one of two new members on the revamped former Northern NSW local health network council, which has been re-titled the Northern NSW Local Health Board.

The other new member is former National Party candidate for the federal seat of Page, Malcolm Marshall. The final make-up of the board of governance for the Northern NSW Local Health Network was announced by the O'Farrell government's Health Minister Jillian Skinner.

Its membership also includes Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health director Professor Lesley Barclay, Rosemary Kew, anaesthetist and former Liberal Party MP Brian Pezzutti, senior surgeon Dr Austin Curtin, Leone Crayden, David Frazer and Debbie Monaghan.

Ms Skinner said new boards appointed across the state would bring responsibility and accountability closer to the patient.

“Our hospitals have multi-million dollar budgets and thousands of staff, so to ensure effective management it is obvious to me that board members must be highly experienced in finance, governance and administration,” Ms Skinner said.