A former WA Health chief nurse and deputy CEO of the UK's Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust has been appointed as the new CEO of the Northern Territory Department of Health.

Catherine Stoddart, who started her career as a nurse in WA, has previously held the roles of chief nurse and midwifery officer at the WA Department of Health, regional director of health for the Kimberley region and executive director of nursing at the WA Country Health Service.