Her appointment by commissioner Kathy Grant was announced yesterday, and she will start work this week.
Commissioner and Dunedin legal consultant Kathy Grant was appointed on June 17 after Health Minister Jonathan Coleman sacked the 11 board members, citing a worsening deficit that he was uncertain the board could remedy.
Mrs Grant earns $1400 per day she works as commissioner, while her other deputies Richard Thomson and Graham Crombie earn $900 per day.
Dr Pitchford is the national director of emergency services at the Ministry of Health and also spent 13 years as clinical support services chairwoman at the Canterbury DHB.
Her clinical experience was a necessary qualification for the third deputy commissioner position.
In a statement, Mrs Grant said it was a ''strength to the team ... [to have] a perspective from a senior and respected clinician from outside Southern DHB''.
The ODT could not reach Dr Pitchford for comment yesterday.
Sacked SDHB member Dr John Chambers said Dr Pitchford's appointment was ''positive''.
''She has a strong history of clinical leadership.
''I look forward to working with her and making some progress.''
He said he thought her appointment might help turn around the board's ''culture of clinical leadership'' - a measure of doctors' involvement in decision-making - which tied for last place in an Association of Salaried Medical Specialists poll this week.
''She has a track record of success in that area,'' Dr Chambers said.
The association's executive director, Ian Powell, said Mrs Grant had made a ''good appointment ... under the circumstances''.
''But she will have her hands full,'' he said.
Mr Powell said he had no reason to be critical of the appointment.
''She will demonstrate by her own actions whether she's a good choice or not.''
Labour health spokeswoman Annette King said while she was not criticising Dr Pitchford, she was disappointed the third commissioner had not been from Southland.
''I would've thought it would've been a good signal to people in Southland to have appointed somebody from that area.''
With Mrs Grant and her two existing commissioners hailing from Dunedin, Mrs King said Mrs Grant ''missed [an] opportunity'' to appoint someone from Southland.
''I can't believe there's nobody capable or suitable from Southland.''
Dr Chambers said Mrs Grant had told staff she was not looking within the regions for the last deputy commissioner appointment.
''She was actually going to definitely select [the deputy commissioner] from outside the region,'' he said.
