Page 3585 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
perceived as blurred between the Canberra Hospital management and ACT Health. It appears the chain of command often fails … While there is a recognised code of conduct, there appears to be a lack of clarity around who has responsibility for ensuring the code is policed and behaviour management plans developed … There is a lack of understanding by staff at all levels within the Canberra Hospital as to how a complaint should be made and to whom it should be addressed … The Canberra Hospital management team appears to lack cohesion and a clear understanding of the roles and responsibility. Formal lines of responsibility appear to be regularly breached. Reporting lines and accountability at the Canberra Hospital appear confused in relation to ACT Health Executive and hospital management. Members of the management team appeared to have responsibilities at a range of levels within ACT Health … On-call registrars at the Canberra Hospital are expected to cover Labour and Delivery units as well as the Birth Centre, the acute gynaecology presentations and some clinics or operating theatre lists. This creates a potential risk for a patient who requires urgent surgery … There is currently a significant shortage of senior staff specialists …
This has an effect on teaching and supervision of registrars. The report continues:
Staff specialists and VMOs are currently working 3 day weekends on call. This is a very heavy on-call load and is inconsistent with “safe working hours” concepts … registrars are routinely working well in excess of 100 hours per fortnight. This may be outside the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) allowances and also be inconsistent with “safe working hours” concepts … Both midwifery and medical staff are currently carrying out unsustainable work loads … Maternity management staff at the Canberra Hospital appear to be carrying a full clinical load and do not have or have not been accessing sufficient non-clinical time from management.
And so on and so on. There is also reference to a lack of management and supervision of trainees and inexperienced staff. If I get the time I will come back to that.
I read those extracts because what they show quite clearly is that there were increased risks. There was a risk there. The lack of training, the lack of supervision, the increased workloads were creating an unsafe environment. The clinical outcomes have been good. But I make the point very strongly that that is despite the management and the clinical governance.
The doctors, nurses and midwives have been working—this report tells you this—incredibly long hours in incredibly difficult positions having their complaints ignored. Despite that, they have been able to achieve good outcomes. But for how long under those circumstances will they be able to do that? This report basically says that unless urgent action is taken, we will not maintain the high clinical standards.
That is what Katy Gallagher said were complaints without substance. I find it remarkable that she could have said it. Those statements that she made were entirely wrong. The attacks on the obstetricians that made the complaints were unfounded.
The Acting Chief Executive of ACT Health also made incorrect statements. The minister may wish to clarify these. On ABC Online on 17 February, Peggy Brown said:
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video