Page 4288 - Week 13 - Thursday, 19 November 2015
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…either unwilling or unable to lead. In terms of describing leadership behaviours that were not conducive to health environments, this included public humiliation; shaming of others; lack of respect towards other staff, yelling and swearing.
I am glad the health minister has arrived. I imagine he has read this report and understands, I hope—clearly the Chief Minister does not—how grave the situation is across the public service, particularly in the ACT Health Directorate. The report, sadly, goes on and on: problems with consequences and repercussions about limited support, less than desirable interpersonal skills, lack of and ineffective and untimely action, leaders and managers reported as lacking skills in conflict management and so on.
We have had much to say about bullying and poor staff culture in the ACT public service before. I have spoken many times about the problems in Health that emerged in 2010 when we had the problems in obstetrics. Then we saw that that flowed through to problems in the emergency department where a director was fabricating emergency department records. Some 11,700 records were fabricated because of what she described as a culture of fear.
Every step along the way since 2010 when this has been an issue and we have raised it in the Assembly what we have heard are assurances: “It’s all being dealt with. There’s nothing to see here. There’s not a problem.” I remember Katy Gallagher saying, “It’s all just doctor politics. It’s all just mudslinging. There’s nothing to see here.” It was always described as opposition scaremongering.
I invite Mr Rattenbury to read this report—I hope he has so he can get some understanding of what is going on in the culture deep inside Health. These are people who should be getting the government’s full support. So many times I have been in this place and I have raised problems about emergency department waiting times or elective surgery waiting times and I get told, “Oh, you’re just saying things that are going to upset staff. You’re not looking after the staff.” Well, let me tell you who is not looking after the staff: this government under this Chief Minister and this health minister.
We read in the KPMG review how disgraceful it is, how disgusting it is that our front-line staff have been put in such extraordinary circumstances, working in an environment of fear and intimidation and bullying, and what do we get from this government here today? Rather than an acceptance of the problem, an admission of the problem and a commitment to resolve the problem, what we get from the Chief Minister is denial and smear of those opposite him to say that it is somehow our problem. Read this report, Madam Assistant Speaker. After 15 years of this government, what we find is that our front-line staff in Health under this government are working in an environment of fear and intimidation and bullying.
Discussion concluded.
Executive business—precedence
Ordered that executive business be called on.
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