Page 3014 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 15 August 2018
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hospitals to identify areas of improvement and ensure that areas of the hospital are delivering high quality care, training and education for junior doctors.
The college’s report on the department’s training is an important assessment and ACT Health has openly welcomed all the findings, some of which have raised some key personnel and workplace issues that must be and are being addressed. The report provided a number of key recommendations, of which the majority are either being actioned or indeed have been met. This is significant because the point of the downgrade is that it sends a clear signal to the department about what it needs to do to address these issues.
I wish to reiterate to the Assembly that the radiology department is on track in actioning these recommendations and, as I stated, in many cases has already met a number of these recommendations. It is, of course, disappointing that this downgrade occurred, but Health is confident that the radiology training program will have instituted a significant level of improvement which will assist in restoring the accreditation levels for the radiology department. It is also important to note that accreditation remains until 31 December this year.
Earlier this month the college’s final report was completed, and the department has moved swiftly to address the recommendations. The work and actions to date include Canberra Hospital and Health Services appointing two new directors of training. They have already started and they have not wasted any time in implementing the appropriate changes in line with the college’s recommendations, which include, as I also indicated during question time yesterday, integrating a formal teaching program which aligns with the curriculum. The first four trainees have commenced completion of all the key conditions. The directors have ensured that they will be working with the college’s trainee in difficulty pathway and remediation plans—a plan for trainees who need additional assistance with their training. They will also be accurately recording and reinvigorating the registrar training schedule.
It is important to note that the personnel issues in the radiology department were complex and senior managers have been working through appropriate channels over a long period of time, with staff, to address concerns. I am very pleased to inform the Assembly that the advice to me from ACT Health is that feedback from the registrars most recently indicates that they are very positive about the changes made so far. This is indicative of an improved culture and training environment at the department.
Where the college noted a negative environment and low morale amongst staff, more recently that working environment has turned around. That has been independently verified across ACT Health by the surveyors who performed the ACT Health accreditation advanced completion survey in early July. Our registrars are reporting greater confidence in the training at the department. As we all know, cultural change, personnel changes and morale do not transform overnight, but significant progress can be made. I am sure members would agree that, where a culture and environment changes positively and improves, we, as representatives and leaders not just in the Assembly but in the community, should all work to nurture that change.
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