Page 4062 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 23 October 2018
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I am very conscious that this is not the end of the journey. Healthcare systems are complex and we will continue to see challenges arise and opportunities to further improve our health organisations. That brings me to the issue of supporting staff and staff development and how we can make sure we are attracting and maintaining a skilled workforce so that we can ensure Canberra’s healthcare system is the best it can be as our city continues to grow.
I am pleased to update the Assembly and the broader community on the significant work being undertaken across our health organisations to improve workplace culture and to cement the organisational values of care, excellence, collaboration and integrity. I will also take this opportunity to respond to the motion passed on 1 August 2018 in this place regarding the number of complaints and investigations.
As Minister for Health and Wellbeing, I am extremely proud of the work undertaken by our staff in ACT Health and Canberra Health Services and appreciate their continued commitment, motivation and hard work as they provide an invaluable service to the Canberra community and our wider region.
I acknowledge that working in health care can be challenging, and even more so during times of change. In March this year, when the Minister for Mental Health and I announced that ACT Health would become two distinct organisations, we did so in an effort to change, to improve the culture within the organisations. I have said many times that I have zero tolerance for bullying and harassment, and this government takes such matters very seriously. That is why we undertook a range of measures to help address issues within Canberra Health Services, the ACT Health Directorate, Calvary Public Hospital, Bruce, and all ACT government health services.
I want to take this opportunity to reassure the Canberra community that ACT Health investigates all issues that are raised by staff, whether it is a clinical issue, a safety concern or complaints about inappropriate behaviour. ACT Health also makes available a range of options to support staff, including the employee assistance program, and ACT Health has at times brought in additional support to give staff another option to share their concerns and manage the demands of their jobs.
Additionally, other pathways for staff to make complaints of bullying and harassment have been outlined in this place very recently. Today I will take time to outline the work underway to strengthen these processes for our public healthcare workforce of more than 7,000 people.
The division of people and culture delivers workshops to managers to educate them on their obligations to address complaints of inappropriate behaviour and provides them with the skills on how to conduct preliminary assessments. People and culture also provides guidance to managers on following procedural fairness and natural justice to ensure matters are addressed in accordance with section 8 of the ACT public service enterprise agreements.
As mentioned already, there are a number of pathways for staff to raise concerns. Often these concerns do not result in formal complaints. However, I can report that in
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