Page 2743 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 13 August 2019
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of the century. Newer infrastructure is also a problem, and we have problems in relation to the Centenary hospital, the University of Canberra Hospital and its hydrotherapy pool, which has been closed for unscheduled maintenance more often than the old hydrotherapy pool has in the last year, and the adult mental health unit.
Last year the Australian Medical Association, the Canberra Times and the Canberra Liberals were calling for an inquiry into health culture. Minister Fitzharris at the time dismissed those calls for an inquiry as “a stunt”. In response to our pressure, Minister Fitzharris eventually commissioned an independent review of health culture. The outcome of that review was damning. Sixty-one per cent of staff had witnessed bullying over the past year and 35 per cent of staff reported that they had directly experienced bullying.
Submissions to the report highlighted inappropriate behaviours and bullying and harassment in the workplace; inefficient procedures and processes, including complaints handling; inadequate training in dealing with inappropriate workplace practices; an inability to make timely decisions; poor leadership and management at many levels throughout the ACT public health system; and inefficient and inappropriate human resources practices, including recruitment.
The independent review did not identify the hotspots of bullying in the review itself. Instead, the chair of the independent panel wrote to both the Director-General of ACT Health and the CEO of Canberra Health Services identifying the problem areas. The former minister for health refused to tell the Assembly where the problem areas were.
I made an application for documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents that I received back had blacked-out sections related to the problem areas and plans to tackle bullying and harassment in these areas. It is unclear whether there will be public scrutiny to ensure that the issues raised in the independent review will actually be addressed by this government.
The government has tried to keep this issue under wraps for 18 years, and this approach has failed. Ten years ago, a former Minister for Health, Ms Gallagher, spoke of a 10-year war in obstetrics. This war is still going on. It is now a 20-year war.
We have had a series of staff surveys with very poor outcomes which the government has tried to cover up. In 2015 there was a KPMG report into clinical culture which was scathing. Minister Corbell vowed to act. A high-powered interdepartmental committee was set up—of course that was going to succeed—and when Mr Corbell was no longer minister, the committee ceased to meet.
During estimates, Ms Fitzharris stated that there would be a staff survey done later in the year and that the outcome would be released. I call on the new minister, Minister Stephen-Smith, to honour the commitment made by her predecessor. I look forward to not only receiving that report but being able to compare the results of that report with previous reports.
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