Adelaide doctor Renuka Visvanathan wins $115,000 in bullying compensation from SA Health
A top Adelaide doctor who says she endured a “nightmare” of bullying at SA Health, including her accent being mocked, altered emails and secretly recorded conversations, has won a $115,000 compensation payout.
SA News
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SA Health has been ordered to pay more than $115,000 compensation to a top doctor in a bullying scandal that repeatedly left her in tears over incidents ranging from her accent being mocked to emails being altered and a private conversation secretly recorded.
Dr Renuka Visvanathan was in line for a top job in the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) but endured a sustained campaign, including being frozen out of meetings.
She gave evidence to the SA Employment Tribunal about her 34-month “nightmare” including that she was “fearful” of her superior Dr Chris Zeitz — who is no longer at CALHN — due to his “hostility”.
At one stage she was sent an email by another staff member that had been tampered with so it looked like a Christmas dinner invitation, while other staff received the full email, which mentioned professional development talks.
The long-running tribunal claim over “discriminatory behaviour” waded through a “huge” amount of emails and other documents, and heard evidence involving some of the most senior past and present figures in SA Health – including former CALHN chief executive David Panter. and former SA Health boss David Swan.
Tribunal deputy president Stephen Lieschke said an 87-minute recording had been made during a meeting between Dr Visvanathan and Dr Zeitz without her knowledge.
Mr Lieschke found the recording was likely illegally made but allowed it to be tendered as evidence.
He also found an email about a Christmas dinner that doubled as a lecture had been deliberately altered to give the impression it was a taxpayer-funded party.
Dr Zeitz sat on a panel that interviewed Dr Visvanathan for a senior position. She argued the panel was biased against her, and Dr Zeitz had asked her questions that would not have been posed to other applicants.
A review of the interview panel was ordered and conducted by an internal government investigator.
The initial report was critical of Dr Zeitz’s handling of the panel, but the report was rewritten before it was submitted, removing any negative inference about Dr Zeitz.
It heard that on February 16, 2015, the applicant wrote to Dr Panter setting out in well‑ordered and comprehensive detail her “fear”, “concerns”, “worry” and “anxiety” about bias against her in the selection process for the job as Head of Unit for CALHN’s geriatric unit – which she did not get.
Among a range of incidents, in one meeting a senior doctor is alleged by the applicant “to have mimicked her accent and tried to talk like a ‘girl’ in response to something she said”. He was called to order.
The Department of Health denied discriminatory behaviour while admitting “robust” discussions occur among its leaders, and some “tensions” in a “dynamic environment”.
Dr Zeitz also denied bulling, instead saying it was Dr Visvanathan who bullied him.
At one stage he secretly taped a conversation with Dr Visvanathan.
The decision notes: “He did this secretly because he did not trust her. He cannot say why he did not tell her he intended to record their conversation. This was the meeting of 3 December, 2014.
“He also used this occasion to criticise what he believed to be her response to the proposed changes to St Margaret’s. It was during this meeting that Dr Zeitz said nine times that the applicant was being mischievous, and that he would not tolerate it any longer.”
At one stage the department looked at firing Dr Visvanathan instead of investigating her claims.
The decision notes none of the applicant’s many verbal and written complaints of being bullied were ever investigated by the respondent, contrary to numerous assurances given to her.
“No investigation, internal or otherwise, was ever undertaken by the respondent into the applicant’s bullying complaints. The respondent submits this is the applicant’s fault,” it states.
“The final action of the respondent’s HR officers before this action was commenced was to advise Mr Swan that it had sought legal advice on whether the respondent could terminate the applicant’s employment due to “frustration of employment contract.”.
Deputy President Lieschke upheld the complaint in part ruling: “I conclude the applicant is entitled to be paid total compensation of $115,160, comprising compensation for economic loss and expenses of $75,160 and for injury to feeling of $40,000. The compensation is to be paid within one month.”
The decision did not rule on whether she should have won the job she was passed over for, and Dr Visvanathan declined to comment.
SA Health has come under repeated fire for bullying from groups ranging from the Australian Medical Association to former CALHN administrators KordaMentha. The ICAC has received a significant number of complaints about bulling in SA Health and it has been subject of a parliament inquiry.
