Anna Baggoley the fourth senior SA Health resignation since March

A senior mental health manager has left for the private system after a series of high-level departures in recent months.

The resignation of a public mental health manager to work in the private sector brings to four the tally of senior SA Health staff quitting since March, as the system struggles to keep up with unprecedented demand.

A staff memo on Friday revealed Anna Baggoley, mental health clinical program delivery manager for the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN), will be leaving her role on July 9.

She will become regional operations manager for Calvary Healthcare in SA.

“While it is an exciting next step in my career, the decision to accept this new opportunity was certainly not an easy one and I am incredibly proud of what we are starting to achieve as a program,” she says in the memo to staff.

Anna Baggoley. Program Delivery Manager- Mental Health at Central Adelaide Local Health Network. Picture: Google images

Ms Baggoley’s resignation follows that of SALHN CE Susan O’Neill in April, CALHN executive director of nursing Rebecca Badcock in March – also for a role at Calvary, and CALHN director of mental health and forensic services John Mendoza also in March.

Associate Professor Mendoza was forced to resign earlier than intended after publicly criticising SA Health officials for failing to stem the rising tide of mental health demand bottle-necking in emergency departments across metro Adelaide.

He was promptly followed by the resignation of two RAH psychiatrists, one of which was to pursue a new role in the private sector.

Executive director of nursing at CALHN Rebecca Badcock at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in January this year. Photo: Naomi Jellicoe.

CALHN mental health and forensic services director John Mendoza at the RAH in October last year. Pictures: Naomi Jellicoe and Tom Huntley.

State opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said the resignation of Ms Baggoley was another big loss and “extremely worrying” with staff already under pressure and under staffed amid a pandemic, record ambulance ramping and clogged EDs

“We can’t afford to lose any more senior experienced people while the system is facing an unprecedented level of crisis,” he said.

The nurses union is calling for an immediate injection of 40 extra community mental health nurses and the filling of 100 vacant shifts, including in CALHN.

The Advertiser last month reported more than one in every 20 positions in the state’s mental health team is vacant, with about 50 per cent of 100 vacancies for nurses.

SA Health acting director of mental health strategy Liz Prowse has said recruitment was difficult due to the pandemic but that measures to grow mental health nurse numbers and speed-up graduate training were in place.

CALHN boss Lesley Dwyer has said SA Health staff were “very desirable and highly sought after” by other sectors for their skills and expertise.

Professor Susan O'Neill, SALHN CEO who will leave her role in June. Picture: SA Health