Physicians question Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital training credentials

Physicians have added to the besieged WCH’s accreditation woes by demanding improvements for trainees to work there.

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital faces more accreditation woes with physicians demanding improvements for trainees to work there.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) has extended its accreditation for 12 months but with conditions attached, which follows withdrawal of accreditation by the College of Intensive Care Medicine for the WCH Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

The RACP’s accreditation is conditional on a range of improvements being undertaken at the hospital.

Doctors wanting to be specialist physicians must complete a course in paediatrics in an RACP accredited hospital as part of their progression.

Failure of the WCH to maintain its accreditation may see young doctors wanting to be physicians seek training interstate.

The RACP report includes multiple recommendations to address issues around supervision of Trainee Medical Officers (TMOs), as well as workloads and rostering.

Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN) chief executive Lindsey Gough said the recommendations do not affect this year’s training program.

WCHN chief executive Lindsey Gough. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“The Royal Australian College of Physicians has granted the Women’s and Children’s Health Network 12 months training accreditation with conditions for basic trainees and advanced trainees for general paediatrics,” Ms Gough said.

“We take these matters seriously and will work collaboratively with the College to address the report’s recommendations.

“There are a number of initiatives already underway to address many of these concerns as part of our ongoing collaboration with our TMOs over the past year.

“This includes establishing a fortnightly TMO committee, additional consultants to support after hours work, endorsement of flexible working arrangements, as well as increased administration support.”

RACP officials declined to comment.

SA-Best MLC Connie Bonaros called for an independent inquiry and release of the RACP report.

SA-Best MLC Connie Bonaros. Picture: Mark Brake

“Here we have another situation – the third in less than three months – where serious concerns have been raised by a medical college about conditions at the hospital to the extent where only provisional accreditation has been given and conditions imposed.

“We are dealing with the health and wellbeing of sick children at the state’s flagship children’s hospital – having all its accreditations in place should be management’s paramount priority.

Health Minister Chris Picton blamed the previous government and said $31.6m has been budgeted for 48 extra WCH doctors.

The College of Intensive Care Medicine’s report on why it withdrew accreditation gave a brutal overview of the paediatric intensive care unit’s shortcomings, including that it was understaffed, overcrowded and obsolete, causing burnout among exhausted doctors and nurses.

It also revealed the unit was at times left without a doctor due to a long standing practice of the duty doctor be allowed to work elsewhere in the hospital, a practice no longer allowed.

The Advertiser has revealed there are also accreditation problems at the WCH neonatal intensive care unit, Flinders Medical Centre’s obstetrics and gynaecology unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital’s radiology unit and Northern Adelaide orthopaedics and anaesthetics departments which all have provisional accreditation.