RAH stroke roster crisis grows, with claims QEH specialists prevented from working on day patients died

EXCLUSIVE: The crisis enveloping SA Health’s radiology service has deepened amid claims specialists were prevented from working at SA’s top hospital on the day two stroke patients were admitted and later died.

• Two dead in RAH stroke scandal — how The Advertiser broke the story
• RAH knew stroke service was ‘time bomb’ but did nothing
• Coroner Mark Johns blasts SA Health over stroke scandal
• Stroke scandal — The Advertiser reveals patients’ families not told of roster fiasco
• SA Health struggling to identify files in stroke roster blunder inquest

THE crisis enveloping SA Health’s radiology service has deepened amid claims specialists were prevented from working at the state’s top hospital on the day two stroke patients were admitted and later died.

The Advertiser revealed in April how the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s only two interventional radiologists who could suction blood clots from brains were both rostered on holidays when the men were admitted.

The only other specialist in the state accredited to perform the delicate procedure was asked to fill in, despite not being accredited to work at the RAH. In both cases the patients’ treatment was delayed about 90 minutes. Both patients died.

Inquests into the deaths of Michael John Russell — known as Mike — 60, of Norwood and Leslie Robert Graham, 87, of Vale Park, were formally opened last month just weeks after The Advertiser revealed the rostering scandal and series of hospital blunders.

Stroke patient Michael Russell, known as Mike, died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital amid a rostering blunder.

Evidence will be heard next month after Coroner Mark Johns learnt full details of the two deaths from The Advertiser, including that no staff specialist was available .

Ahead of an administrative hearing Monday, it can be revealed two more specialists were prevented from working at the hospital on the day the two men were admitted despite no staff specialist being available.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital interventional radiologists were due to begin work one day a week at the RAH to maintain and improve their skills following the loss of vascular surgery services from the western suburbs facility.

They were not accredited to undertake interventional brain clot retrieval work on stroke victims although one specialist had previously completed the procedure. But the move was blocked by officials who said one option to deal with the specialists, who were worried about losing their skills, was for them to stop complaining and stick to lower level work.

In March, Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) boss Len Richards issued an order the QEH specialists work at the RAH one day a week to maintain their skills following the transfer of vascular surgery work.

He said the loss of the vascular work had diluted the QEH specialists’ skills to a point “there are now patient safety issues”.

His letter noted maintaining skill levels with the extra work was needed to “ensure that we can continue to manage acutely ill patients who may require this service (at QEH) without transfer to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.” But the move was blocked by other officials who decided it was not feasible.

They offered alternative options to deal with the situation which included telling QEH interventional radiologists to “withdraw their comments regarding being deskilled”.

The plan to have QEH radiologists maintain specialist skills by doing some work at the RAH was subsequently shelved and Mr Richards has since quit as the CALHN boss.