Female doctor lodges bullying complains against suspended Professor John Horowitz, critic of Transforming Health reforms
UPDATED: A junior female doctor at the QEH has lodged a bullying complaint against renowned cardiologist Professor John Horowitz — who says his suspension was likely due to his health reform criticism.
A JUNIOR female doctor at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital says she has lodged a formal bullying complaint against internationally renowned cardiologist Professor John Horowitz — who has been suspended over an “allegation of misconduct”.
The doctor, who contacted The Advertiser, said she was one of multiple junior doctors who had complained this year about Prof Horowitz’s professional behaviour.
“It is an incredibly difficult (and I believe brave) thing to submit a named written document questioning the behavioural practices of a senior clinician, especially a Professor of cardiology,” she wrote in an email to The Advertiser.
“You risk your career and your reputation in doing so, and it is one of the reasons bullying has become a tolerated and accepted part of the medical hierarchy.”
It is not known whether her complaint is the subject of his suspension.
Prof Horowitz has been an outspoken critic of the government’s Transforming Health agenda, writing opinion pieces for The Advertiserstrongly arguing the case for maintaining the QEH facilities and warning the changes would put heart attack patients at greater risk of death.
The doctor, who wants to remain anonymous, said she didn’t believe his suspension involved his criticism over the health reforms.
“The motivation behind my complaint was patient safety and the rights of junior doctors and nurses to work in an safe environment in which bullying is not accepted,” she said.
SA Health officials say his suspension involves an investigation of an “allegation of misconduct” by clinical colleagues and say it is unrelated to his opposition to the health reforms.
“A senior clinician within the Central Adelaide Local Health Network is being investigated following allegations of misconduct from clinical colleagues,” the department said today in a statement.
“These allegations are in no way related to the Government’s Transforming Health reforms.”
Prof Horowitz, who underwent a kidney transplant on October 12, today told The Advertiser he had been the subject of five bullying complaints in the past nine months – all of which, he said had been “dealt with”.
He said one complaint included a switch board operator who he had “spoken with sharply”.
“I’ve been told this (complaint) is separate,” he said.
“In the last eight weeks, (I’ve been) off for six weeks after undergoing a kidney transplant and only returned to work two weeks ago (so) I don’t know what it could be.”
Prof Horowitz admitted he was “outspoken”.
“I could certainly be accused of a lower-end scale of bullying in terms of speaking sharply to people – but I’m always constructive,” he said.
“I’ve worked hard for the last 28 years for the people of the western suburbs and 15 of those years I was also head of cardiology at the Lyell McEwin.”
Staff at the QEH say the suspension is “a shot across the bow” of anyone who might think about publicly criticising the health reforms, which are designed to cut $900 million in spending over four years.
And colleagues say the misconduct appears to be his outspoken opposition in staff meetings to downgrading cardiology at the QEH, which will see the hospital’s two cardiac catheterisation labs shifted, one to the Royal Adelaide Hospital and one to the Lyell McEwin Hospital.
Prof Horowitz had been regarded as a thorn in the side of the Transforming Health plans as he is one of the few public hospital employed doctors willing to go public with his views – high-profile medical experts criticising the reforms such as Professor Warren Jones are retired from the public system.
“This is a blood letting – they have been after him for a long time, and now everyone is running scared of making any noise,” a colleague told The Advertiser.
Prof Horowitz has headed the unit for 28 years and been a vocal crusader for better public cardiac health care for the disadvantaged, particularly in the western suburbs.
Opposition health spokesman Stephen Wade said the sudden, unexplained suspension would “send a shiver up the spine” of SA Health employee who wanted to express concern about Transforming Health.
“We’ve been hearing for a long time now that staff are gagged from criticising Transforming Health – this unexplained suspension of Prof Horowitz is a very disturbing development,” he said.
Staff from hospitals across Adelaide have previously, independently told The Advertiser they fear for their jobs if they publicly criticise Transforming Health, while in contrast SA Health is regularly willing to supply doctors and nurses to media outlets willing to speak publicly in praise of the reforms.