Health authorities are investigating a taxpayer-funded regional health service after it emerged senior bosses spent more than $400,000 on all-expenses-paid trips to New Zealand, Canada and Las Vegas, allegedly restricted abortions and closed the books to new patients after failing to replace key staff.
Leaders from CTG Aboriginal Health, which receives more than $10 million in state and federal funding annually on top of nearly $5 million in non-government revenue, will meet bureaucrats from Commonwealth, state and local funding bodies on Thursday to respond to allegations first raised by staff and revealed by the Herald, said two government sources not authorised to speak publicly.
CTG Aboriginal Health Services chief executive Phil Naden (far right), executive officer Beau Ewers (third from right) and chairman Brendon Harris (second from left) at the Dawg House sports Bar in Las Vegas, and a staff letter of no confidence in the trio.Credit: SMH
In a letter to the board in August last year, current and former staff expressed outrage that chief executive Phil Naden and senior board members used the charity’s funds to travel to New Zealand, India, Canada and the NRL opening round in Las Vegas, while new patients were turned away from the clinic because of staff shortages and rising demand.
“I feel like headbutting the wall most days because we can’t provide the services that our community needs,” one former employee said.
Chair Brendon Harris said the trips were approved by the board and funded by non-government revenue.
Health Minister Mark Butler said on Wednesday he had sought a briefing from the Department of Health and Aged Care to ensure the $6.8 million it provides to the service each year was being spent “in line with their grant agreements”.
“The allegations raised in the story are very serious,” Butler said on Wednesday. “Aboriginal Medical Services play a critical role in our health care system. The majority offer outstanding health care services for First Nations Australians.”
Just one full-time GP remains at the Dubbo clinic after more than half of 20 staff members resigned at the end of last year. The service breakdown threatens to derail efforts to improve the health of some 14,000 Indigenous people in the region, who suffer from heart disease, kidney disease and lung conditions at rates higher than the state and national average.
The charity employs 67 people across its clinics in Dubbo, Coonamble and Gilgandra. Its latest financial report reveals its travel budget has grown from $30,000 to $408,000 in the past five years, while vehicle costs have doubled in the same period to almost $350,000.
“It’s a lot of money that we could have been spending on new equipment, or a new GP or another nurse,” said one employee.
In the August letter, staff also alleged the board prohibited GPs from prescribing the MS-2 Step oral abortion medication to patients, and threatened disciplinary action if they disobeyed.
The service received $2.9 million in Medicare rebates and $1.4 million in state government grants last financial year.
A spokesman for NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the government closely monitors service delivery and spending through regular financial audits and face-to-face meetings. “These funds are accounted for in financial statements,” the spokesman said.
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