Australian-trained cardiac surgeon shortage revealed as children’s hospitals fight for staff

A rift has been caused between two children’s hospitals in Sydney as they battle for staff with the feud highlighting a statewide shortage of Australian-trained cardiac surgeons.

Exclusive: A public feud between the state’s two children’s hospitals over cardiac services has highlighted a serious statewide shortage of paediatric cardiac surgeons.

The Sydney Children’s Hospital (SCH) at Randwick has only had one cardiac thoracic surgeon after their second surgeon left in 2012. Since then, they have been begging for a second surgeon only to watch two new appointments go to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW). CHW now has four cardiac surgeons to SCH’s one.

The tussle over cardiac resources between the two hospitals, which were combined under the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (SCHN) in 2010, culminated with the resignation of the network’s chief executive Dr Michael Brydon last Tuesday. The majority of doctors at the SCH also voted to opt out of the network.

Dr Michael Brydon resigned as network CEO last week.

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A review of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Activities Report 2017 shows only one doctor in NSW was training in cardiothoracic surgery that year, and only 10 nationally.

The two recent appointments to CHW were overseas trained doctors.

The chair of the Sydney Children’s Hospital Medical Staff Council Dr Susan Russell told the Sunday Telegraph they had been lobbying for seven years for a new cardiothoracic surgeon but the CHW’s wanted to take over all cardiac services.

Dr Susan Russell.

“Since the amalgamation, Westmead-based clinicians were entrusted with the directorship of cardiac services in both hospitals. They openly argued to cease Randwick’s cardiac surgical program altogether. During this time the service at Randwick has diminished,” she said.

Cardiologists have been referring patients to CHW leading to a death by attrition at the SCH, she said. The only cardiothoracic surgeon at SCH, Dr Peter Grant, is now in his 60s and some doctors feel there is a campaign to marginalise him as well.

“Referrals have dropped off noticeably. If we lose our cardiac surgical services, that will place children’s lives in danger,” Dr Russell said.

SCH also receives the most emergency retrievals and cardiac services were essential to deal with such retrievals.

“We also receive 75 per cent of the total number of children in NSW who require emergency retrievals because the CHW is usually full,” Dr Russell said.

“At the heart of our seven years of protest is our concern for patient safety. We have had no meaningful response from the Secretary of Health regarding the life-threatening risks posed to children that stem from losing cardiac surgery at Randwick.

“We want our cardiac surgical program restored and we want to manage it ourselves,” she said.

Randwick doctors also argue that sick children, including cancer patients, can go into cardiac arrest or require immediate lifesaving surgery — children like Cooper Low, whose father Peter has launched a petition in support of keeping full cardiac services at Randwick.

Cooper was only 10 days old when he was taken to SCH with a viral infection in 2016. No-one knew the baby had myocarditis, a serious heart condition, until he went into cardiac arrest.

Jess and Peter Low with Cooper, 3, and little sister Jersey.

“They did CPR for 26 minutes,” Mr Low said.

Cooper was operated on by Dr Grant and hooked up to an ECMO machine (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation which provides cardiac and respiratory support when the heart and lungs cannot.)

“If he’d not had surgery at SCH, Cooper would not have survived. If we had to transfer to Westmead, he would not have made it,” Mr Low said. He said he was approached by doctors to help support their pleas for more services. His petition now has around 6000 signatures.

“They saved my son’s life. I was happy to help out. To me it’s doctors butting heads against other doctors. Children will die if those services are not there,” Mr Low said.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard has ordered an independent governance review of SCHN due at the end of the month.

“If there is a decision to maintain SCHN, tweak it or dissolve it, it will have to go to Cabinet. He will not be commenting ahead of the review coming in,” a spokeswoman for Mr Hazzard said.

Originally published as Australian-trained cardiac surgeon shortage revealed as children’s hospitals fight for staff