Editorial: Buck stops with health department boss

The botched surgery of Jayant Patel, Gladstone maternity ward troubles and the DNA testing bungles are the kinds of stories that would not have been able to be told if Queensland Health had its way, writes the editor.

Queensland Health director-general Shaun Drummond

In an embarrassing backdown for Queensland Health, its director-general Shaun Drummond has distanced himself from a submission calling for penalties for whistleblowers disclosing information to journalists.

The initial proposal was a shocking and, frankly, disgraceful move coming from a department which has been beset by crises, many of which have been exposed and fixed as a result of brave health workers coming forward with information.

The Sunday Mail revealed this week that Mr Drummond, in a submission to Queensland’s review of Public Interest Disclosure laws, stated that whistleblowers “inappropriately disclosing relevant information” to journalists when a department is dealing with the matter should be penalised.

It was an outrageous proposal that was quickly knocked on the head, with newly appointed Health Minister Shannon Fentiman rejecting the notion, saying it was “not going anywhere”.

As a storm built over the submission, Mr Drummond has now written to The Courier-Mail seeking to “clarify” the situation.

He said the submission did not say that “whistleblowers inappropriately disclosing relevant information to journalists when the department is dealing with a matter should be penalised”.

Except, reading the submission, it seems difficult to draw any other conclusion. It specifically states that the current laws do not consider penalties for “inappropriate” disclosure to journalists, and suggests that this should be expanded to do just that “when a department is dealing with the matter”.

Mr Drummond also stressed that the submission was from the department, not from him personally.

He signed the submission. From the department that he heads up. It is simply galling for the most senior bureaucrat in the Health Department to distance himself from his own department’s submission.

As head of the department, the buck stops with him.

Abrogation of responsibility is one of the cultural issues which pervade Queensland Health.

There are many more issues – ramping, bed shortages, closure of maternity wards in regional areas that he and the department should focus on addressing, rather than looking at ways to increase the fear workers and officials feel at coming forward with bad news.

The botched surgery of Jayant Patel, Gladstone maternity ward troubles and the DNA testing bungles are the kinds of stories that would not have been able to be told, or told as effectively, without people willing to come forward with information.

Not to mention the excellent work of Dr Dinesh Palipana coming forward to expose the shortcomings at the Princess Alexandra Hospital spinal unit.

The people coming forward in these stories aren’t doing so because they want to hurt the government, or damage Queensland Health’s reputation. They want to make things better.

It is by creating a culture where health workers and officials come forward with problems that need to be addressed that they can be fixed.

Attempting to freeze out and put fear into those looking to fix the problems will only make them worse.

Mr Drummond said stifling the role of journalists was not the intent of the submission, but it is hard to see any other outcome of threatening sources and whistleblowers with fines.

Queenslanders can only hope this situation serves as a wake-up call for Mr Drummond and his department.

HOME-GROWN DRUG A GAME-CHANGER

While many of us are happy to put Covid-19 in the rear-view mirror – despite the occasional infection, of course – the virus remains a huge threat to public health.

As well as the ever-present possibility of a new and more dangerous variant, there is also the toll of long Covid-19, thought to affect 10-20 per cent of those infected with the virus.

It can lead to months of fatigue, breathlessness and “brain fog”.

For sufferers, it is a nightmare.

So the breakthrough made by scientists at QIMR Berghofer – revealed today in The Courier-Mail – could be a game-changer and a massive feather in the cap of medical research in Queensland.

Trials have shown the experimental treatment can prevent and repair the inflammation that damages lungs in long Covid patients. Not only that, the drug has the potential to stop reinfections, even as new Covid variants emerge.

“ This really shows that if we didn’t have philanthropists like Clive Berghofer, and Queensland Health having the confidence in us to give us the funding, we would not be here,” epigeneticist Professor Sudha Rao said.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here