Mackay hospital chief details shake-up after horror surgeries, childbirth woes

Mackay Base Hospital’s new chief medical officer says staff are “making a huge effort” to restore public confidence after years of scandals tattering the hospital’s reputation which saw the sacking of its entire board.

Mackay’s chief medical officer Dr Charles Pain. Picture: Amanda Parkinson

Mackay Base Hospital’s newly-appointed chief medical officer says they are “making a huge effort” to restore confidence following years of scandals tattering the hospital’s reputation and staff morale.

Dr Charles Pain stepped into the CMO role in October facing a gargantuan task as myriad former patients exposed serious allegations of misconduct and improper care.

Women have suffered bladder, ureter and uterine injuries during C-sections and gynaecological surgery, a horror first-time Amy Puddy attested to when her artery was cut after giving birth to her first child.

Mum Hayley Mietzel recalled spending her first five weeks of motherhood bedridden and in unbearable pain after what she has labelled as an unnecessary emergency caesarean, during which major blood vessels were cut.

There was also a mother who lost her baby and another whose baby was badly-injured.

Kate Drake lost her husband David, who was a patient at Mackay Base Hospital. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Speaking at the hospital on Friday, Dr Pain said there were a “significant number” of patients who were going through the “meticulous and rigorous” financial compensation process, which was partly managed by the Mackay Hospital and Health Service.

He said meetings with the impacted women were “very intimate and very painful” and he hoped they could soon feel solace from having those conversations.

“We know that some women have (now) decided not to have their babies here (at Mackay hospital) and we obviously need to restore confidence,” Dr Pain said.

“Our numbers haven’t dropped a great deal but nevertheless there are people that are coming here who have question marks in our mind.

“What I can say and reinforce is that our staff are extremely dedicated, they want to regain the confidence in their community.”

He confirmed the registrar training for obstetrics and gynaecology at the hospital was suspended last year but said they were working with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to restore accreditation.

“(It is) the main impediment to recommencing training,” Dr Pain said.

“We are hopeful that we can do this during the second half of the year.”

Dr Pain said they had hired two new obstetricians taking their total to four but they were aiming for seven and a half to restore accreditation.

Dr Charles Pain stepped in Mackay’s chief medical officer role in October.

The chorus of women speaking out about their experiences had triggered an inquiry into the hospital, and the sacking of the entire hospital board.

It also delivered crushing blows to hospital staff morale with Dr Pain saying they had since implemented measures, including a shake-up in team structures, which had led to staff feeling safer and a “significant increase” in internal reports.

Findings from the inquiry were presented to the Mackay Hospital and Health Service’s former chief executive Lisa Davies Jones in September, 2022, just weeks after she announced her retirement.

Two former Mackay Base Hospital practitioners also came under the spotlight.

The Health Ombudsman barred Dr George Campbell Du Toit from any surgical procedures that require an incision of the skin or mucous membrane. Photo: Supplied

The Health Ombudsman barred George Campbell Du Toit him from any surgical procedures that required incisions of the skin or mucous membranes effective from June 27, 2022.

Dr Pain said the hospital’s clinical teams and other staff had shown “extraordinary dedication”.

The health watchdog also barred the former clinical director of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Mackay Base Hospital from any involvement with women during labour and immediately after birth.

Dr Du Toit resigned from the Mackay hospital, where he had worked for 12 months, after he was suspended and following a review amid concerns about bad patient outcomes.

Dr Pain, in addressing how Dr Du Toit came to be hired at the Mackay hospital considering his contract had not been renewed at a WA hospital, said the MHHS had “scrutinised” his recruitment “very closely”.

“We recruit obviously highly-credentialed people and we are very careful in our scrutiny of people’s backgrounds and credentials,” he said.

“We have a rigorous process for that; we did before.

“I suppose what people should recognise is when there are pressures and difficulties with availability of the workforce, we have to still maintain our high standards.”

Dr Daryl Stephens was suspended. Pic Tara Croser.

Dr Daryl Stephens, a former urologist at the hospital, was suspended on September 13 after he allegedly blew his nose on a sterile drape covering a patient during surgery.

He was also suspended from the Mackay Mater Private Hospital days later after an alleged surgical mishap left a man critically ill.

Dr Pain said the hospital had been unable to secure a new urologist, a challenge made more difficult by “wider workplace shortages”.

“But we do still provide full urology services that we were providing before and we’re being supported by Cairns which we’re most grateful for,” he said.

Dr Pain said he could not comment on the status of investigations into Dr Du Toit and Dr Stephens.

He said the hospital’s clinical teams and other staff had shown “extraordinary dedication” in responding to the concerns raised and he praised their “exceptional commitment” to continue caring for the community during “very challenging times”.

Dr Daryl Stephens.

‘HIGHLY SKILLED TEAMS OF NURSES, DOCTORS’

“I wish to reassure the people of Mackay and the region that they have highly-skilled teams of nurses, doctors and allied health professionals at the Mackay Base Hospital who are dedicated to serving them with professionalism and compassion, and who are making a huge effort to restore confidence in the services that they provide,” Dr Pain said.

The CMO said the hospital had received recognition in recent months for its “clinical excellence” across cardiac, stroke and intensive care service and the public could be confident in their “overall standard of care” as they had received accreditation after “ thorough and rigorous examination”.

Mackay Base Hospital has been at the centre of major medical scandals.

“I’m pleased to share with our community that after these assessments that the Australian Council of Healthcare Standards provided accreditation to Mackay Hospital and Health Service for the next three year,” Dr Pain said.

He conceded while they were proud of their achievements thus far, there was still hard work ahead to make further improvements which included acting on recommendations handed down in the inquiry report.

Dr Pain said there were carefully scrutinising the report’s 122 recommendations, with 102 of those already reviewed.

“Half of those (102) have already been implemented,” he said.

“Our deadline for implementing all of those is October this year and we are on schedule for that.”

Dr Pain said they were conscious of “how important” maternity services were to the Mackay community “and to their confidence in us.

“The last few months have seen a number of staff changes in our maternity services and we are currently focused on recruiting midwives and senior doctors, who will join a team which is welcoming and united in their commitment to enabling pregnancy and childbirth to be the joyful and safe experience that it should be,” he said.

Mackay Base Hospital. Picture: Tony Martin

“The suspension of training does not affect Mackay Base Hospital’s maternity service provision, but it is very important to restore this as a sign of our return to normal and demonstration that we are a teaching unit.

“Recently there has also been media coverage of general surgical training accreditation at Mackay Base Hospital.

“This issue is unrelated to the obstetrics and gynaecological investigation and should not be linked to it.

“We are committed to working with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons to address their recommendations so that our general surgery registrars can return to Mackay Base Hospital by the end of the year.

“Our highly-skilled surgeons continue to provide elective and emergency general surgical procedures to our Mackay community.

“Finally, I would like to thank the staff at the Mackay Base Hospital for their dedication to service and offer my sincere thanks to the community of Mackay for their continued moral support while we rebuild their trust in us.”