Patients dying, left maimed at Caboolture Hospital, whistleblowers claim

Multiple current and former staff at Caboolture Hospital have blown the whistle on what they say are alarming issues at the facility north of Brisbane, with fears concerns are falling on deaf ears.

Patients are dying while others have been left maimed as a result of botched surgeries at Queensland Hospital with whistleblowers warning urgent action needs to be taken before more harm is done.

Multiple staff and former staff from Caboolture Hospital have raised the alarm and spoken to The Courier-Mail on the condition of anonymity because they say their concerns are falling on deaf ears.

The shocking allegations made by the medical professionals include; botched surgeries leading to patients being “hacked” and preventable deaths, a staff member assaulting a patient and bullying of those who speak out in the interests of patient safety.

“GPs actively divert their patients away from Caboolture,” one doctor who previously worked at Caboolture Hospital said.

Health whistleblowers alleged botched surgeries and preventable deaths at Caboolture Hospital.

“Their surgery waitlist times are good because so many of their patients are treated by hospitals in different catchment areas.”

The physician, who still practices, said they had serious quality and safety concerns for patients who attend the hospital.

The doctor’s concerns were echoed by a current staff member, a registered nurse, who says they took the risky step of speaking out because patients were being harmed.

“Other than the satisfaction of knowing that people are okay, I’m not getting anything out of this. And it’s been really distressing to see my colleagues, their reputation, their credibility, their potential livelihoods, their family lives affected, and their mental health,” they said.

“(Other than patient safety) that’s been the other single biggest factor that I have found incredibly distressing.”

The nurse said they were aware of at least ten people raising concerns with senior management regarding patient safety and to their knowledge nothing had been done.

A Metro North Health spokeswoman said Caboolture Hospital was assessed by the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in July 2021 with its surgical program awaiting formal notification of reaccreditation for another four years.

“Patient safety is the hospital’s highest priority,” she said.

“Like all hospitals in Metro North Health, Caboolture Hospital monitors surgical performance and conducts morbidity and mortality meetings to thoroughly review surgical complications.”

Any recommendations for improvement are always implemented, the spokeswoman said.

One whistleblower said they were aware of three patients who had died as a result of botched surgeries since August last year.

Three patients are alleged go have died as a result of botched surgeries at the hospital in the past 12 months. Picture: Generic stock image

The nurse raised concerns regarding some surgeries that were being performed at the hospital that seemed more complex than what would normally be performed at the hospital – in particular colorectal surgeries, complex breast reconstructions and advanced hernia surgeries.

The nurse said they believed that had the three patients been treated in Brisbane they would have survived their surgeries – two of which were colorectal surgeries and the other a complex hernia surgery.

“One patient did have cancer … so I obviously can’t predict how long he would have had after his surgery,” the nurse said.

“However, his surgery, most definitely, led to him being deceased far earlier than he would have. He returned to the theatre three times from memory for complications.”

When asked if patients and their families knew the care they had received was substandard the doctor said people put faith in their doctors and trusted they knew what they were doing.

“There are huge issues with systems and processes. Patients have received inadequate care because of insufficient follow up,” the doctor said.

Another shocking incident occurred earlier this year when a patient with a disability was assaulted by a member of staff.

The assault left the now deceased man traumatised and staff say proper procedure was ignored when the matter was not referred to police by the hospital.

The hospital did not respond to direct questions regarding the alleged assault of a patient and preventable deaths but said it urged anyone with evidence of misconduct to contact the Metro North Integrity Unit, or Metro North Clinical Governance, Safety, Quality and Risk if they had concerns about patient safety or to suggest quality improvement initiatives.

As well as allegations of poor medical care, there are also claims of bullying and harassment.

Multiple former and current staff told The Courier-Mail that some patients were being “hacked”.

“It’s cosmetically horrendous. These (patients) have been hacked, basically,” the nurse said.

Another said patients were left “ineligible for reconstruction” after certain surgeries.

Numerous patients were left with what is referred to as “dog ears”, according to one of the whistleblowers.

“So it’s almost like the tissue sort of hasn’t been neatly aligned. So then they get like a flap that actually looks like a dog’s ear, and it’s quite uncomfortable, and it sort of sits in that position, under the armpit,” the registered nurse said.

A doctor said they believed surgeons at the likes of Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital would raise concerns about the quality of surgery coming out of Caboolture hospital.

Infection rates are also well above normal levels according to the whistleblowers.

“I think when you’re getting more than two infections per week. I think that’s well and truly above ordinary for the size of the hospital and the level of surgery and procedures that we’re doing,” the nurse said.

Bullying and harassment is a long-running issue at the hospital, according to the whistleblowers.

“There is a culture that pervades that place that is truly toxic,” a doctor said.

“The Caboolture way is to protect each other and staff are targeted for raising issues.

“If you stick your head up your head and say something it can result in egregious cases bullying and harassment perpetrated against them.”

One nurse said those who ask questions or raise concerns are often bullies by being micromanaged, moved out of their positions and isolated.

“I was so worried about the mental health of one of my colleagues I rang him twice per day for a month just to make sure he was OK,” they said.

“There is a small group of staff who try hard to do the right thing but once you’ve been targeted it can be easier to conform.”

The spokeswoman for the hospital said it had zero tolerance for inappropriate behaviour or misconduct in the workplace but would not release data on how many bullying complaints had been made.

“For privacy and confidentiality reasons, we are unable to comment on individual HR matters or active investigations,” she said.