Northern NSW Local Health District chief Wayne Jones acknowledged they had let people down in the past

The chief executive of the Northern NSW Local Health District made a startling admission during the Lismore hearing of the inquiry into regional health and hospital services.

HEALTH DISTRICT: Northern NSW Local Health District Director of Clinical Governance Dr David Hutton, Chief Executive Mr Wayne Jones and Director of Nursing and Midwifery and Aboriginal Health Ms Katharine Duffy, answered questions at the Lismore hearing into health in regional and rural NSW on June 17, 2021 at the Lismore Workers Club. Photo: Alison Paterson

Northern NSW health boss Wayne Jones was forced to admit they had failed people on a few occasions by discharging them from the emergency department in the middle of the night.

Mr Jones, along with Director of Clinical Governance, Dr David Hutton, and Director of Nursing and Midwifery and Aboriginal Health, Katharine Duffy, was questioned at the Lismore hearing of the inquiry into health and hospital services in regional NSW.

It was held at the Lismore Workers Club on Thursday.

Mr Jones conceded the Lismore Base Hospital emergency department could have done better.

“We never turf people out and kick them out of the hospital, this is not our normal practice,” he said.

“We have failed a few people and we apologise for that.

“When you are discharging people, when sending someone home no matter what time of day or night, you factor in a range of requirements and unfortunately, we have failed on some occasions.

“It’s my take the staff have not asked and people have been too proud or embarrassed to ask for assistance but no, someone should not be discharged after 8pm without being asked how they will get (safely) home.”

Mr Jones rejected any inference that KPIs were a factor in someone being discharged from the ED.

“I can confirm there is no directive or influencing from my office or senior management on a KPI, they (medical officers) discharge them on clinical advice,” he said.

“Yes, we encourage people who have family and friends to support them.

“(But) we can organise to transport someone back (to their home) such as a taxi voucher if people cannot get back themselves and we bear the cost.

“The normal process is we will organise this through patient transport vehicles.

“If someone is discharged in the middle of the night and they can’t get home and they can raise the concern with us and we invariably bear the costs.”

When asked which hospitals and multipurpose service providers did not have a doctor on roster on the weekend, Mr Jones said the health district was aiming to ensure there were as few gaps as possible.

“These occasions despite best intentions are getting rarer,” he said.

“The MPS tend not to have a doctor on the weekend.”

Mr Jones spoke about the success of the emergency department concierge system to ease tensions in the ED waiting room and support people

Mr Jones said recruitment and retention of a highly skilled work force was key issue for the district.

“Our staff are our backbone and we go out of our way to acknowledging them and support as best we can,” he said.

Mr Jones said that, as mentioned by George Thompson earlier in the day, the district had been working hard to find a GP for Coraki.

“We have put a lot of financial incentives to individuals,” he said.

“And even to a corporate (GP provider), which is againist my DNA, but they could not see the (financial) benefits.”

“Remuneraton is not the primary driver of why you take a job but you need to earn a living.”

Ms Duffy spoke about nurse educator ratios on words and was asked about the number of indigenous people working in the Aboriginal Health Unit.

“We have around 18 at the moment,” she said.

Mr Jones said they had a number of strategies in place to increase the number of indigenous persons working in all areas of the LHD.

In the NNSWLHD’s 65 page submission to the inquiry, the district acknowledged that most medical services in rural and remote areas were delivered by GPs.