Northern Beaches Hospital inquiry: Call for doctors and nurses to reveal all

As the parliamentary inquiry into the Northern Beaches Hospital begins, the head of the probe is calling for staff and patients to reveal all before Sunday’s deadline.

Greg Donnelly MLC at Northern Beaches Hospital in Frenchs Forest. Picture: Jordan Shields.

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The first submissions into the Northern Beaches Hospital inquiry have been revealed as the man who will head the parliamentary probe has urged more staff and patients to come forward.

Greg Donnelly MLC said he wanted doctors and nurses at the Frenchs Forest hospital to reveal all about the running and management of the $600m facility.

He said the committee would consider requests from staff to submit information anonymously.

Mr Donnelly said members of his committee were aware of sensitivities around staff providing submissions and their possible concerns over future employment.

“We will listen to requests for their names to be kept confidential,” he said.

Northern Beaches Hospital at Frenchs Forest.

Mr Donnelly said more than 100 submissions had already been received — of which a number of those submitting have had their names suppressed.

With Sunday the deadline, Mr Donnelly said this was the last opportunity for staff and people in the community to have their voices heard. Of the 50 or so submissions already been uploaded onto the inquiry website shocking details have been revealed.

One GP said she wouldn’t go to the hospital if she was sick after a number of her patients reported “dangerously bad or insufficient care”.

Greg Donnelly MLC at Northern Beaches Hospital in Frenchs Forest. Picture: Jordan Shields

Dr Elana Roseth, from Dee Why General Practice, said on top of concerns about care, her surgery had recently received 650 discharge summaries from the hospital that had not been sent previously, some dating back months. She said a third were actually meant for doctors who were not at the practice.

In her submission she said: “How can we trust a provider that gets this so wrong?”

She also detailed concerns about the care of several of her patients who she believed were misdiagnosed, including one who was told she had gestational diabetes when her blood sugar level did not show diabetes.

Another patient who was admitted with severe back pain was told a mass could be seen on her chest X-ray, but when Dr Roseth rang to get the formal report it said her chest was clear.

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A few days later a CT scan showed a 7.2cm mass in her chest.

She also detailed an elderly patient with a serious heart condition, who did not get the tests they should have.

Other concerns were around the loss of public outpatients clinics, including neurology and cardiology and that the paediatric clinic was limited to extremely sick or socially disadvantaged children. “I certainly wouldn’t go there if I got ill,” she wrote.

One patient, who was admitted to ICU, wrote a positive story saying staff “literally saved my life”.

A spokesman from Northern Beaches Hospital said it welcomed the opportunity to participate in the inquiry and appreciated the feedback from the community. “We are … committed to improving processes to ensure we continue to deliver high-quality care,” he said.

Make a submission at: parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries