Northern Beaches Hospital inquiry: Doctors to reveal concerns about oncology and public patients
The Northern Beaches Hospital inquiry will hear from an oncologist who left the new private-public facility over concerns about patient care and another specialist who claims he did not get a job because he had a 12-month public waiting list.
Manly
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A former oncologist at Northern Beaches Hospital left in August because he had concerns over patient care, his submission reveals.
Dr Jonathan Page, who had worked as an oncologist at Manly Hospital for 36 years, said his reasons for resigning from the new public-private hospital were due to the “less-than-ideal patient management”.
In his submission to the ongoing parliamentary inquiry which resumes Tuesday he said there had been “rolling crises” at the Healthscope-run hospital since opening on October 30, including not being paid for the first three months of work, only getting his November pay in February, 2019, when he threatened to resign.
He also claimed that despite warning Healthscope that the size and design of the oncology department was inadequate for the number of patients and doctors a year before opening, his concerns were not addressed.
And he wrote that there were unnecessary palliative care issues from day one, through poor planning, including no inpatient service.
“Again after a crisis meeting we obtained a bare minimum inpatient consultant service,” Dr Page wrote in his submission which was received in September.
“A comprehensive inpatient palliative care service is vital for such a large community (public) hospital, liaising with the community and the hospices.”
Dr Page wrote he was now seeing most of his Northern Beaches Hospital clients in private rooms in Manly – all bulk-billed, but with less co-ordination with Northern Beaches Hospital in some cases.
An Ears, Nose and Throat specialist, Dr Allan Forrest, who will also appear on Tuesday, claimed in his submission that he did not get a job at the new hospital because he had a 12-month public waiting list at the time of applying, with many of his patients from the country.
He wrote he was told that the hospital was private first and foremost hospital executives.
Dr Forrest claimed he was told the funding model was different from a public hospital.
He said it was a “devastating shock” to discover he would not get a job at Northern Beaches Hospital after 26 years as a specialist working with public patients.
“Northern Beaches Administration have made it clear that my non accreditation there was because they did not want the responsibility of care for my country public patients,” he wrote.
Hospital chiefs including the new CEO Andrew Newton, Dr Simon Woods, ED Director Andy Ratchford, Healthscope’s State Manager Stephen Gameron, and Deborah Willcox from Northern Sydney Local Health District will also appear.
The inquiry is looking at the operation and management of the hospital.
Northern Beaches Hospital did not want to comment before the hearing next week.
