Sydney Children’s Hospital’s Dr Susan Russell wants help
The chair of the Sydney Children’s Hospital medical staff council has warned children’s lives will be at risk if its cardiac surgery at Randwick is closed, and has little faith in a review aimed at resolving the dispute.
The chair of the Sydney Children’s Hospital medical staff council has warned children’s lives will be at risk if its cardiac surgery at Randwick is closed, and has little faith in a review aimed at resolving the dispute.
Dr Susan Russell has pleaded for health authorities to better support cardiac surgery at the Randwick hospital, amid senior staff concerns that patients requiring such surgery are increasingly being transferred across Sydney to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
“Currently the service is not working as well as it should,” Dr Russell said.
“Emergencies are taken care of but if the final decision is taken to close the surgical program, children’s lives will be placed at risk.
“We are fighting to keep the program open so it doesn’t come to that.”
Dr Russell’s plea is the latest missive in an ongoing row over the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, which has managed both hospitals since 2010.
Network administrators have for many patients decided the Westmead hospital is better equipped for cardiac surgery, but doctors at Randwick are wary of the risks of transfer as well as the future of the Sydney Children’s Hospital cardiac service.
Of the 148 Sydney Children’s Hospital senior medical staff, 129 last week voted their hospital should leave the network in the best interests of children. Only the ministry however has the power to make the change, and has not responded.
The government says it has been working to address doctors’ concerns and expects an external review of the network governance and mediation for cardiac surgery to be finalised this month.
In parliament last week, Coogee state Labor MP Marjorie O’Neill asked Health Minister Brad Hazzard what steps he was taking to resolve the dispute.
Mr Hazzard said he was continuing to discuss the concerns with doctors and those running the network.
“These are very challenging clinical decisions that need to be worked through without the intervention of politicians who know very little about it,” he said.
Mr Hazzard encouraged those with concerns to wait for the outcome of the review.
“I can assure the house (of parliament) that the ministry and I are doing everything we can to work with these clinicians behind the scenes.
“It is unfortunate that some of them have felt the need, when I have implemented a government review, to jump the gun and go public with their views.”
Dr Russell said the review did not include cardiac services, which was why she and her peers had little faith in it.
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