Outraged Concord doctors spied on and warned about referral to corruption body
Medical staff at a NSW hospital are horrified they have been dragged into a spy and corruption row. See the shocking allegations.
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Senior medical staff at Concord Hospital alleged they were targeted in an extraordinary operation over allegations they were suspected of acting corruptly and were going to be referred to ICAC for investigation.
As the anger and resentment from medical staff about the alleged bullying and substandard conditions at Concord continues to widen, it was rumoured that the Sydney Local Health District was spying on the staff to check they were working the hours they said they were.
The staff were sent letters warning they may have breached polices – which meant under the act they could be referred to ICAC.
But Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation branch president Tony Sara said when they stepped in after complaints from staff, the letters were “withdrawn” by the SLHD. The staff strongly refuted the claims.
A spokesman for SLHD said they conduct “investigations in line with NSW health policies and referrals are made to ICAC to comply with statutory requirements.”
The radiology department at Concord has been in disarray with a backlog of more than 25,000 scans waiting for a radiologist to sign off on them, potentially putting patient’s health at risk.
Doctors say they are so overworked they cannot keep up with the numbers of scans that need to be checked and it will take more than 4000 hours to clear the backlog without addressing the new scans that are piling up every day.
A spokesman for the SLHD has said that they are trying to recruit more staff for the department, but staff say there is little interest because other doctors know how bad the conditions are at Concord.
Doctors, nurses and health staff from Concord Hospital as well as Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) want a parliamentary inquiry into the management of a string of major Sydney hospitals.
Staff are furious about what they describe as a culture of bullying, fear and oppression they say has stopped them speaking up about what is really going on inside the hospitals.
The NSW Health Minister Ryan Park has announced plans for a Health System Advisory Council but medical staff say it will not fix the problems as the council will be overseen by politicians and NSW Health.
The medical staff say previous inquiries have shown government departments cannot effectively self-regulate and an independent ombudsman is needed to fix the problem.
The council was suggested as a solution after a majority of staff from Concord Hospital passed a vote of no confidence in the chief executive of the SLHD Teresa Anderson, who oversees five hospitals.
Doctors have spoken out saying it is the first time such a vote has happened in 30 years they say, “It is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The vote which was held by secret ballot, prompted an outpouring of grievances by staff about the way they have been treated.
One said, “I was fired and placed on a blacklist” for speaking up.
Another said, “I have worked in many other health districts, none of which hold this same toxic culture. Management in other health districts across Sydney and NSW manage their staff with support, kindness and compassion.”
One doctor said the “relentless targeting, belittlement and gas-lighting” forced them to resign.
Yet another said, “Many others have left after being systematically abused and denigrated in meetings.”
Even after the result of the vote of no confidence was published, staff said there had been “intense fear that staff might be seen or heard discussing the articles”.
A whistle blower who questioned ethics at one of the hospitals said they were forced out of the job and were unable to find another job in Sydney because they were put on the service check register, also known as the black list or the shit-list. Staff say the register has been weaponised against them.
Others who have been bullied out of jobs and were pressured to agree to take a payout with a deed of release and gag orders which means they lose the right to take their complaint elsewhere.
“It restricts the ability for effective governance to occur,” said one former staff member who agreed to a gag order.
There are also claims of nepotism and favouritism for staff and even departments that are helpful to the administrators, and the targeting of those who are not.
The staff dissent comes seven years after there was a patient revolt at Concord Hospital over the state of facilities.
Complaints at the time were that security, work safety risks and accommodation standards were extremely poor.
A 2015 NSW Health June report titled ‘Concord Hospital Redevelopment: Preliminary Business Case’ said, “Concord Hospital cannot cater for the projected level of demand within its existing facilities and substantial capital investment is required.”
Conditions are still so bad at Concord Hospital, which is reportedly littered with broken phones and computers, just one third of its doctors surveyed would recommend going there, according to a shocking new report.
Almost half of those doctors admitted they had made fatigue-induced errors while working there. And more than 60 per cent said they feared for their health and safety because of their working conditions.
The bleak scorecard for Concord Hospital was revealed in the Hospital Health Check annual survey by the peak medical body the Australian Medical Association (AMA) NSW.
But the latest discontent is across the SLHD according to doctors and nurses who claim there is manipulation of waiting lists, and fudging of numbers to make their hospitals look better.
Doctors have revealed how urgent surgical cases are reclassified to non-urgent to make surgery waiting lists look better.
While nurses also have complained about being bullied to reach their KPI’s the fudging numbers to make sure their time “targets” for getting patients in and out are being met.
“It has become a numbers game,” said one former nurse from the SLHD.
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