Doc noticed ‘very strange’ happenings at time of Bacchus Marsh baby deaths

A former director of Bacchus Marsh Hospital says he noticed “something very strange” going on around the time the hospital was experiencing a cluster of baby deaths.

A former director of Bacchus Marsh Hospital who is facing professional misconduct allegations relating to a cluster of baby deaths has described the health clinic as dysfunctional.

Former Consultant Director of Medical Services at Djerriwarrh Health Services, Lee Gruner, fronted a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing on Wednesday, relating to her conduct between 2009 and 2015.

The Herald Sun in 2015 revealed the health service, which operated a maternity ward at Bacchus Marsh Hospital, was being investigated over the deaths of 11 babies, seven of which were later found to have been avoidable.

The Medical Board of Australia brought professional misconduct allegations against Dr Gruner, claiming she continued in her role despite knowing she was unable to meet its requirements which included reviewing serious incidents.

Dr Gruner is contesting the allegations, telling the tribunal the hospital was “dysfunctional” with Director of Clinical and Quality Support Services, Elizabeth Wilson, placed under immense pressure.

“I could see she was trying to cope with the workload, and she kept asking for resources and didn’t get them,” she said.

“I thought there is something very strange going on here … that the hospital is not prepared to provide her with the resources she needs to do her role.”

Dr Gruner claimed she wasn’t given a “skerrick of authority” by the hospital’s CEO and was only tasked to investigate two serious clinical incidents despite it being a function of her advisory position.

After having her hours reduced as a cost-cutting exercise, Dr Gruner said her role’s visibility was reduced so much that she found her internet was cut-off on the handful of days she attended the hospital each year.

“The title, in fact, meant nothing at all and it meant nothing at all to the people in the organisation generally, because nobody actually knew that person existed,” she said.

“I wasn’t in the loop for anything.”

Dr Gruner also claimed she wasn’t made aware of a serious obstetric incident despite being the chair of a credentialing committee where such cases were presented.

“Had I known about this event, I assure you it would have been properly presented,” she said.

“Nobody indicated there was anything special about this event ... obstetric units have issues all the time (but) nobody said this was more serious than anything else.”

When a prosecutor questioned if she’d fallen short of her obligations by not raising further concern about the incident, Dr Gruner said she’d always followed correct procedures.

“I cannot believe that you would even think for a second that I would ignore this sort of situation ... I would never do that,” she said.

“This is my work ethic, this is my integrity and I do not like to have it in repute.”

VCAT will hand down a decision determining if the allegations are proven and if so, whether Dr Gruner’s conduct constituted professional misconduct or unprofessional conduct.

EX-HOSPITAL BOSS FIGHTS ALLEGATIONS

On the first of a two-day hearing on Tuesday, the tribunal heard from John Ferguson who authored two reports that examined the management of the hospital during the period when the deaths occurred.

Dr Ferguson told the tribunal the hospital suffered from “weak governance”, claiming Dr Gruner was left out of email notifications informing her of serious incidents.

He flagged a communication breakdown between Dr Gruner and more senior staff including the hospital’s Director of Clinical and Quality Support Services, Elizabeth Wilson, and Chief Executive, Bruce Marshall.

“There was not a good culture of reporting incidents,” he said.

“You’ve got this three way dialogue of confusion.”

Bacchus Marsh/Melton Regional Hospital.

The tribunal heard Dr Gruner also had her hours cut despite having a “critical” role as the most senior clinician at Djerriwarrh Health Services.

In one of Dr Ferguson’s reports, he stated for Dr Gruner to have an effective role there needed to be a “robust and supporting integrated framework of clinical governance”.

“That does not appear to have occurred,” he said.

“Ultimate accountability for these structures and processes sat with the Chief Executive Officer and Board.”

The board referred allegations of professional misconduct against Dr Gruner to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) relating to the potentially avoidable stillborn or premature deaths of seven babies during her tenure as director.

The board does not allege Dr Gruner caused the deaths herself but claims she failed requirements of her roles which included reviewing serious incidents and undertaking standard and timely performance appraisals.

It’s also alleged she continued her role despite knowing safe deliveries weren’t being conducted.