St John NT responds to leaked report that raised “serious concerns” over governance

St John Ambulance NT has responded to a confidential report that was leaked to the public recently. Read the details.

St John Ambulance NT director of ambulance services Andrew Thomas was “disappointed” that the report was leaked. Picture: Alex Treacy

St John Ambulance NT has publicly responded to a leaked report into clinical governance within the organisation.

The confidential report was revealed by several media organisations, including this masthead.

Doctor Craig Ellis conducted the report in June this year, detailing “serious concerns” within St John and made a number of recommendations.

St John NT director of ambulance services Andrew Thomas said he was “disappointed in the way this confidential report has been leaked and distributed”.

St John NT director of ambulance services Andrew Thomas.

In his response, Mr Thomas said the organisation did not receive the report until August 2024, by which time “many of the issues deemed urgent by Dr Ellis had already been addressed”.

Mr Thomas also defended some of the decisions Dr Ellis described as “unusual”, including the scrapping of the chief medical officer role.

Claims made in the report of potential patient harm were also disputed by Mr Thomas, stating that “none of these potential cases have been provided or reported through either St John NT or NT Health”.

St John NT’s statement concluded by noting an 11 per cent increase in workload, coupled with “the impact of lack of funding”.

“Some of the areas identified for improvement directly reflect the lack of funding and resources required to meet the current levels of demand on the ambulance service in the Northern Territory,” Mr Thomas said.