Top health executive dragged into legal stoush

The chief operating officer of a Queensland hospital has been dragged into a legal stoush involving a nurse who raised complaints against the hospital.

Townsville University Hospital: Picture: Evan Morgan

A top Queensland health executive has been dragged into a legal stoush launched by a disgruntled nurse who alleges he was bullied at work in “retaliation” for raising complaints against the hospital.

Townsville Hospital and Health Service chief operating officer Stephen Eaton was assigned to review a disciplinary warning given to mental health nurse Steven Corney, by his manager Ann-Marie Mallett, a tribunal has heard.

Mr Corney went to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission after he was given a disciplinary warning for allegedly twice accessing patient medical records without permission and for alleged aggressive behaviour.

But in a decision handed down on September 12, QIRC vice president Daniel O’Connor, threw out Mr Corney’s application for an order forcing Queensland Health to stop bullying him.

Mr O’Connor concluded that Mr Corney had “failed to make out the allegation that he was bullied”.

Mr Corney alleged that he was bullied in two letters from his manager.

Townsville Hospital and Health Service acting chief executive Stephen Eaton

The first was on October 29, 2021, a warning letter from manager Ann-Marie Mallett following the show cause process, and the second on May 9, 2023 also from Ms Mallett told him that clinical nurse consultant Pamela Anderson had raised concerns about his alleged “aggressive and threatening” behaviour toward her at work on 13 June 2022 and 17 January 2023.

But Mr O’Connor ruled that the letters were “reasonable management action” and not bullying.

Queensland Health submitted to the QIRC that their staff had raised concerns about Corney’s “own intimidatory and aggressive behaviour in the workplace”.

Corney was accused of accessing records of two patients at the Adult Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit (AAMHIU) of Townsville Hospital on July 24 and July 26, 2021 without authorisation.

Queensland Health argued his access was unauthorised because the patients were not under his direct care, instead they were under the care of the AAMHIU.

Mr Corney claimed in the QIRC that the warning letter he was given in October 2021 was “retaliation” for him raising complaints about the mental health service group and that he was being “harassed to try to intimidate him against making further complaints”.

After Mr Corney received the warning letter from Ms Mallett on October 29, 2021, he lodged a complaint against Ms Mallett which was assigned to Mr Eaton.

Mr Eaton issued a second letter agreeing with Ms Mallett commencing a disciplinary process and stating Ms Mallett followed an appropriate process.

In submissions to the QIRC, Queensland Health stated that the case should be thrown out because there was no risk to Mr Corney of continued bullying because bullying “didn’t occur in the first place” and Mr Corney “has failed to identify any real risk” of bullying continuing.

The hearing was held on November 9 last year in Townsville.

Originally published as Top health executive dragged into legal stoush