‘Inappropriate’: LGH nurse questions movement of James Geoffrey Griffin bosses

Where are they now? A Launceston General Hospital nurse has questioned the movement of key leaders who admitted “catastrophic” failings when dealing with the Jim Griffin disaster.

LGH nurse and midwife Amanda Duncan says key Launceston General Hospital bosses who admitted to “catastrophic” and “dysfunctional” errors when responding to the James Geoffrey Griffin disaster have simply been moved to other senior departmental roles. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

A NURSE has expressed concern that key Launceston General Hospital bosses who admitted to “catastrophic” and “dysfunctional” errors when responding to the James Geoffrey Griffin disaster have simply been moved to other senior Tasmanian health department roles.

Six months since damning evidence was revealed before Tasmania’s child sexual abuse commission of inquiry, the nurse has questioned movements within the hospital’s management.

Amanda Duncan, a registered nurse and midwife, said she had been concerned the manager that Griffin reported to had been moved into Patient Safety and Quality.

Sonja Leonard gave evidence at the child sexual abuse commission of inquiry last June she had observed Griffin hugging his young patients and referring to them as “baby”, “babe” or “princess”.

Griffin, while working under Ms Leonard, committed a number of “boundary violations” over years, like cuddling a child on a recliner and giving his phone number to patients.

During the inquiry, Ms Leonard admitted there was a practice of keeping complaints “in-house” at the “dysfunctional” paediatric ward 4K.

Ms Leonard told the inquiry she couldn’t explain how the succession of complaints against Griffin didn’t lead to further action, or his removal from the children’s ward.

She said her team had been “manipulated” and “groomed” by him.

Sonja Leonard, the former Launceston General Hospital children’s ward nurse unit manager and boss of serial paedophile nurse, James Geoffrey Griffin.

Ms Duncan said Ms Leonard’s appointment to Patient Safety and Quality was inappropriate, given the evidence presented to the inquiry.

Before the appointment, Ms Leonard had been working in a seconded role as nurse unit manager at the hospital’s Covid clinic.

“I received complaints from staff and patients that they were distressed seeing Sonja in this role despite the evidence she gave in the commission of inquiry, which clearly revealed she did not act on reports regarding James Griffin’s conduct,” Ms Duncan said.

“Seeing Ms Leonard in this role would be incredibly distressing for victim-survivors and consumers.”

In email correspondence sighted by the Mercury, Ms Duncan contacted Department of Health secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks, and Ms Leonard was moved just days later.

Ms Duncan also questioned the reshuffling of Eric Daniels, the former chief executive of Tasmania’s North and North West hospitals, who – since the commission of inquiry – has lost his Launceston portfolio.

Mr Daniels, who had no direct managerial control over Griffin, told the commission of inquiry he’d been “out of his depth” in 2019, in the wake of revelations about Griffin’s longstanding conduct that were revealed in “The Nurse” podcast.

Mr Daniels said he’d been “unprepared and overwhelmed” by the disaster, failing to arrange a comprehensive investigation as to why a paedophile had been able to work on the children’s ward for 18 years.

Eric Daniels, the chief executive of hospital in Tasmania's northwest hospitals, has lost his north portfolio since the commission of inquiry.

Ms Duncan said women who’d since experienced birth trauma in the state’s northwest had been horrified that Mr Daniels had sat in on meetings about their patient complaints.

Ms Duncan said given Mr Daniels’ admissions at the commission of inquiry, it was “inappropriate” for him to attend such meetings.

“How can a community feel confident that Eric Daniels is not ‘out of his depth’ again in responding to … reports of birth trauma and obstetric violence?” she said.

In addition, she raised concerns about an email newsletter to staff, earlier this year, celebrating a new children’s picture book written and launched by Mathew Harvey, an LGH human resources consultant.

Mr Harvey gave evidence that a complaint received by HR in 2017, in which Griffin spoke to young girls on the ward, telling them he wanted to “shag” a co-worker he called “titsy”, was not treated as a sexualised comment or potential grooming.

Ms Duncan said given it Mr Harvey’s evidence demonstrated his inability to escalate such reports, it was inappropriate – and distressing for victim-survivors – for the LGH to circulate a newsletter celebrating his new children’s book.

She said the above examples demonstrated it was “business as usual” for some of the senior LGH management staff, despite the commission of inquiry.

Department of Health secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said the government wasn’t waiting to take action until the commission of inquiry handed down its final report and recommendations in May this year.

Department of Health secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks, during the commission of inquiry, apologised to the victim-survivors of child sexual abuse at the Launceston General Hospital.

While she didn’t comment on the movement of existing staff, the secretary said a range of actions were already in motion, including a child safe governance review, mandatory child safeguarding training for all staff, and that new chief executive Jennifer Duncan would lead a three-year cultural change and accountability program.

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