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The NSW Auditor-General’s office will investigate allegations of targeted disciplinary action within Sydney Local Health District in what appears to be a last-ditch effort to fend off a mutiny among Concord Hospital staff.
Health Minister Ryan Park agreed to the probe one day before senior doctors in the hospital’s Medical Staff Council (MSC) were due to hold a vote of no confidence in NSW Health leadership and demand a parliamentary inquiry into the NSW health ministry.
The doctors’ demands, fuelled by the suspension of outspoken spinal neurosurgeon Dr Raoul Pope, threatened to spark a statewide revolt among public hospital clinicians fed up with alleged widespread governance failures and a lack of accountability within NSW Health.
In an email sent to members of the MSC on Wednesday and seen by the Herald, former chair Dr Winston Cheung said Minister Park agreed to an investigation into the disciplinary processes at Concord.
“We have been asking for an independent, external investigation into aspects of governance for four years, and finally this request has been actioned,” the email read. “The scope of the investigation will be determined by the NSW Auditor-General without interference by the government or NSW Health.”
Cheung said he expected the investigation would examine any allegations of a “weaponisation” of policy to discipline staff who have raised concerns.
Cheung’s email counselled that the vote of no confidence should not proceed on Thursday.
In July, this masthead revealed that Pope had received a disciplinary letter from the hospital’s people and culture team about his emails and LinkedIn activity, which were critical of hospital management.
Pope was told his actions were “undermining staff confidence in leadership” and “inconsistent with your obligations to protect the reputation and interests of SLHD and NSW Health”.
Following the Herald’s article, Pope was suspended without pay from his role as visiting medical officer at Concord.
The disciplinary action was “a risk management measure” due to “risks to staff or patient health, safety or welfare”, the people and culture team advised in an internal memo seen by the Herald.
An Instagram video of Greens health spokesperson Dr Amanda Cohn sharing the news of the Pope’s suspension in parliament amassed more than 300,000 views this month and was widely circulated among clinicians, adding pressure on the government.
“Why do essential frontline health workers continue to be punished by this government for their advocacy for better health services?” Cohn said in the clip.
In a statement, Cohn said the Auditor-General’s investigation was an “important acknowledgement of the seriousness of the issues that frontline staff have been raising, and a valuable next step”.
Cohn said she would still pursue a wider parliamentary inquiry.
“Health care workers must feel safe and supported to be able to raise issues about their workplace and patients’ safety,” she said.
“Suppression of their voices by NSW Health is not an isolated or local issue [to Concord], and I am optimistic that a parliamentary inquiry will be able to examine this broader problem.”
In Cheung’s email to doctors, he said he hoped the staff who had “resigned or who have suffered will finally get justice and closure”.
He called the meeting with Park “very constructive” and said the group – which also included the MSC chairs of Canterbury Hospital and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital – discussed issues including resourcing, staffing and the social media policy.
Both the doctors’ union and opposition MPs have criticised the social media policy, introduced by NSW Health in November last year.
When questioned in a budget estimates hearing on Wednesday, Fatima Abbas, the deputy secretary of people, culture and governance at NSW Health, said the policy was not designed to suppress freedom of communication.
“The intent is not to discourage appropriate discourse or discussions about issues,” she said. Abbas could not answer how many clinicians had been suspended under the policy, as she said the information was not collected centrally.
In his email, Cheung said he looked forward to “the truth-telling that this investigation will allow”.
“We should wait for the terms of reference for the investigation from the Auditor-General before making any further decisions on this matter, but I expect this engagement from them will only be positive,” it read.
Park and the Sydney Local Health District have been contacted for comment.
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