A patient’s clinical treatment plan was blocked by a health service manager against expert advice at a facility north of Adelaide, a report from the South Australian Doctors’ Union claims.
A report by the SA State Medical Officers’ Association (SASMOA) documents a range of issues surrounding the workplace culture at Gawler Health Service, including alleged “bullying, harassment and disrespectful behavior by various nurses”.
The report highlights that not all nursing staff were accused of such behaviour, but said doctors were left feeling “anxious, distressed and very concerned about their professional responsibility and that patient care is at risk”.
One incident detailed in the report involved a nurse who allegedly “snatched a physician’s mobile computer station while seeing a patient.”
In another incident, the potential demotion of a senior doctor was “openly discussed” with colleagues without the doctor’s knowledge or consent, the report said.
The report, which alleges that this behavior constitutes a breach of workplace safety requirements, has been submitted to watchdog SafeWork SA.
The report also states that this behavior had implications for patient care.
“Workers described as appalling an incident in which a manager overruled the clinical judgment of three specialist doctors and blocked a clinical care plan for a patient,” the report said.
Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network (BHFLHN) – the division of SA Health that covers Gawler Health Service – said representatives from SafeWork SA visited the site on July 2, several weeks after SASMOA’s inspection, and found no breaches of health and safety laws.
The Australian Nurses and Midwives Federation (ANMF) said it took all such allegations seriously, but it had identified no evidence “to indicate systematic bullying by nurses”.
But SASMOA chief industrial officer Bernadette Mulholland said concerns at Gawler Health Service have persisted for “about 18 months” and that doctors believe local administrators “did not intervene quickly enough”.
“It made them angry, it made them feel anxious,” she said.
“What it really does is make people feel like they just don’t want to come to work anymore.
“They felt unheard, unheard, there were concerns about anxiety—some people knew their health was suffering because of the conflict.”
Bernadette Mulholland says the problems have been going on for 18 months. (ABC News: Marco Catalano)
In a statement, ANMF SA branch secretary Elizabeth Dabars said it was important that such allegations were “properly investigated through appropriate workplace processes”.
“Employees raising concerns should be given the opportunity to respond and conclusions should be based on evidence,” she said.
“Based on the information currently available to ANMF, some of the issues raised appear to go beyond allegations of bullying and include wider issues such as staffing, workload, communication, leadership and clinical management.
“These issues require constructive engagement and resolution by management in consultation with all professional groups.”
BHFLHN chief executive Bronwyn Masters said SA Health was investing in measures to support employees and strengthen workplace culture.
“BHFLHN is committed to providing a safe and secure work environment for all of our employees, and we work with them every day to ensure this is achieved,” she said.
Ms Mulholland said Gawler Health Service was working to bring doctors’ and nurses’ unions together to discuss solutions.
“We know there is an ongoing review,” she said.
“My understanding is that what is happening now is that they have an external reviewer come in and review and make recommendations on how that particular hospital can be improved.”