EXCLUSIVE: Minister promises investigation into Concord Hospital

The Concord Medical Staff Council will no longer proceed with a vote of no confidence, with a full investigation into the hospital promised.

NSW Health Minster Ryan Park has promised an investigation into Concord Repatriation General Hospital, to be conducted by the NSW Auditor-General.

Mr Park met with several Concord Medical Staff Council (MSC) members in Sydney this morning to understand the magnitude of the problems facing staff at the hospital.

The meeting was in response to a ballot two weeks ago where 113 senior MSC members voted to proceed with a formal vote of no confidence in the NSW Ministry of Health’s leadership.

In an email to the broader MSC, seen exclusively by Health Services Daily, former MSC chair Dr Winston Cheung said he believed today’s meeting was very constructive.

“I believe Ryan genuinely understands many of the issues that we face and is genuinely trying to address them,” Dr Cheung wrote.

Although much of the discussion was confidential, the letter confirmed many issues were discussed including broader resourcing issues, including equity of distribution; staffing issues, including delays in backfilling; the secondary employment policy; social media policy; and many others.

They also raised concerns about a letter sent by Health Secretary Susan Pearce on Monday, 17August, to the chair of the Medical Staff Council, Dr Phil Visser. The letter, also seen exclusively by HSD, suggested a performance audit of disciplinary processes conducted by Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) and internal budget allocations processed to its facilities.

“Ryan has assured me that there will be a full ‘investigation’ into the disciplinary processes used against staff at Concord,” Dr Cheung wrote.

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“This will not be an ‘audit’. I am interpreting this to mean that they will formally investigate any allegations of ‘weaponisation’ of policy to discipline staff who have raised concerns,” he continued.

Neurosurgeon Dr Raoul Pope is one such staff member who was suspended over a series of LinkedIn posts he wrote. He went public with the disciplinary letter he received from Concord’s People and Culture team, which said “in sharing the above links, you publicly associated yourself with commentary critical of NSW Health leadership and governance”.

The email said the NSW Auditor General will determine the scope and terms of reference of the investigation.

“We look forward to the truth-telling that this investigation will allow.

“Hopefully, some of the staff who resigned or who have suffered will finally get justice and closure,” Dr Cheung said.

Thanks to the positive meeting with Mr Park, Dr Cheung confirmed that the previously planned MSC vote of no confidence would no longer proceed.

“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,” he said.