Page 944 - Week 03 - Thursday, 21 March 2019
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The fact is that health systems are complicated, and the ACT is no different in this regard. It is also an unfortunate reality that health systems across the country and the world have identified issues of inappropriate behaviours, bullying, discrimination and harassment. None of this is acceptable and it does not excuse this behaviour. But we must also acknowledge that some of the issues that Mrs Dunne references in her motion have existed for many years and blame cannot simply be laid at the feet of the current Minister for Health and Wellbeing.
While that may be an easy political fix for the opposition, these issues are more complex than that, and to change the current culture will require a sustained commitment at all levels of each organisation. Minister Fitzharris has expressed that commitment to the ACT community, and it is a commitment that I share. I also have faith in the new leadership of ACT Health, Canberra Health Services and Calvary to deliver the change we need.
Mrs Dunne’s motion outlines the need to support the wellbeing of our staff: nurses, doctors, allied health workers and the many other dedicated people who work across our health system every day. I completely agree, and that is why the government is undertaking significant work in this area to improve culture and governance and to build an environment of genuine engagement. This has included the independent review into workplace culture that the government announced on 21 September last year. The final report was publicly released on 7 March and while it provides some difficult reading it also gives us a practical set of recommendations and a clear pathway forward to improve the culture within ACT Health Services.
I will take this opportunity to briefly outline some of those difficult findings of the review because it is important to acknowledge what is happening and what needs to improve. The report did find that staff members within the public health system have been subjected to inappropriate behaviours, including bullying and harassment in the workplace, and that many of these incidents have not been adequately investigated or addressed.
There are inefficient procedures and processes to deal with complaints, and HR practices require improvement. There has also been an inability to make timely decisions. Historically, there has been a lack of effective leadership and management within the organisations. There is a need to ensure greater clinical engagement to ensure that the system can benefit from the expert knowledge and input of individuals. Additional training is required to assist management to deal with inappropriate workplace practices and there is a need to develop and sustain strong partnerships and relationships internally and externally with NGOs, universities and other health sectors.
As a minister, I do not shy away from these results and recognise that we must do better. I want to acknowledge the work that panel chair, Mick Reid, and panel members, Fiona Brew and Professor David Watters, have done and thank them for their professional and dedicated approach. The fact that there were nearly 400 submissions and almost 2,000 responses to the online survey, and the panel members held close to 100 meetings and workshops to get to this point, is testament to their
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