Wavesurfer, that's not as I understand it. The Dr Death case received wide publicity here (I'm close to Bundaberg) and what actually first called attention to the situation re Patel was the nurse (can't remember her name now) going to Rob Messenger, the local member. He then raised it in Parliament and all hell broke loose after that.
However, when the enquiry finally was under way, other doctors testified that they had indeed reported their concerns to the next up the line (presumably a bureaucrat) and nothing was done.
The whole Patel situation is one of the reasons why I have much concern about Mr Rudd's proposed new funding arrangements which I gather will be on a 'work performed' basis for each hospital. Surely this is likely to bring about a repeat of the Patel situation where he performed unnecessary surgery (much of which he was not qualified to do) in order to acquire more funding for Bundaberg Hospital.
Likewise, he resisted having patients who were seriously ill transferred to Brisbane for specialist care because if they were removed from Bundaberg their funding went with them.
Perhaps I don't properly understand what Mr Rudd is proposing (how would this be possible when he refuses to release any detail?), but I have a real fear the sort of situation that fostered Patel's appalling behaviour could be repeated.
So will the public, Calliope. It was largely due to Nick Minchin that Malcolm Turnbull was ousted. I've always thought he was under-appreciated and under-utilised in both the Howard and Abbott cabinets.
I'd been rather hoping he would replace Barnaby Joyce in the Finance shadow p/f where he would have had the seniority, experience and political finesse to do an excellent job.
Sad about his son's very serious accident.
Hey Julia,
That's not quite the full story on Patel. I used this case for my medical law subject and did some extensive research on it. All the research I did contained no "press" articles. It was all via proper reports. Here's a very brief summary of what actually happened.
Dr Death was reported as incompetent within the first few months of starting at bundy hospital in 2003 by both patients and staff. It was ignored until 2004 when he was reviewed by Fitzgerald and was cleared.
In 2005, Hoffman also wrote a series of complaints within the hospital's internal system. She was ignored and even accused of being racist. She then wrote to the District Health Manager (still within legal boundaries) and that was ignored. This was then "leaked" to the local member you speak of. She did not publicly "whistle-blow" like many believe. It is unclear of who actually leaked this and Nuttal mandated a group of nurses over it. Hoffman did the right thing (as any NUM would do) clearing her colleagues of any wrong doing and took the wrap herself.
This leaked report to the local member was also ignored by parliament. It was not until the Courier Mail published the issue which then received massive public outcry. This prompted Nuttal to take action and the commission inquiry was launched.
Considering what Hoffman and her colleagues went through and the avenues the had to take to get it out to the public, it's no wonder other hospital staff don't speak up. Even in such an extreme case as the Dr Death saga.
There are other nurses who are just as "heroic" as Hoffman. Hoffman is obviously a fantastic NUM (as most if not all are) as she put her colleagues before herself taking full responsibility. Full credit to her, she deserves the heroic status. But, so do other nurses whom Hoffman protected.
I agree with you there on Rudd's proposal. But do notice that Abbott said he would fund 3500 beds (notice the lack of
new). It's all about the words and how they're used. Poly Crackers are experts at using them to their advantage
"Hey you promised 3500 new beds."
"No I did not promise NEW beds."
Poly Crackers... They're all the same