Doctor suspensions after Ebola comments ‘outrageous’

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By Matt Watson

The suspension of two doctors from Cairns Hospital after an Ebola scare has been labelled “outrageous” by the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation.

The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service confirmed yesterday two doctors at the far north Queensland hospital were stood down amid a review into the handling of an Ebola scare.

The suspensions were linked to comments made to the media about staff being concerned people in the hospital were put at risk when a nurse being assessed for Ebola was put into isolation.

Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation spokesman Dr Tony Sara said the suspensions were all about keeping medical staff under control and he called for their immediate reinstatement.

He said one doctor who talked to the media was representing the Medical Staff Association.

“On that basis it is very appropriate that he raises issues of concern where he believes that issues are not necessarily being properly addressed or dealt with by management,” he said.

Doctor Sara said one of the suspended doctors provides outpatient clinical services.

“Hundreds of patients are going to be inconvenienced because they’ve stood him down from his outpatients clinics – I think that’s outrageous.”

Dr Sara said doctors should be able to publicly raise issues about health care and the suspensions were retaliation for speaking out.

But Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the suspensions were appropriate.

He said misinformation surrounding the Ebola incident had eroded public trust in the hospital system.

“I’m very concerned that there was misleading information on the weekend which created an impression that the nurse did not receive the treatment in isolation as she should have done,” he said.

“That nurse was treated appropriately, in an isolated environment, an isolated room, in the emergency department.”

Queensland Health said it was appointing an independent panel to review the handling of recent infectious diseases cases.

Shaun Rudd from AMA Queensland said he hoped the investigation was swift.

“It’s disappointing that you’ve got two senior medical practitioners who could be continuing giving a service to the patients up in far north Queensland, especially in Cairns,” he said.

“It’s disappointing that they won’t be working and won’t be able to provide the skills that they have while the investigation’s going on.”

Dr Rudd said he was not aware of any other suspensions for talking to the media.

“Generally day to day I wouldn’t certainly advise any of my colleagues to be talking directly to the media without going through their employer first, or through their professional organisation AMA or through the union organisation,” he said.