Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital opened last year. Pic: Liam Kidston. Source: News Corp Australia
A CLINICAL review has found Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital was burdened by a host of problems ranging from missing medical records to disoriented staff in the fortnight after it opened.
But despite a long list of flaws, the $1.5 billion facility did not record any serious safety incidents.
Children’s Health Queensland board chair Susan Johnston met with staff this afternoon to outline the contents of the report, which focused on the first two weeks of operation after about 3000 staff and patients from the merged Mater and Royal Children’s hospitals moved to the new site at South Brisbane on November 29.
The independent review, conducted by public health executives from New South Wales and Victoria, was fast-tracked in December after The Courier-Mail revealed a litany of teething problems including a lack of vital medical equipment including oxygen and catheter lines, limited availability to food outside meal times and confusion over transport.
The review panel said the transition involved an “unprecedented convergence of challenges and complexities” for the hospital but praised all staff for working tirelessly to treat patients.
“The most serious quality and safety events identified during the subsequent two weeks … were assessed as leading to minimal harm,” the report said.
“There were no cases of death, permanent harm or temporary harm found.”
But the panel did find “several cases where the risk of a serious safety event was averted” because of the actions of staff or parents.
Several staff members worked under stressful conditions because they were unfamiliar with the new hospital, its processes and its culture, the report said.
In many cases, medical records were incomplete or missing when they were transferred across to the new facility.
Parents who made submissions during the review complained about rooms and toilets being dirty, having to provide their children’s medical history including blood test results, long waits for medication and poor signage.
But over half of the parents interviewed complimented the new hospital and praised staff for their dedication.
“It was clear that during the two weeks in-scope for this review, staff were working longer hours and outside the scope of their usual role to maintain a functional work environment,” the review team said.