Excessive attention paid to patients’ “minor grievances” at Fiona Stanley Hospital threatens to undermine public confidence in the new facility, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) WA says.
The Health Minister was forced to defend the hospital’s handling of a series of patient problems over the past week, with the State Opposition highlighting cases it said showed the hospital was in crisis.
But AMA WA president Michael Gannon said the hospital was not in crisis and problems with patient care were being overstated.
“Having delved deeper into some of the cases that have achieved public profile, I am far from satisfied that they constitute major clinical incidents,” he said.
“There’s no question there’s been some minor teething problems.
“There’s no question there’s been some major structural problems that need to be fixed, but I don’t know that it advances anyone’s cause to pick up the minor grievance of every patient.”
The State Opposition cited two individual cases over the past week as evidence the hospital was failing to deliver quality care to patients.
In one case, it claimed an elderly woman was forced to fast for five days due to a delayed test.
In another, it claimed a man with known allergies suffered anaphylactic shock from consuming mushrooms in hospital food, and was forced to treat himself with his own EpiPen.
Labor Party ‘desperate’ to win next election
In both cases, Health Minister Kim Hames contested the facts and rejected the criticism, accusing the State Opposition of failing to verify details of the cases before going public.
“What bothers me more here is that I believe that the Labor Party are desperate to win the next election,” He said earlier this week.
“And so they are trotting out every little issue they can to try and undermine the confidence of the public in this hospital.”
Opposition health spokesman Roger Cook rejected the Minister’s criticism.
“We’re not making these stories up,” he said.
“These are real concerns from members of the community about the treatment they receive, and the treatment that potentially others will receive unless they complain about it.
“Dr Hames isn’t verifying the facts either.
“He’s never actually sat down with these victims and asked them himself about what their experiences were.
“He relies upon his bureaucrats, and the records from the hospital to try and undermine and falsify the stories of what’s happening to these victims.”
Threat to staff morale: AMA
The AMA is concerned the continued focus on individual patient complaints could both adversely affect the morale of medical and allied staff at the hospital and create a crisis of confidence in the public who use it.
“When individual patient complaints are serious or they identify a serious flaw in the system, we are ready to stand up and speak out,” Dr Gannon said.
“But when it comes to minor grievances that would not be newsworthy if they happened in every other hospital in the state, I think we need a bit of a reality check, and I think it’s important the Opposition takes some responsibility before they air their concerns.”
Dr Gannon said there were deep structural problems identified at the hospital, such as mobile phone coverage and sterilisation.
But he was satisfied those issues were being progressively addressed by the Health Department and the Minister.
Dr Gannon said the AMA would keep an open mind on the State Opposition’s suggestion of an independent inquiry into operations at the hospital.
“But we want to see something better than what’s been turning up on the television news in the last couple of nights,” he said.