Further reports of bullying and intimidation within Ballarat Hospital’s mental health unit have emerged.
The Health and Community Services Union has already written to Victoria’s auditor-general with concerns that most mental health staff at the hospital have reported being verbally abused by managers.
The ABC has now obtained a report from a Melbourne consulting firm hired by the hospital to address workplace issues in 2014.
It interviewed past and present staff from the Ballarat Adult Community Mental Health Team about their workplace concerns.
The document reveals concerns about entrenched intimidation in the mental health unit.
Staff reported being yelled at and criticised by their superiors, with clinicians ‘blamed’ if patients relapsed.
Each person interviewed reported a culture of bullying and intimidation in the mental health ward.
Staff said they were denied meal breaks and worked considerable amounts of unpaid overtime.
They also said they were made to conduct home visits alone, even in high-risk situations.
Workers also complained about the lack of psychiatrists at the unit, and having to make clinical decisions that placed the service at risk as a result.
The hospital’s operator, Ballarat Health Services, said it was concerned about the bullying claims and had engaged an external consultant specialising in workplace grievance resolution to address workers’ concerns.