SEVEN staff from the cardiac unit at the Gold Coast University Hospital have been stood down and are being investigated for allegedly scamming hundreds of thousands of dollars from the patient referral system.

The fraudulent activity is alleged to have taken place for more than a year at the hospital which was only opened in 2013. But hospital officials are continuing to insist patient care was not compromised in the suspected scam.

It is undrestood that when cardiology patients were assessed, some were being told to return at a later date for their procedure, so they could be treated as outpatients.

This would allow the doctor to bill Medicare for the appointment, topping up their salary which can already range from $200,000-$400,000-a-year.

Gold Coast University Hospital’s Ethical Standards unit referred five cardiologists and two medical workers to the Crime and Corruption Commission, suspecting possible corruption. Yesterday, Health Minister Cameron Dick said the allegations were of a very serious nature.

“I’ve made it clear to all Hospital and Health Service chief executives and board chairs that there’s no place for fraud in our health system,” he said. “As the matter is now before the CCC it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

The cardiologists – who are not heart surgeons – deal mostly with non-surgical medical issues in patients.

Yesterday Gold Coast Health reiterated the investigation did not concern safety.

“Gold Coast Health chief executive Ron Calvert has emphasised that the referral for investigation did not stem from concerns over patient safety or quality of care,” a spokeswoman said.

“Gold Coast Health has referred the matter and awaits advice from relevant authorities before making further comment. Further updates will be provided when they become available.”

He has said the allegations involve potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Seven staff have been stood down at the hospital while the CCC probe takes place. Some staff have returned from leave to cover for those stood down, while private specialists are also being brought in.

Opposition health spokesman Mark McArdle urged the health service to make details of the allegations public.

“I would be asking the Health Minister to look into every hospital across Queensland because if these allegations turn out to be true it would be happening everywhere,” he said. “If these allegations are found to be accurate then criminal charges need to be laid and questions about who knew what was going on need to be asked.”

A CCC spokesman said details of the allegations could not be made public.

“The CCC can confirm it has received a notification from the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service,” he said.

“The CCC will assess this matter in accordance with its standard processes.”