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The Child Safe Governance Review Governance Advisory Panel (the Panel) met for the fourth time on Tuesday, 4 October 2022 online.
The meeting agenda focussed on:
- a report from the Chair of the Lived Experience: Expert Reference Group
- reporting of complaints and concerns about clinicians to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)
- complaints management, including:
- complaints management processes at the Launceston General Hospital
- an insight into complaints management in an interstate health service
- an update on the establishment of a Central Complaints Management Unit in the Department of Health
Report from the Chair of the Lived Experience: Expert Reference Group
Dr Maria Harries, spoke about her continued work with those who expressed interest in the Lived Experience: Expert Reference Group to enable input from the lived experience of victim-survivors to the Panel.
Dr Harries has reported that there has been a positive response from victim-survivors she has connected with regarding the interim recommendations of the Panel and the response to those recommendations from the Secretary of the Department of Health.
Dr Harries will continue her discussions with victim-survivors and is planning to meet face to face with some of the Lived Experience: Expert Reference Group when she is in Launceston for the next meeting of the Panel.
Reporting of Complaints and Concerns about Clinicians to Ahpra
The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Tony Lawler, presented to the Panel on the current requirements of health practitioners and organisations in relation to the reporting of concerns and complaints about clinicians to the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Authority (Ahpra), including the requirement for mandatory reporting of certain kinds of conduct.
Professor Lawler spoke to the Panel about the current Tasmanian Health Service protocol titled Complaint or Concern about Health Professional Conduct which was issued in 2020 and noted that the review of the protocol will occur shortly.
Members of the Panel spoke about their practical experiences of working within the various mandatory reporting frameworks with varying thresholds for different frameworks and the challenges they have encountered.
The Governance Advisory Panel recommended that in reviewing the protocol, it should focus on clear practical guidance for all staff within the health service and it should be distributed to all Tasmanian Health Service employees.
A concise document should also be developed, preferably of no more than a page, providing a flow chart of pathways and thresholds for the various reporting obligations of individual staff, and what categories of staff have what reporting obligations.
The Panel considered that the induction and mandatory training targeting health professional staff should encompass their reporting obligations to Ahpra, in addition to their reporting obligations around the safeguarding of children.
Complaints Management
Janine Bennett, Senior Adviser - Patient Safety at the Launceston General Hospital attended the meeting to discuss with the GAP the current processes for co-ordination of action in relation to complaints at the LGH from both a staff and consumer perspective.
Representatives from the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) then gave a presentation on their approach to the management of complaints, touching on the regulatory and policy framework in place, escalation processes, education and training, as well as the positive culture they have built around reporting.
They also provided a hypothetical case scenario to help demonstrate the management of a complaint involving safeguarding of a child.
The Panel then received an update from the Tasmanian Health Project Team on the establishment of the Central Complaints Management Unit within the Department of Health, including the drivers for change behind the project, the scope of the initial review that has been undertaken and the recommendations and next steps for implementing the unit within the Office of the Secretary.
The Panel had a discussion around the proposed establishment of a central unit and has raised a number of observations and questions for the Project Team. These include:
- how to ensure continuing local involvement in complaints management and the linkage to undertaking open disclosure to patients and their families where there has been adverse incidents or outcomes for patients
- how to upskill staff in effective complaints management
- the need for a sound complaints management protocol that will take account of the management of complaints of varying complexity, and the proposed new central complaints unit and
- the need for staff to have access to a clear concise flowchart of management and escalation pathways for complaints, ranging from the most simple which can be managed locally and quickly through to the most complex, where multi-professional expertise, available within the proposed central complaints unit, can be provided.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Governance Advisory Panel is scheduled for 18 October 2022 and will be held on location in Launceston.
The meeting will also consider the framework for and implementation of mandatory leadership and management training at the LGH (through the One Health Cultural Improvement Program), including a focus on accountable leadership and management.