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back to archive indexDate: 23rd September 2005 ICAC Fails to Notice the Baby in the BathwaterDespite my belief in the necessity and value of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, I am inclined to think that the recent report into allegations of corruption against the South Western Area Health Service and Minister Knowles has revealed a large flawin its terms of reference. Nola Fraser brought real allegations of poor treatment of patients. She showed me the medical records, and in my opinion as a medical professional they did show very poor management. The idea that what she said was based on hearsay or gossip was certainly not the case for what I consider to be the most important aspects of her allegations. The key issue here, as is often the case when dealing with the law, is the definition of 'corrupt'. In my dealings with Nola Fraser she used the word 'corrupt' in the sense of a process that is failing to work as it is intended. The narrower legal definition used by ICAC is that there is only corruption when someone gets an illegal financial benefit. ICAC did not find 'corruption' in the Orange Grove inquiry either - merely totally sub-optimal and unsatisfactory practices. It is a matter of definition. The biggest issues are overlooked. Here was very poor treatment, with management showing little interest until the matter went public. Here was one nurse, with enough colleagues to make significant corroboration about patients at risk. The facts, in this case, are that people who should have been keeping good watch, and who were responsible for quality control, did not appear to be doing their job. Doctors already have to account for themselves according to protocols for good treatments (although some of them are still being formulated by the HCCC). Management does not even have such protocols and there are no tribunals to deal with them. The political system must take some responsibility in this, because management make bad staffing decisions when they cannot afford to make good ones. They use less staff, or put in junior people, to save money. Significantly, the ICAC report did find that the three nurses were subjected to disciplinary action that was so flawed and unfair that it justified their belief that they were being victimised. The fact is that Nola Fraser and her colleagues have drawn attention to severe problem in a large hospital system. She has produced a huge public benefit at a huge personal cost. This so often happens with whistleblowers. The forces that are marshalled against them are enormous, and it takes someone of very strong character to see the process through. Yrs, Arthur Chesterfield-Evans (ACE) |
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