AMA Tasmania declares no confidence in Tasmanian Health Service senior management
Media release Saturday, 20 May 2017
AMA Tasmania declares no confidence in Tasmanian Health Service senior management
AMA Tasmania President Dr Stuart Day says AMA Tasmania has no confidence in the Tasmanian Health Service senior management as led by its CEO, Dr David Alcorn.
“Unfortunately, the THS under its current CEO and centralised senior management is plagued by governance dysfunction, deteriorating patient safety indicators, worsening hospital overcrowding and a toxic bureaucratic culture that is placing the welfare of patients and staff at risk,” said Dr Day
“AMA Tasmania is receiving an unprecedented number of serious complaints from staff based in Tasmania’s public hospitals as well as from General Practitioners regarding the poor performance of the THS CEO and the actions of his executive management team.
” “The THS was created in July 2015 with the aim of improving public hospital service delivery, quality and patient safety, but this has clearly not been the case.” Dr Day said over a number of months AMA Tasmania have alerted Government to their grave concerns about the failings of the centralised THS senior bureaucracy but have been unable to achieve a satisfactory resolution.
“We wish to make it clear that AMA Tasmania still fully supports the Tasmanian Clinical Services Plan with its role delineation framework however the current implementation has clearly failed,” he said. “What Tasmanian health reform needs is a reform process in which hospital regions are empowered with devolved operational authority plus the locally based support staff required to manage hospital services.
“We also need a lean, centralised THS administration which is focused on broad policy, state wide strategic planning and compliance. “It is clear to AMA Tasmania that these essential requirements for success are not ever likely to be successfully realised under the current CEO and as a result the reform process is doomed without a change in management.”
Media contact: Ned Worledge 0418 602 037