Doctors told to report colleagues’ social media posts under draft policy directive
Doctors claim they will be gagged when speaking up for patient care under NSW Health’s revamped media rules, which tell staff not to engage in any activity that damages “public trust in their employing agency”.
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) says that it is concerned about the final draft of the social media policy, which refers to not only social media but also any internal communications tools, such as Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp messaging software.
The draft policy, which echoes many of the warnings outlined in the current guidelines, states healthcare workers should not “engage in any activity that may adversely affect their standing as a public official or damage public trust in their employing agency”.
The social media platforms covered include Google Groups, blogs, podcasts, Reddit and Discord, and posts to online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia.
