Tension is escalating among medical staff at a regional hospital after a senior doctor was seen being marched off the premises, with no full explanation for his departure.

In an incident witnessed by staff, Dr David Clancy, director of Albury Wodonga Health’s emergency and critical care services, was escorted from the hospital by two executives on 4 March.

The exact circumstances surrounding his removal remain confidential, but the manner of his exit has intensified concern among doctors already in a dispute over a controversial $558 million hospital redevelopment

Doctors and other community groups have campaigned against the AWH board’s plan to redevelop the existing hospital rather than build a new facility on a scale that would meet community needs.