Hospital specialists accused of milking the system

System failures at SA Health mean there is no way to know if salaried specialists have worked the hours they claim, says corruption commissioner Bruce Lander
Australian Associated Press

Some salaried specialists are allegedly milking the public system, using falsified timesheets to get paid when they are not working or are seeing private patients, according to a new report on SA Health.

In a damning verdict on the state’s health system, Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander has raised concerns about the systemic failure to verify that doctors have worked the hours they claim.

The average salary of a South Australian full-time public sector specialist salaried medical officer was $433,724, Mr Lander’s report said.

However, in one highlighted case, a medical specialist appeared to be double-dipping, with an approved timesheet recording they performed “normal duties” at one Local Health Network, while other evidence showed they were remunerated for working at another location on the same day.