More than 100 specialists at an embattled tertiary hospital say they are caring for patients amid a culture of fear and intimidation. 

Townsville University Hospital has been riven with internal strife, with both doctors and nurses alarmed at the toxic workplace culture. They say the blame lies largely with executive management.

Last month, in a fiery meeting with doctors, the board chair Tony Mooney triggered a mass walkout after an argument with a staff specialist during which the chair demanded to know whether the doctor was “deaf” and questioned their values.

Now in a letter to Queensland’s premier, 115 doctors have appealed for help, saying ongoing workplace issues were seriously harming staff morale, despite at least four cultural reviews in the past decade.