‘Unbelievable’: How an unregistered doctor worked for six days in ED
An “absolute balls-up” is how one SA doctor has described the failures that allowed an unregistered doctor with a criminal history to work for six days in a rural ED.
Dr Scott Lewis, treasurer of the RDAA in SA, made the comments last week after SA Health released the findings of two independent reviews into the bungle.
The doctor, an Australian citizen who completed his medical degree overseas, was offered a place as an intern at Port Augusta Hospital earlier this year, pending the approval of his registration.
He went on to treat 15 ED patients between 24 April and 2 May before being removed from the premises.
One review has pointed to flaws in SA Health’s recruitment and selection processes as one of the reasons the doctor, who had a “criminal history of deception and dishonesty around registration”, could “proceed through the recruitment and selection process without serious scrutiny”.
“These flaws included a lack of critical analysis of [the doctor’s] CV, poor interview planning and technique, failure to critically analyse referees and their reports and a failure to perform timely basic background checks,” the review by workplace investigations firm Henderson Horrocks found.
The second review, by the University of Queensland’s Adjunct Professor Alan Sandford, found the doctor had “exploited” the “well-meaning but ultimately premature offer of accommodation, onboarding and education support”.
SA Health chief executive Robyn Lawrence said the doctor was placed on the roster before starting with the Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network.
“People believed in good faith that his registration would come through at any given time, so they were being prepared to slot him straight into the system,” she told reporters.
However, Ms Lawrence said he had not been told to attend the hospital, nor given any logon credentials, or a password.
“So when he fronted to the hospital on the day, he accessed a pass by saying, ‘I’m on the roster. I’m ready to start work’.
“He misled that staff member.
“I think putting further checks and balances on that, by not having people’s names on the rosters in a pre-emptive way, will provide protections for our staff in the future.”
Asked about the situation on ABC News, Dr Scott Lewis said frontline hospital staff had acted in good faith, but were let down by system failures.
“What an absolute balls-up,” he said.
“This is a situation that represents a failure at so many different levels.
“It seems really quite unbelievable that somebody was able to basically get through just on the say so of their word.”
He said that with so many new staff coming and going from country hospitals, one new staff member was unlikely to raise red flags.
“The people at the front line … the people who actually gave him the pass, let him walk through the door, interacted with him, absolutely would have been acting with the best of intentions,” he said.
“We’ve certainly had a position for many, many years of trying to cut down … on the complexity of onboarding and credentialing doctors in [SA], because the complexity of it allows holes to form the Swiss cheese, to use that old analogy.
“We actually believe that reducing the complexity is the key to making sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Read more:
- ‘Very concerning’: Unregistered doctor worked in ED for six days
- Unregistered doctor sparks review of all junior medics: NSW
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