AMA calls out SA Health moves
The Australian Medical Association wants the "revolving door" leadership policy at SA Health to stop.
The AMA says that amid “immense change” in public healthcare, “SA Health has to have a good hard look at itself”.
The strong words come after Central Adelaide Local Health Network interim chief executive Len Richards quit just two months in the job.
Mr Richards was replacing previous CEO Julia Squire, who was after an industrial dispute with the nursing union earlier this year.
Mr Richards is among six health executives to depart SA Health over the past two years.
“There is a pattern of people either leaving after a very short time or being asked to leave,” AMA SA president Dr Janice Fletcher told the ABC.
“SA Health has to have a good hard look at itself and understand why this is happening. It's very unsettling for medical, nursing, allied health professionals and the public to have a revolving door of senior leaders.”
The lobby has written to SA Health Minister Jack Snelling about the high turnover of staff.
“Is it the job, is it the environment in SA Health or is it a recruitment issue? Because there has been a large number of CEOs and temporary CEOs over the past few years,” Dr Fletcher said.
“All of this is happening at a time when we are hoping to move very soon into the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.”
Dr Fletcher also raised issues including bed capacity, staffing models and accreditation of clinical sites with the government.
On a related matter, unions are calling for signatures on a petition opposing SA Government plans to cut hundreds of jobs from SA Pathology.
The State Opposition called on Mr Snelling to cut short his holiday and return to deal with the fallout.
“We've now got this chaotic position in the leadership within the bureaucracy in the new Royal Adelaide Hospital project,” spokesman Rob Lucas said.
“At the most critical stage now where we're in the technical assessment period of the project, Minister Snelling has gone on leave.”
The SA Government denied the changes were preventing progress.
“The reality is I've seen nothing to suggest the Health Department is being incapacitated by what amounts to a relatively routine movement of a senior executive,” Deputy Premier John Rau said.