Concord Hospital staff revolt against chief executive Teresa Anderson as ‘thousands of scans’ go unchecked

“Nonetheless, the hospital was and is actively seeking replacements for these staff and there were no pre-pandemic staffing cuts,” the spokesman said.

The vote of no confidence was initiated by Associate Professor Winston Cheung, who survived a counter-motion against his leadership on the council representing the hospital’s medical staff.

In an internal email sent to employees and viewed by employees heraldCheung wrote that he did not believe that Anderson’s leadership style met the expectations of Concord Hospital staff, patients and families.

In response, colleagues expressed their support for Cheung.

“There has been slow death in Concord from over a thousand lacerations,” wrote one doctor. “Let’s clear that up.”

“It’s time all departments got a slice of the RPA-centric pie,” wrote another.

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Cheung declined public comment.

The vote, which staffers said was the first in three decades, comes after Anderson became embroiled in a separate controversy over a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Two initial expert investigations revealed serious deficiencies in the practice of the cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Michael Byrom, who has been the subject of whistleblower complaints from other hospital staff.

The first review, commissioned in 2016, recommended a series of interventions before Byrom was restored to full clinical privileges.

After the second review, investigators recommended no further phase of rehabilitation and asked the Sydney Local Health District to consider their findings when deciding whether to extend Byrom’s contract.

Anderson commissioned a third expert investigation that reversed the findings of the earlier reviews and sent staff a memo exonerating Byrom.

Whistleblower workers complained to the Health Care Complaints Commission, which found no evidence of any significant clinical discrepancies to warrant cancellation of Byrom’s registration but referred him to the NSW Medical Council for a performance assessment.

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In 2020 is the Australian reported that the NSW Medical Council had barred Byrom from having major heart and lung surgery and put him under a strict program of monitoring and retraining. It is understood that these far-reaching conditions have since been lifted.

Anderson, a trained speech therapist, serves 12,000 staff across five hospitals including Concord, RPA, Canterbury, Balmain and Sydney Dental Hospital. She has held this position since 2011.

Anderson and the Sydney LHD did not comment on the Byrom matter.

“We value the critical role of clinician feedback and engagement and will continue to listen and work with clinicians and all staff at Concord Hospital to ensure we continue to deliver the best health outcomes for our patients,” the LHD said – Spokesman in an opinion Opinion.

Health Secretary Ryan Park said he was concerned about the issues raised at Concord Hospital but declined to say whether Anderson should step down.

“I encourage all employees to report concerns and those who do are encouraged to report their concerns through appropriate channels,” he said.

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