“No doubt Ms Stephen-Smith is trying her best. However, her work has not proven effective. This health minister has had opportunity after opportunity – but the system continues to deteriorate,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.

Here we go again! Groundhog Day! In late February, I pointed to this constant reiteration by the health minister that “we are working on it” and things will “get better soon”. 

She might use different language – but the sentiment is the same.

And now our leading orthopaedic surgeon, Prof Paul Smith, has tendered his resignation through frustration at failures in the system.

He has worked in the ACT hospital system for more than a quarter of a century with his job becoming increasingly challenging. He cited the deteriorating environment, particularly over the last six months, as the prime reason for his resignation.

When will there be an appropriate intervention?

The chief minister has not taken the health minister to task nor moved her to a less demanding portfolio. But then, he may think he does not have enough talent in his team to be able to find someone who is capable enough to handle the health portfolio effectively.

Before the last election, the Liberals proposed a royal commission into the ACT hospital system. Then they took the same proposal to the most recent election. It is something that ought to be supported by the Greens and the two independents in the Assembly.

The six months that has been the catalyst for Paul Smith is the same six-month period that was cited by Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith on January 29.

At the time she was arguing that an injection of $227.3 million would resolve the issues in the Emergency Department in particular, but across the Canberra Public Hospitals.

No doubt Ms Stephen-Smith is working hard and trying her best. However, her work has not proven effective, and a much more adept hand is needed to determine the extent of the problems and the actions required for an effective remedy. This health minister has had opportunity after opportunity – but the system continues to deteriorate.

The ACT hospital system has moved under Labor from leading Australia across a wide range of criteria to being amongst the worst. Cutting the finances to the hospitals over the last few years has not helped.

According to the ABC, Prof Smith has stated “the hospital administration … has actively been engaged in a process of disengagement with clinicians.

“Every gain we’ve made in terms of achieving quality of service has come at a significant cost in terms of battling with administration to try to get the resources to achieve quality.

“There is an evaporation in the attitude of collaboration”. 

Who is it that does not understand the importance of the role of specialists in the hospital system? The minister? The administration? With the support of the nursing staff and other professionals, they are the ones with the skills to look after the patients.

The fundamental problem for Prof Smith is “administrative interference in clinician decision-making”.

He is not alone. According to another orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Sindy Vrancic, there are now around 20 per cent of her colleagues who have tendered their resignations.

After the resignations became public, the health minister launched a scathing attack on the orthopaedic surgeons suggesting that they are the cause of the problems. 

“One of the challenges we’ve had with some craft groups”, she chided, “and this includes orthopaedics – is that they’ve basically been keeping their own list of people they want to see, their patients”.

Oh dear! Orthopaedic surgeons are determining the priority needs of their patients!

The Minister added: “That’s not visible to the system, but they’re also not taking into account the rest of the system when they’re making those decisions”.

Oh dear! The orthopaedic surgeons are prioritising their patients over bureaucratic decision making!

Then came the usual Stephen-Smith narrative. You know the one. “We are working on it, and all will be well soon”. 

In this case “an ‘escalation process’ is already underway” and, therefore, “if a surgeon is concerned that their patient has been bumped from a list inappropriately… they will be able to raise concerns”. 

That is, of course, with the bureaucrats who have already overridden their decisions. She added that this system “is already in train”.

If the chief minister will not act, who will? The ACT Assembly has the numbers to support the concept of a Royal Commission – as proposed by the Liberals. 

How much more deterioration will we see in the hospital system? What will it take to force the hand of the government?

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.