CANBERRA — Telstra called out on cancer registry fail

MEAG COMMENT:  TELSTRA is Australia’s biggest telco.  Can’t even administer a telephone utility. Most complained about company in Australia.  God help every Australian patient with Telstra’s venture into the health arena.  Why the Australian government would give Telstra this contract is beyond belief. What does a telephone utility know about record keeping?  Not a lot.  Telstra has track record of gross breaches of privacy of customer telephone and internet accounts.

Missed deadlines for the National Cancer Screening Register are affecting more than just Telstra’s hip pocket.

OPINION BY ANTONY SCHOLEFIELD

Poor Telstra.  Fresh from apologising for two outages in its phone network, including one affecting the triple-0 emergency line, Telstra’s failings are under the spotlight again.

A recent Senate estimates hearing asked health officials to explain exactly what was happening with the National Cancer Screening Register, for which Telstra was awarded a $200 million contract to establish.

The launch of the register was delayed by six months last year, finally rolling out on 1 December 2017.  And because the changes to cervical screening – which replaced Pap smears with five-yearly HPV screening – were linked to the register, this revamp was delayed too.

Under questioning, health officials revealed that Telstra’s pay had been docked over the bungle. Despite being at least 20% of the way into the contract, Telstra had only been paid $11 million, they said.

And fines (not just docked pay) were “certainly an option” if Telstra missed any more deadlines, they added.

Furthermore, although the new register went live in December 2017, patient histories will only be available on the register from the end of this month, which has left doctors with a hybrid model of state and national registries for the past six months.

It’s not all over just yet for Telstra when it comes to cancer registries.  It still has to set up a new bowel screening register.  This was also due in 2017, but was put on hold while Telstra worked on the cervical cancer register.  It is now expected to be up and running in late 2019.

Health officials said the delays to both registers had “no impact on patient services”, but pathologists don’t feel the same way.

Most of the cytologists who processed Pap smear tests quit last year, leaving labs short-staffed.

As a result, analyses were delayed during the May-December period, leaving patients waiting for important results.

So, maybe it’s not poor Telstra after all, but poor patients.

Source:  Australian Doctor  |  Author:  Antony Scholefield

MELBOURNE — A baby has died at Sunshine Hospital after waiting almost two hours to be seen by emergency doctors last week.

In another tragedy that has been referred to the coroner, Western Health, which overseas Sunshine Hospital, said the baby was assessed by a triage nurse and the mother and infant were requested to wait in the paediatric room of emergency.

READ MORE in The Age:

Baby dies at Sunshine Hospital after two-hour wait in emergency

MELBOURNE — The death of an elderly patient from chemotherapy drug toxicity was “entirely preventable”, Victorian Coroner Rosemary Carlin said.

Ian John Gilbert, 77, from Melbourne, died in February 2015 after being prescribed methotrexate for a skin condition, after “extreme concerns” expressed by the dispensing pharmacist about the dose prescribed by the patient’s GP Dr Stephen LIM who assured the pharmacist the dose was correct.

“Mr Gilbert’s death from complications of methotrexate toxicity was needless and entirely preventable,” Coroner Carlin said.

“If appropriate tests had been conducted by his GP, they would have shown that his pre-existing medical conditions contraindicated the use of methotrexate at all.”

“The fact the drug was intended to treat a non-life-threatening skin condition makes his death all the more tragic and the decisions to prescribe and dispense all the more inexplicable.”

The coroner suggested the federal government look into making methotrexate an “authority required medication”.

SYDNEY — Another gynaecological/obstetric “butcher” on the loose — nothing new there.  Emil Shawky GAYED.

This one trained in Cairo, Egypt.  Currently suspended for an inadequate period (this is the fault of our medical regulators).  He’ll be re-applying before long.  His welfare will be considered before his harmed patients (another fault of our medical regulators).

Amazing how NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard is suddenly appalled at Gayed’s malpractice.  Gayed has had a track record of medical malpractice for years and the health minister doesn’t know of it!  How come Medical Error Action Group knows and reported such to his health ministry years ago?

No matter who complains about these unfit medicos, and the harm and devastating outcomes women suffer from, patients complaints are generally ignored and not ever taken seriously.  One wonders how many patients have to be harmed before medical regulators act, really act?  See previous on what we think of AHPRA.

Read more from The Guardian Melissa Davey’s stories:

Surgeon performed unnecessary hysterectomies without consent, tribunal told

Health minister Brad Hazzard appalled at evidence against Emil Gayed

Emil Gayed, obstetrician and gynaecologist, alleged to have performed unnecessary and irreversible operations on patients

CANBERRA, ACT —

Yes indeedy.  They don’t have a best-before date either.  85 of them have been and gone since Medical Error Action Group was founded.

Our latest FEDERAL health minister GREG HUNT is another non-performer.

He stupidly had the Minister for Sport write to us.  Clueless.  God help the sporting fraternity.  We’ll probably hear from Minister for Defence next!

Don’t think the apology to the Mayor of Katherine NT is a oncer.  There’s more.

HUNT is embroiled in another “incident”.  Stay tuned…

KATHERINE, NORTHERN TERRITORY —

Australia’s Minister for Health GREG HUNT MP eventually found time to apologise to the Mayor of Katherine NT for his foul-mouthed tirade, boorish and intimidatory behaviour.

Katherine is in the “Top End” of Australia and about 320km south-east of Darwin.

Hunt has been minister for 16 months and this is his No 1 performance to date.

This is the same minister who cannot apologise, let alone answer correspondence, to the thousands of Australians who contracted contaminated blood and have died waiting for an apology, as directed by The Senate, as well as assistance.  As for the criminal neglect of our blood supply, Hunt is another minister who condoned the Australian Red Cross Blood Supply criminal cover-up.

Many other issues MEAG has brought to the minister’s attention in the last year he ignores.  Hunt is just another minister who doesn’t read anything, just issues abuse.  In other words, he has nothing to say.

READ MORE:

Greg Hunt tirade at Katherine mayor, forced to apologise

Greg Hunt apologises for foul-mouthed tirade | The Australian

Greg Hunt federal environment minister forced to apologise to mayor | Daily Mail UK

CANBERRA —

ACT Health at it again!  ‘Doctoring’ anything interfering with ACT Health’s agenda.

Calvary Hospital, The Canberra Hospital…  What is it that the ACT Government, i.e. Australian Capital Territory, doesn’t want the public to know?  Lots we surmise.  And lots we know.

These are hospitals which have their misdeeds covered-up by their own territory government.

READ MORE IN TODAY’S CANBERRA TIMES:

Calvary Hospital staff ordered to ‘manipulate’ waiting lists by ACT Health

MELBOURNE —

CANBERRA, ACT — Senator Katy Gallagher’s dishonesty has finally caught up with her.

Her maiden speech to The Senate detailed her overseas citizenship connection but she was blind to being in breach of the federal parliament’s rule meaning she was ineligible to sit in the Senate.  But she refused to budge and continued to illegally occupy a Senate seat.

Now the High Court of Australia has determined she is ineligible so she’s out.

What a waste of taxpayer’s money Gallagher has caused by her stalling, obfuscation and denials but that’s nothing new.  It is what she did as ACT Chief Minister and ACT Health Minister leaving doctors and nurses fearful to speak up about hospital failures in her Territory.  As for patients of the ACT who complained of maltreatment?  They were dismissed, ignored and treated with contempt.

As ACT Chief Minister she could overrule herself as ACT Health Minister – go figure that conflict out – and keep scandals under wraps.