Queensland Health

Queensland Health
Department overview
Superseding agency	Health and Hospitals Queensland & Health Corporate Services Authority
Jurisdiction	Queensland
Headquarters	Brisbane
Employees	78,000
Minister responsible	Geoff Wilson, Queensland Minister for Health
Website
www.health.qld.gov.au

Queensland Health is the department of the Government of Queensland responsible for operating and administering the public health system of the Australian State of Queensland. It is responsible to the State's Health Minister Geoff Wilson and its Director-General is Tony O'Connell. In 2010, Queensland Health had approximately 78,000 employees across the state.

After significant problems with a new payroll system and the theft of $16 million the state government is replacing the department on 1 July 2012 with two new entities.

In the mid-1940s Queensland was the first state in Australia to introduce free and universal public hospital treatment,^{[citation needed]} a policy that some other states followed. In Queensland a person who is deemed to be behaving in a manner that suggests that they may be mentally ill can be subject to a Justices examination order.

Jayant Patel

Queensland Health and the Bundaberg Base Hospital were involved in a scandal surrounding the employment of surgeon Jayant Patel. The Queensland Medical Board approved his registration and he was then quickly promoted to Director of Surgery even though he lacked specific qualifications.

In March 2005, Rob Messenger raised concerns with Patel's medical practices in the Queensland Parliament after he was contacted by hospital nurse Toni Hoffman. Hoffman received the 2006 Australian of the Year Local Hero Award for her role as a whistleblower.

An inquiry into the matter known as the Morris Inquiry was started but was terminated on the grounds of perceived bias. A second inquiry known as the Davies Inquiry found that the Queensland Health district manager and the hospital's Director of Medical Services had mostly ignored more than 20 complaints regarding Patel.

On 1 July 2010, Patel was sentenced to seven years' jail after he was found guilty of three charges of manslaughter and one count of grievous bodily harm.

2005 restructure

Queensland Health was restructured toward the end of 2005 from 38 "health districts" to 20. There were a number consolidations particularly in the urban areas with the formation of the "Northside" and "Southside" Districts. Northside District included three major hospital facilities including The Prince Charles Hospital, Redcliffe and Caboolture Hospitals while Southside brought the Logan, Redlands, Beaudesert and Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospitals together. Somewhat strangely one large facility lay within the geographic boundaries of both Northside and Southside but remained independent entities or Districts in their own right. Within Northside lay the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) and on Southside lay the Princess Alexandra Hospital or regional centre.

Toowoomba Hospital, 2008

From September 2008 the 20 health service districts were further reduced to 15. According to a Queensland Health media release, nine districts remain unchanged. They are: Central Queensland, Townsville, Mackay, Cairns, Torres Strait, Cape York, Mount Isa, Central West and South West Districts. Six new districts were created. They are:

• Darling Downs-West Moreton incorporating the former Toowoomba and Darling Downs and West Moreton South Burnett districts.
• Sunshine Coast-Wide Bay incorporating the Sunshine Coast - Cooloola, Wide Bay and Fraser Coast health service districts.
• Metro South incorporates the Southside Health Service District and Princess Alexandra Hospital.
• Metro North incorporates the Northside Health Service District and Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
• Children’s Health Services, will oversee the implementation of a Statewide paediatric service.

Health Quality and Complaints Commission

In response to the Forster Review of Queensland Health Systems an independent Health Quality and Complaints Commission was established on 1 July 2006 to allow patients to lodge complaints about health matters.

The Minister stated on 5 October 2005, that "The Forster Review found while Queensland Health's policy reflects contemporary best practice, its implementation has been poor and there is a lack of uniformity and quality in complaints systems across the State. People are unsure how to lodge complaints, staff don't feel confident in handling them and there is an inadequate system for informing Queensland Health about complaints or concerns."^{[citation needed]}

The (full-time) Commissioner is Professor Michael Ward, a former Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland. There are also a number of part-time Assistant Commissioners.

The Health Quality and Complaints Commission also has a role in the development and implementation of quality, safety and clinical practice standards throughout Queensland's public and private services and monitor best practice clinical governance and patient safety.

It was subject to review by an all-party Parliamentary Committee after its first full year of operation.

Payroll problems

In April 2010, it was revealed that many Queensland Health staff were experiencing incorrect payment of wages since the introduction of a new payroll system. The WorkBrain/SAP was a new system which replaced the LATTICE system. It went live in March 2010, without adequate testing and despite warnings from SAP and IBM.

The problem was not resolved by May, with 35,000 wage anomalies to be fixed, but some progress had been made. On 23 November 2010, the Queensland government announced that $209 million will be spent over three years to resolve payment problems.

Abolishment

Premier Anna Bligh announced on 12 December 2011 that the department will be dismantled. The decision was attributed to an "unacceptable culture", the theft of $16 million from the department and problems with the payroll system which has hundreds of millions of dollars. The department will cease operations on 1 July 2012.

In January 2012, more details of the reform plan were announced, with an emphasis on health care management to be done locally. The two new departments taking over the role of Queensland Health are Health and Hospitals Queensland and the Health Corporate Services Authority. Bligh described the changes as the biggest decentralisation of the public sector in the state's history.

See also

• Health care in Australia
• Queensland Ambulance Service

External links

• Queensland Health