Doctors should be required to immediately notify a national regulator if they have writs against them or have reached confidential settlements, according to Victoria’s health minister.
Jill Hennessy will urge her federal and interstate counterparts next month to review the way the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) operates.
The review bid follows the national agency coming under fire last year for taking more than two years to respond to complaints about a doctor at the Bacchus Marsh Hospital.
Ms Hennessy accused AHPRA of failing to do its job after a recent investigation into stillborn deaths at the hospital found there were 18 preventable baby deaths between 2003 and 2014.
An ABC investigation in February revealed that one of the obstetricians at Bacchus Marsh Hospital had 15 writs against them for alleged medical negligence over 14 years.
The doctor, who reportedly settled all of the cases, was reported several times to AHPRA, but doctors who are sued and reach a confidential settlement are not currently required to inform the regulator.
Ms Hennessy said Victorians deserved a regulator that put patient safety “front and centre”.
“Since becoming health minister, it has become clear to me there are a number of gaps in the national legislation that regulates doctors, nurses and other health professionals in our health system,” she said.
“That’s why later this year, I will be bringing a suite of legislative reform proposals to the October COAG [Council of Australian Governments] Health Council meeting and requesting my colleagues to review the way in which AHPRA operates.”
Ms Hennessy said the proposals, including mandatory notification of medical settlement cases and writs, would strengthen public safety. An AHPRA spokeswoman said the investigations into the Bacchus Marsh Hospital were ongoing and at various stages.
She said a number of doctors and midwives were being questioned.
“AHPRA is participating in work with state and territory governments on ways in which the system of practitioner regulation can be improved,” the spokeswoman said.
“We’re also working to streamline the management of complaints with other health complaints bodies, address false or misleading claims by registered health practitioners, and review the use of chaperoning restrictions.”
