The boss of Canberra Health Services has taken aim at criticism directed towards the service and Calvary following the ACT government's decision to compulsorily acquire Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, saying it was "disappointing" and "deliberate".
His remarks come as the ACT health minister acknowledged the strong feelings of Calvary staff about the forced takeover.
Rachel Stephen-Smith said at a media event on Monday morning that there was a "sense of loss and a sense of grief" among staff at Calvary. "We don't expect that to go away on July 3," she said.
That is the date scheduled for the takeover (assuming a court order doesn't prevent it after a hearing on Wednesday).
The minister said help would be available for staff though she wouldn't say whether that would include grief counsellors.
In his email, chief executive Dave Peffer said that when the government conveyed the acquisition decision Canberra Health Services was warned things would "get messy".
Mr Peffer wrote to Canberra Health Services staff following the acquisition legislation passing the ACT Legislative Assembly, describing it as an "important milestone in moving towards a single-provider, multi-site health care organisation".
But he was also critical of "commentators and spokespeople" who have criticised both Canberra Health Services and Calvary following the acquisition.
"Some of it has been lightly informed, and some seems to have come from interstate," Mr Peffer said.
"It's been disappointing, deliberate and not surprising."
Mr Peffer also said a promise that things would "get messy" had been followed through.
"When the government's decision was conveyed, we were promised that things would 'get messy'. It's a promise they've followed through with on a number of levels in a public way," he said.
"And now of course we have lawyers at 50 paces, doing their thing.
"I don't think it's been helpful. And it's hard to see precisely how that's supporting either health services' workforces, or our patients."
The Assembly passed legislation to allow for the compulsory acquisition last week but are facing a legal challenge from Calvary who have applied for an injunction in the ACT Supreme Court. There will be a hearing this Wednesday to determine whether the injunction will be granted.
Canberra Health Services was set to begin a transition period on Monday before officially taking over the hospital on July 3, however, the government has agreed it will not go ahead with this until after Wednesday's hearing.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said if the matter was settled in the ACT government's favour that she was confident the July 3 date was achievable. She said the government had planned for a range of contingencies, including a court case.
"We've built in a range of contingencies and we've planned for a range of situations, ranging from a situation where we have limited access to the site right through to a fully cooperative transition," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
Speed of acquisition
The government has been criticised for the short timeline for the acquisition by a range of stakeholders including the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.
Mr Peffer defended the pace of the takeover in his email, saying the acquisition had to be fast as it was unsafe to have uncertainty around who was in charge for a long period.
"It's unsafe having uncertainty in clinical governance or decision making in health care for an enduring period of time," he said.
"When a patient arrests or a MET is called, we wouldn't accept a response where no one was sure who was in charge, it'd be a recipe for disaster.
"Having a health service with 12 months of uncertainty about who's going to be in charge isn't good for patients or the workforce."
But while Mr Peffer said the acquisition would be fast, he said the transition period would continue for at least a year.
"A transition program over 12 months however is OK and that's what we've planned for," he said.
"There's some tasks we consider 'critical path' and we'll work to resolve before 3 July, but there are many more that would be completed over the following 12 months in a staged and measured way."
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
