The head of Australia's healthcare safety and quality commission will help lead a review into a Tasmanian hospital at the centre of child sexual abuse allegations.
A commission of inquiry has in recent weeks heard of "catastrophic" system failures surrounding the Launceston General Hospital and former nurse James Geoffrey Griffin.
Griffin, who worked on the hospital's pediatric ward for 18 years, took his own life in October 2019 after being charged with several child sexual abuse offences.
Multiple survivors have told the inquiry about being abused by Griffin, who was the subject of boundary breaches that weren't escalated and several abuse-related reports to police that weren't properly investigated.
The state Liberal government on Wednesday announced Professor Debora Picone AO and Adjunct Professor Karen Crawshaw would co-chair an urgent review into child safety governance at the hospital.
The review was called on July 3 and will provide recommendations by November.
Prof Picone has been the CEO of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care since 2012, while Prof Crawshaw has held senior executive positions within the NSW public service.
Victim-survivors will be able to give advice to the review, while staff have been also invited to participate.
"The evidence given to the commission ... has been very confronting. It is critical that we ensure that there is a culture of accountable leadership for child safety in our hospitals," Premier and Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said in a statement.
The state government is setting up a centralised complaints unit for staff to report matters relating to child sexual abuse.
The ongoing inquiry, which is investigating child sexual abuse in public institutions, was called in November 2020 largely in response to allegations against Griffin receiving media coverage.
It has been told of a toxic staff culture on the children's ward, confusion over complaint reporting methods and Griffin's "touchy-feely" conduct being brushed off.
A social worker informed hospital human resources in 2011 Griffin had abused her as a child but said she was told nothing could be done without a conviction.
