Safeguarding Healthcare

You are troubled by what may be an increased incidence of a normally routine surgical side effect. Where do you even begin to start troubleshooting? In this episode of ‘Safeguarding Healthcare - the Essentials of Clinical Governance’, host Dr David Rankin guides Dr Paul Tridgell through this challenging scenario. Together they explore the complexities of medical administration and the challenges i...

What is Clinical Governance and what is the role of the Director of a healthcare organisation in ensuring the care that is provided is safe? In this episode, Dr David Rankin takes an unfortunate scenario that is not uncommon in the modern hospital. He explores the meaning of clinical governance with a range of senior medical administrators and then looks at the role of the director. The episode ex...

What would you do if you discovered that one of your gynecologists had lied about their credentials? What are the implications for patients, staff, and the hospital at large? In this episode of ‘Safeguarding Healthcare’, Dr David Rankin discusses this challenging scenario with Dr Simon Fraser, Senior Medical Advisor at Medibank, and a Board member on a Victorian regional health service. The scenar...

Where do you draw the line when assessing if a surgeon is qualified to undertake specific surgery? How do you determine their scope of clinical practice, and what happens if you have doubts? In this episode of 'Safeguarding Healthcare’, host Dr David Rankin and Dr Leah Barrett-Beck explore a challenging scenario. Learn about the importance of credentialing, ongoing training, and ensuring patient s...

A registrar is found asleep with his phone turned off during a serious emergency. In this episode of ‘Safeguarding Healthcare’, host Dr David Rankin poses a scenario involving a senior obstetric registrar who fails to respond to urgent calls during what has been a quiet shift. Dr. Rachel Cheong, the Director of Medical Services at Barwon Health in Geelong, responds to the hypothetical, offering in...

How do you deal with an anaesthetist who may have been sampling leftover fentanyl? In this episode of “Safeguarding Healthcare - the Essentials of Clinical Governance,” Dr David Rankin explores a complex scenario involving suspected drug misuse, unravelling the intricate threads of patient safety, staff well-being, and organisational culture. Dr Sue Nightingale, a seasoned psychiatrist and former...

In this episode of ‘Safeguarding Healthcare’, Dr David Rankin delves into the complexities of medical administration with guest Dr Bahare Moradi, the Acting Director of Medical Services at the Royal North Shore Hospital in northern Sydney. Together, they dissect a common scenario involving a surgical registrar facing a challenging appendectomy. Dr Moradi highlights the delicate balance between pat...

Compliance issues can be fraught. Engaging senior staff can be more like herding cats. In this episode of ‘Safeguarding Healthcare’, Dr David Rankin highlights the challenges faced by medical administrators focusing on the low compliance rates among hospital staff, especially senior medical professionals, with essential training requirements such as hand hygiene, emergency procedures, and cultural...

What would you do if you found surgical instruments not being sterilised? In this episode of 'Safeguarding Healthcare – the Essentials of Clinical Governance', Dr David Rankin presents such a scenario to Professor Mary O'Reilly, Chief Medical Officer at Austin Health in Melbourne and an infectious disease specialist. Together, they navigate the aftermath of a potential sterilisation oversight invo...

In this episode of 'Safeguarding Healthcare – the Essentials of Clinical Governance', Dr David Rankin explores the complexities of medical administration with Dr Paul Eleftheriou, Principal at Nous Group and former Chief Medical Officer at Western Health. They discuss a hypothetical scenario where tension between medical and nursing staff has contributed to a patient's avoidable death, emphasising...

How will artificial intelligence influence healthcare in the near future; what is the potential and what are the pitfalls? In this episode of ‘Safeguarding Healthcare - the Essentials of Clinical Governance’, host Dr David Rankin challenges senior healthcare administrator and healthcare futurist Professor Erwin Loh with a striking scenario. Together they delve into what to do when AI makes a mista...

What would you do if a senior psychiatrist was slacking off, and staff had gone behind management’s back to report the matter? In this episode of Safeguarding Healthcare, Dr David Rankin presents Dr Leigh Haysom, the Clinical Director of Adolescent Health and Director of Medical Services for NSW’s Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network, with this difficult scenario. Dr Haysom offers ins...

In this episode of ‘Safeguarding Healthcare – the Essentials of Clinical Governance’, host Dr David Rankin interviews Professor Andrew Johnson from James Cook University, a veteran medical administrator now working as a consultant. They dissect the importance of measuring improvement effectively and addressing risk tolerance within the hospital system. Prof. Johnson suggests a shift in focus towar...

In this episode of "Safeguarding Healthcare – the Essentials of Clinical Governance," Dr. Liz Mullins, the Director of Medical Services for Bega Valley Health Service, discusses engaging surgical staff in quarterly specialist craft group meetings with host Dr David Rankin. They address issues of relevance, consultation and the importance of mutual benefit. Dr. Mullins emphasizes the need for proac...

What does a medical administrator do when a patient who suffers complications from surgery complains that they weren’t warned? In this episode of Safeguarding Healthcare, Dr David Rankin delves into the intricate world of informed consent with Dr Tony Sara, who is a Medical Advisor at South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, President of the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation and...

What does a medical administrator do when an aging, small town local doctor, in a region with medical staff shortage, starts to get too tired and makes mistakes? In this episode of Safeguarding Healthcare, host Dr David Rankin is in discussion with Associate Professor Kathleen Atkinson. Kath is a very senior clinician and medical administrator with over 35 years’ experience as a rural generalist....

What are the best approaches to being an effective medical department manager — even if you come to the job reluctantly? In this episode of Safeguarding Healthcare, host Dr David Rankin speaks with Dr Simon Collins about the challenges faced by medical department heads, focusing on a hypothetical scenario involving tensions between emergency and anaesthetic departments. The episode covers issues l...

When an inpatient takes his own life, it sparks myriad issues and concerns for any medical administrator. In this episode, Dr David Rankin and Dr Nick O'Connor explore the challenges of medical administration in this tragic scenario, through the lens of the restorative justice approach. Dr O’Connor is the Clinical Lead of the Mental Health Patient Safety Program for the NSW Clinical Excellence Com...

How would a seasoned medical administrator handle a doctor whose eyesight is failing? In this episode of Safeguarding Healthcare Dr David Rankin delves into the complex world of medical administration with the Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Acting Director of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Western Health, Dr Rupert Sherwood. Dr Sherwood is presented with the challenges and dilemmas raised by a...

In this episode of Safeguarding Healthcare, we look at what would happen in a hospital when a newborn dies after a mother and midwife choose to ignore hospital protocols. Host and veteran medical administrator Dr David Rankin presents a senior NSW Health Ministry medical advisor, Dr Paul Douglas, with this hot-button scenario, in a medical landscape where patients are demanding more say in their c...

In this episode of Safeguarding Healthcare, seasoned medical administrator Professor Gavin Frost and host Dr David Rankin discuss the complex scenario of a young, enthusiastic surgeon who is proposing a novel technique for pediatric diabetes management. They discuss the challenges, considerations, and stakeholder involvement necessary for such a venture, from the importance of research and evidenc...

In this episode, another senior medical administrator is confronted with a challenging scenario: how to address high hospital-acquired infection rates. Clinical governance veteran Dr David Rankin speaks with Dr Peter Lowthian, who has worked as a Director of Medical Services and who currently serves on the boards of a large private hospital and the Australasian Cardiac Surgery Research Institution...

In this episode of Safeguarding Healthcare, we take a deep dive into the world of healthcare audits, their benefits, and pitfalls. Clinical governance veteran Dr David Rankin speaks with Brigadier Dr Darrell Duncan, a highly experienced administrator who is currently responsible for reviewing the standards of care provided to members of the Australian Defence Force. Dr Duncan emphasizes the need t...

Let veteran medical administrator Dr David Rankin be your guide through another minefield, as he challenges a senior hospital medical administrator with a staffing situation that threatens to impact patient safety. Dr Rankin explores a complex scenario involving an aging senior surgeon with Professor Alan Sandford AM, the Director of Medical Academic Development – Regional Medical Pathway, Central...

What should administrators do and what’s best for the patient and the hospital when a terrible mistake takes place? In this episode of "Safeguarding Healthcare”, Dr. David Rankin hosts Dr. Helen Parsons, the District Director Medical Services for the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, as they delve into a nightmare scenario – a wrong-site surgery. Learn about the protocols, patient safet...