Health watchdog must put patient welfare first and foremost

Australian consumers rely heavily on effective regulators across many industry sectors.

This is especially important in healthcare where negligence or incompetence can result in disfigurement, long-term pain and even death; proactive and effective watchdogs are vital to safeguarding patients’ interests.

It is disappointing then that one of the nation’s most important supervisory bodies, the Australian Healthcare Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), is once more in the spotlight.

As health editor, Kate Aubusson, reports in today’s Sun-Herald many injured, chronically ill and traumatised patients have accused AHPRA of failing to adequately investigate allegations of gross negligence and misconduct by doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals.

They report a worrying lack of transparency in the agency’s complaints handling; cases are sometimes dismissed without investigation, and no explanation is offered as to why.

Earlier this year the ABC’s Four Corners detailed how the agency failed to act on multiple complaints about surgeries performed by renowned Melbourne gynaecologist Simon Gordon.

While Gordon says he always acted “ethically and responsibly”, expert colleagues say AHPRA “dropped the ball” when it took no action on the complaints.

Today’s report describes how patients received pro forma letters from AHPRA in response to detailed and often deeply personal testimonials. Patients also complain of an alarming lack of trauma-informed communication with agency staff.

This is not the first time AHPRA’s performance has been called into question.

In 2021 and 2022 the Cosmetic Cowboys series of investigative reports by this masthead– along with reporting by 60 Minutes and Four Corners – documented scores of cases where people suffered horrific disfigurement and life-threatening complications after cosmetic procedures.

The investigation exposed widespread malpractice and predatory marketing within Australia’s multibillion-dollar cosmetic surgery industry.

Following those reports hundreds of people joined a class action demanding compensation for botched cosmetic surgery.

These revelations put AHPRA under intense scrutiny and raised doubts about its capacity to protect patients.

At the time, consumer affairs expert and former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Allan Fels warned the agency was “ineffective in protecting the public from very dangerous practices in cosmetic surgery”.

Health practitioners are often poorly served by the AHRPA’s long-winded investigations. Those subject to a lengthy probe face psychological distress, loss of income and reputational damage – even when complaints are eventually dismissed.

A recent review concluded that dissatisfaction with the agency’s complaints handling was felt “equally deeply” by both patients and practitioners. That’s no surprise considering the average duration of investigations was found to have increased by 52 per cent between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

One in four of the agency’s investigations dragged on for over two years without resolution.

AHPRA works alongside 15 national boards to ensure hundreds of thousands of health practitioners across the nation are suitably trained, qualified and safe to practise; this masthead acknowledges this is a challenging remit.

The regulator’s five-year reform strategy to better protect the public is encouraging. Work already under way is welcome, including the publication of historical findings of sexual misconduct against practitioners on AHPRA’s public register.

But there is no justification for keeping patients who lodge complaints with the agency in the dark.

The lack of transparency of AHPRA’s investigations risks damaging the community’s trust in our health system.

Jordan Baker sends a newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive her Note from the Editor.