Hospital safety reports withheld

Hospital safety reports withheld

Sean Parnell, FOI editor December 23, 2008
Article from: The Australian
REPORTS detailing the extent and economic impact of dangerous and sometimes fatal errors in hospitals are being withheld from the public.
The Rudd Government's hospital safety regulator, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, earlier this year commissioned a series of reports from associate professor Terri Jackson.
But The Australian's bid to gain access to the reports using Freedom of Information laws has been blocked by the commission because it would damage relations between governments and potentially hinder reform efforts.
The commission's deputy chief executive Bill Lawrence yesterday said Professor Jackson obtained information from a state government "under the requirement that it would remain confidential unless and until the state approved its release".
While Professor Jackson -- who works at the Australian Centre for Economic Research on Health at the University of Queensland -- has used West Australian data in the past, it is understood for this project she is relying on Queensland and Victorian data.
The Australian understands Professor Jackson has found that, on average, about 12per cent of hospital procedures in those states encounter problems, the most costly being post-procedural and general maternity complications.
Mr Lawrence said while he considered the public interest in making the reports known to the broader community, he also needed to consider the need to preserve the efficient and proper function of government, its relationships and "the interest in promoting further research into the causes of patient safety risks and the economic effects of patient safety interventions".
"In my view, in relation to these documents, the factors against disclosure outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure, as the risk of damage to relations in regard to the safety and quality of healthcare is very high," Mr Lawrence said.
The reports included a draft paper titled Costs of Sentinel Events to Australia's Health Care System and a more recent draft paper entitled Setting Economic Priorities for Patient Safety Programs.
Mr Lawrence was unavailable for further comment.
A spokesman for Health Minister Nicola Roxon could not be contacted yesterday.
In a submission to the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission this year, the commission identified a need for more readily available economic information, which it vowed to deliver for authorities to make informed policy decisions.