The fallout from the way in which Tasmanian Health Service and Launceston General Hospital management failed to respond to the James Geoffrey Griffin matter will harm healthcare in the city for years.
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The admission was made by the Health Department's chief executive for hospitals North and North-West, Eric Daniels, who said the loss of public trust in the LGH will have long-term, wide-reaching effects.
Commission of Inquiry hearings this week have uncovered evidence of repeated professional boundary breaches committed by Griffin without punishment or removal from a children's ward.
A 2011 disclosure by an LGH worker that Griffin had allegedly sexually abused her as a child appeared to vanish after a meeting with human resources, and no action was taken.
Griffin - an alleged long-term serial paedophile - was later charged with a range of child sex offences in 2019 and took his own life. He was alleged to have abused multiple children on the paediatric ward 4K, where he worked for 18 years.
More on the James Geoffrey Griffin hearings:
- Concern after concern, but why did Griffin's manager not act for 11 years?
- The Griffin evidence that was ignored in 2000, before he even worked with children
- One LGH nurse's battle to make James Griffin story public
- LGH worker disclosed Griffin abuse in 2011, so what happened next?
- Department described Griffin comments to girls, 14, as 'well intended'
- How the LGH collectively failed Zoe Duncan and her family
Even after Griffin's death, it has been confirmed the THS and LGH did not investigate how their processes had failed to such an extent that he could go undetected for such a long period.
Mr Daniels said the loss of trust would take years to repair.
"As a result of that we were unable to demonstrate that it was clear that we were managing this effectively," he said.
"The impact on children and families has been significant and as you mentioned earlier, I have significant concerns now - great concerns now - about the capacity of the Launceston General to regain the trust of the community.
"And also, from a workforce perspective, the outcomes of this will be extensive in terms of the capacity to recruit clinical workforce who wish to come and work in this environment.
"I'm predicting it as a future issue."
Only response has been 'good news stories'
Mr Daniels claimed he had not been able to hear much of the evidence this week due to hospitals being "under significant strain for patient access and flow" which required attention.
He requested to change his statement to the commission when he gave evidence on Thursday, in light of evidence from others. His statement included claims that the LGH had responded appropriately to past concerns about Griffin.
It also mentioned that the LGH had been attempting to repair trust since 2019 via "good news stories".
Counsel assisting Elizabeth Bennett SC asked whether an "attempt to properly identify and expose what went wrong" would have been a better way to rebuild trust.
"Correct," Mr Daniels said.
"I feel that I was not aware of the extent of that because I relied on the advice of people who were telling me that those allegations that had been raised had been ... investigated, and not substantiated."
The investigations he refers to was a request for HR to review Griffin's file following July 31, 2019, when the THS was made aware of a police investigation and he was suspended from work, on full pay.
HR has been found to have failed to keep a file note of the 2011 disclosure.
There were no systems to detect patterns of behaviour or grooming.
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