One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Nurse Ratchet Alive and Well in Australia

From a report in the Sydney Morning Herald

The Tasmanian government is under pressure to resolve allegations of bullying and sexual assault at a Launceston hospital following a report finding abuse complaints were ignored.

An independent investigator was called in to audit Launceston General Hospital's acute mental health unit - Ward 1E - after new claims of patient sexual abuse last June.

The report, by Australian College of Mental Health Nurses president Peter Santangelo, found complaints were either ignored or dismissed as trivial.

It also found staff had inconsistent views about what constituted a complaint or incident for review.

"Of particular concern were disclosures of sexual assault, the subject of recent allegations, which were reported to be either ignored or dismissed as trivial or unreliable because of the mental state of the client making the allegation," Mr Santangelo said in the report.

He said patients feared retribution if they reported abuse.

The audit is the second critical report on Ward 1E in three years.

It also exposed a culture of staff bullying, led by a small, powerful group of psychiatric nurses who were "resistant to change, self-serving, breached rules and regulations and ignored clients".

"No one dares complain about them for fear of retribution," the report said.

Mr Santangelo found 22 of the 26 recommendations made in a 2005 report on 1E by the Health Complaints Commissioner had been implemented.

He made 38 further recommendations, which Tasmanian Health Minister Lara Giddings has committed to adopt.

They include better complaints handling, clinical supervision for staff and staff education and training in relation to workplace harassment policies.

Whistleblower and former mental health nurse Leila Rossiter said she was disgusted there had been two investigations in three years and the problem had not been resolved.

"It's absolutely soul destroying what's happening there," she told ABC Radio.

"I remember when it all came out a few years ago, like trying to tell people that it was the tip of the iceberg ... and it's very disappointing to see that it's still happening at 1E."

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