Child safety review to be carried out at Launceston Hospital
The Tasmanian government is going to conduct a review of child safety and management of complaints at the Launceston General Hospital.
The Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's response to child sexual abuse in Institutional Settings turned its focus to the Launceston General Hospital last week.
This article contains content that some readers may find distressing.
The inquiry has heard of the catastrophic failings at the hospital about its handling of notorious paedophile James Geoffrey Griffin, who worked as a nurse on the children's ward.
During the hearings, it was revealed that a senior executive at the hospital got most of her information about the investigation into Griffin from two podcasts.
The inquiry also heard Griffin's nursing supervisor said he was aware of him hugging young patients but his behaviour was accepted by all staff and in her opinion at the time was something that could be addressed by education. Another senior manager admitted to the inquiry that none of the hospital's complaints systems were adequate to identify child sexual abuse, and no one had had the training needed to identify such abuse or grooming.
Last Tuesday, a witness learned that he wasn't abused when he gave evidence at the state health department's health department conducted an investigation into his alleged sexual abuse at the hospital, instead choosing to not approach him for input and reached the conclusion he wasn't abused.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said at a press conference on Sunday that the Child Safe Governance Review will look into management of the hospital and human resources.
The review will focus on the handling of serious misconduct such as institutional child sexual abuse through the lens of child safety, according to Rockliff.
The terms of reference for the review are intended to ensure public confidence and the safety of the service and make recommendations as to changes required to improve organisational structure, management and leadership, including the establishment of an independent complaints management unit. The review, announced on Sunday afternoon, will be carried out before recommendations are released from the inquiry, which is currently underway in Launceston.
Premier Rockliff said that we will not be waiting for those recommendations when we can clearly action important matters right now.
He wanted to sincerely acknowledge and thank our victims and survivors, their families and their loved ones for their bravery and courage in coming forward. Those past wrongs can never be repeated, he said. The panel will be appointed this week, with recommendations expected by November 2022.
The commission is scheduled to hold hearings in Hobart and Launceston until August 19 with live streaming available.