The new boss of Canberra Hospital has pulled out of the job, just days after it was announced she would take the helm of the troubled organisation.
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Janet Anderson was announced as chief executive of Health Services, which would oversee Canberra Hospital, on Monday morning at the opening of a nurse-led walk-in centre in Gungahlin.
After coming to Canberra for the announcement of her appointment on Monday, Ms Anderson flew back to the Northern Territory that evening. By Thursday morning, the government confirmed she would no longer be taking the job.
Health Services is a new organisation that will be formed after the current ACT Health directorate splits on October 1.
ACT Health interim director-general Michael De'Ath will become director general of ACT Health, which will oversee governance of Canberra's health services, and Ms Anderson was to become chief executive of Health Services, which will oversee Canberra Hospital and the clinical delivery of services.
However Ms Anderson has pulled out of the role for personal reasons.
"Due to personal circumstances, Janet has advised that she is no longer able to take up this appointment. We understand that she genuinely regrets having to withdraw from her appointment and wish her all the best for her future," an ACT government spokeswoman said.
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It raises questions about who will lead the new organisation when it begins operating next month.
However the government spokeswoman said the loss of Ms Anderson would have no impact on the restructure.
"There is currently a deputy director-general of Canberra Hospital and Health Services in place and the recruitment for the chief executive officer role will be a priority for the head of service. The new organisations begin on 1 October 2018," she said.
Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris told ABC Radio there would be "a plan in place over the next week" to recruit a new chief executive. She said she understood and shared the disappointment of staff about the resignation.
"While we wish Janet all the very best and obviously it is a bit unsettling, but it’s a priority for me to work with the Head of Service who makes these appointments to get a process in place," Ms Fitzharris said.
The split of the 7000-staff ACT Health directorate into policy and operational arms was announced in March, amid allegations of bullying, long-standing issues with data reporting in the directorate and a lack of communication between the directorate and the minister.
ACT Opposition health spokeswoman Vicki Dunne said effectively, Health had lost two leaders in two months.
"It does send a bad message and I feel for the staff, the staff have been put under more uncertainty, more pressure because they won't have a leader," Mrs Dunne said.
Mrs Dunne also said the next appointment should have experience in hospital administration.
Ms Anderson led the Northern Territory government's response to the youth detention royal commission and is a former deputy chief executive and acting chief executive of the Northern Territory Department of Health.
Before that, she was first assistant secretary in the Commonwealth Department of Health and a senior executive in the NSW Ministry of Health.
In 2009, she was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in health policy development and reform and was an adjunct professor in the University of Technology's Nursing, Midwifery and Health faculty for five years, focusing on health system governance, policy and strategy.
"It seems to me that the person who was appointed didn’t have hospital administration experience and I think what we need is someone who knows how to manage a hospital," Mrs Dunne said.
However Ms Fitzharris said on radio Ms Anderson "had been involved in the operational elements of health service delivery".
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation ACT branch secretary Matthew Daniel said he was concerned the resignation would cause further delays in "getting people settled".
"We need a speedy resolution for the new structure and part of that is the CEO role. We've got issues we need to address with the health service, ongoing issues, and we need those clear governance structures in place so we know who to raise those issues with at a high level," Mr Daniel said.
"In the short term I don't have concerns about practitioners providing excellent, safe care but we need that level of bureaucracy to really get its act together and provide frontline staff with the support we need."
Dr Maurice Mulcahy - a urologist who now practices privately - said he had witnessed bullying and harassment within Canberra's public hospitals which was putting patients' lives at risk, and that he was pushed out of the organisation after calling for improvements in training and culture.
