Residents of Geelong and the surrounding Surf Coast have voiced significant concerns about their medical care, lodging more than 100 formal complaints against health practitioners in a single year. The data reveals a community actively seeking accountability within the local healthcare system.
Scope of Complaints in the Geelong Region
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) received a total of 107 notifications concerning registered health professionals working in the Geelong and Surf Coast area during the 2022/23 financial year. This figure underscores a persistent level of patient and community concern regarding medical services in the region.
These notifications cover a wide range of issues, from clinical care to professional conduct. The most common ground for complaint was related to clinical care, which includes diagnosis, treatment, and the overall management of a patient's health. Other frequent reasons for lodging a notification involved concerns about a practitioner's health, their professional conduct, and issues surrounding communication.
Breakdown by Practitioner Type
Medical practitioners, which includes doctors and surgeons, faced the highest number of complaints. AHPRA's report shows that 49 notifications were made specifically about medical practitioners in the Geelong and Surf Coast region. This group consistently attracts the most notifications nationwide due to the high-risk nature and volume of their work.
Nurses and midwives were the subject of 20 notifications, while dental practitioners received 11 complaints. The remaining notifications were spread across other health professions including psychology, pharmacy, and physiotherapy.
It is crucial to understand that a 'notification' is not a definitive finding of wrongdoing. It is the official term for a complaint or concern raised with AHPRA, which the agency then assesses to determine if further investigation or action is required.
National Context and Regulatory Response
The 107 notifications from the Geelong area contribute to a much larger national picture. Across Australia, AHPRA and the National Boards received 10,872 notifications about registered health practitioners in the same period. This represents a small fraction of the over 900,000 registered practitioners in the country.
Following the initial assessment of a notification, AHPRA takes various actions. In the Geelong cases, the outcomes for the 2022/23 period included:
- Taking no further action on 54 of the matters.
- Issuing cautions or imposing conditions on registration in 18 cases.
- Referring 10 matters to a tribunal or court for serious disciplinary action.
- Other outcomes, such as accepting an undertaking from a practitioner or referring them to a health panel, accounted for the remainder.
Martin Fletcher, CEO of AHPRA, emphasised that the primary goal of the notification process is to protect the public. "Our focus is on keeping the public safe by managing risks to patients," Fletcher stated. He also highlighted that the process is designed to be fair to the practitioners involved, who have the right to respond to any allegations made against them.
Encouraging Public Vigilance
AHPRA and the National Boards actively encourage people to come forward if they have serious concerns about a health practitioner's conduct or performance. The agency provides clear channels for submitting notifications and offers guidance on what type of concerns should be reported.
For residents of Geelong and the Surf Coast, these figures serve as a reminder of the regulatory framework in place. They demonstrate that systems exist to address grievances and that community engagement is a key component in maintaining standards across the healthcare sector.
The data shows an engaged community willing to use formal pathways to report concerns, which in turn allows regulators to identify potential patterns and intervene where necessary to ensure safe healthcare for all Victorians.
