Another inquiry into public hospitals?

The problems are already well known; what we need are solutions and health care reform

The New South Wales Government has announced another investigation into the health care system. This latest inquiry was triggered by the Deputy State Coroner, Carl Milovanovich, who called for a “full and open inquiry into the delivery of health services in NSW”.1 The stimulus for this call was his review of the case of 16-year-old Vanessa Anderson, who died after being admitted to Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital. Although mooted to be broader in scope, this inquiry swiftly follows an external review2 and a parliamentary inquiry3 into another patient mishap at the same hospital. In this issue of the Journal, Joseph and Hunyor, two of the Royal North Shore Hospital clinicians who gave evidence at the parliamentary inquiry, provide a first-hand account of the inquiry process and argue the case for clinicians’ active involvement in health care reform (→ The Royal North Shore Hospital inquiry: an analysis of the recommendations and the implications for quality and safety in Australian public hospitals).4