Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2000/2001

of the excellent service provided by the hospital. Subsequently, with both mother
and baby safely home, the woman received bills from the hospital for herself and
her daughter who was not covered by any private insurance. The woman's
husband complained that she had not been given the option of deciding whether
their daughter was to be treated as a public or private patient. In any case, the
paediatrician who treated his daughter was also the consultant on duty.
The hospital tried to reduce the bill by encouraging the paediatrician to accept
the Medicare rebate only. However, the doctor refused on account of the
succession of heated arguments that he had with the woman's husband. The
hospital then instituted recovery proceedings. During the conciliation process it
was discovered that the hospital staff had failed to arrange for the patient to elect
the private/public status of the baby. They acknowledged that their
communication procedures had failed. As a result they changed their admission
processes and agreed to waive the outstanding account.
Once again we would like to acknowledge the vital role of the independent
consultants who provide opinions for conciliation purposes. The opinions are
invariably provided willingly and are essential to the continued success of conciliation
in the HSC.
The conciliation process often involves close liaison with lawyers for all parties and
relations with the legal firms involved have generally been excellent.
As in previous years, senior conciliators continue to provide mentorship for the
conciliators in the equivalent organisations interstate and this has resulted in a
consistent approach to conciliation of health complaints.
Table 7. Resolution by Conciliators
Outcome 1999/2000 2000/01
Agreement reached 87% 89%
Withdrawn by user 9% 8%
Withdrawn to go to law 4% 3%
REGISTRAR’S REPORT
The major function of the Registrar for the year ending June 2001 was consulting with
all registration boards in relation to consumer complaints. Internal case management,
managing the enquiry function and considering Freedom of Information requests are
also the responsibility of the Registrar. Three requests under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 were processed with full access being granted.
The practice of registration boards faxing through to HSC all consumer complaints as
soon as they are received for the purpose of early discussion, and referral where
appropriate, has continued. Regular meetings with the Registrars of all Boards have
been ongoing. This exchange of information has resulted in complaints received by
boards which are suitable for conciliation by the HSC being referred to the
Commissioner without delay and complaints received by the Commissioner which
Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2000/2001 31