A report has found a man deliberately failed to disclose his criminal and disciplinary history before working unregistered as a doctor in a regional South Australian hospital for nearly a week The review has detailed serious flaws in SA Health's recruiting process.
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00:00 In one of the state's major regional centres, an imposter lied his way into the hospital
00:07 for six days.
00:09 I think he deceived the staff to gain access into the emergency department and then purported
00:14 to be an intern when he was unregistered.
00:17 The overseas trained man was recruited as an intern in Port Augusta without registration,
00:23 but with his name on the roster, he was able to gain access. The incident, prompting two
00:28 reviews released today.
00:31 One found flaws in recruitment processes that saw the doctor, who had a professional disciplinary
00:37 history and a criminal history of deception and dishonesty around registration, proceed
00:43 without serious scrutiny.
00:45 The other reviewer found the man was prematurely integrated into the health system, which saw
00:50 him become overly familiar with the hospital, where he was able to assume the role of an
00:56 intern as an imposter before being registered and certified.
01:00 It was very clear, or should have been very clear to him, that he was not registered and
01:05 he was therefore not eligible to work under any circumstances.
01:08 What an absolute ball's up. You know, this is a situation that represents a failure at
01:15 so many different levels.
01:18 Among the more than 60 recommendations across the reports, staff conducted Google search
01:24 for all applications, and that SA Health review and revise its criminal history screening
01:30 policies. While no incoming employees should be put onto a roster before their recruitment
01:36 is finalised, and access cards shouldn't be created or issued to potential staff members
01:43 at orientation.
01:44 SA Health says it accepts all the recommendations.
01:48 I think our staff's honest view that they would not be deceived by a health professional
01:55 was a significant contributor to this incident.
01:59 The Health Minister says the reports highlight extensive deception and will be used to improve
02:05 systems. The opposition says the government must now do everything it can to ensure a
02:09 similar case doesn't happen again.
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