NT: Conflicts of interest, potential fraud dogging NT health
By Karen Michelmore
DARWIN, Feb 12 AAP - The Northern Territory Department of Health will investigate seriousconflict of interest breaches among its senior management.
It has also flagged legal action if cases of misappropriation and fraud are detected,after a damning review into the system was released today.
The Territory government today announced the biggest shake-up in the department's historyafter the highly critical review found chronically low morale, repeated budget blowouts,little accountability and severe problems with the agency's structure and management systems.
The NT Department of Health and Community Services has been racked with structuralfaults, further hampered by the appointment of five different chief executive officersover the past six years, the Bansemer Report said.
NT Health Minister Jane Aagaard said the system was unsustainable in its current form.
The government would make an urgent injection of $15 million into the health budget,and needed to find another $5 million cost savings before the end of the financial year.
The government had injected a total of $70 million into the agency's budget over thepast 18 months, she said.
"The Bansemer Report has found an agency that is top heavy, unnecessarily complex,inefficient and in some cases unaccountable," Ms Aagaard said.
The review found there were "a number of serious instances of unresolved conflict"
in the department's central administration, the hospital system and in departmental serviceprovision.
"Some of them were serious, most of them had the potential to jeopardise the reputationof the department and its management, and to embarrass the minister and the governmentof the day," the report said.
"All of them betoken less than appropriate adherence to standards of public sectorprobity and ethical conduct."
Newly appointed health CEO Robert Griew called for an urgent report.
"It's obviously of great concern," he said.
"I have already sought serious legal assistance in getting to the bottom of it.
"Obviously if there's anything untoward, I will pursue it with absolute vigour."
The department would immediately set up a register of pecuniary interests, as recommendedby the Bansemer Report.
The report also found financial accountability and protection against misappropriationand fraud needed "very real attention".
Some staff were using government vehicles for non-official business, refurbishing orrearranging their own work areas "sometimes for no substantial reason" and there was noproper control of things like taxi vouchers, it found.
Mr Griew said he had called in the auditors to see if there were any cases of fraud.
"If there is any fraud found, it will be totally prosecuted," he said.
He said the problems were symptomatic of the wider problems and breakdown of the health system.
Ms Aagaard said the first priority would be to make the department financially sustainablewith tight budget management, a simpler structure and accountable managers.
The government will scrap the current service delivery system, put in place a simplerexecutive and administrative structure and appoint a chief financial officer.
The initiatives will be put in place over the next three months to form a new structure,with the government to release a five-year blueprint for health and community servicesin May.
AAP km/jnb/ts
KEYWORD: NT HEALTH NIGHTLEAD
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