1. Does Ms McCosker admit to lying to The Area News on 24 July by claiming she discussed the matter with clinicians and staff when she did not?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The suggestion that we have not been honest is outrageous and strongly denied.
Here are the facts.
Our local Operations Director had initial discussions with pathology staff on Thursday 20 July to discuss the proposed change to our histopathology service.
We were also invited by Griffith Hospital’s management to present the recommendation to the hospital’s Medical Staff Council, which we did later that same day.
These meetings took place after months of assessment and discussion with the hospital’s management to ensure we can continue to provide the best service for local patients and clinicians.
The proposed changes will have no impact on where patients receive their care or the outstanding quality local care they currently receive.
We will continue talking with our staff, hospital management and clinicians to work through any questions they have.
2. If she does not admit this, does Ms McCosker have any evidence of her claimed discussions with staff (e.g. minutes, meeting agenda, emails etc.)?
The proposed changes are the subject of ongoing discussions with our staff, hospital management and local Clinicians.
This will have no impact on where patients receive their care or the outstanding quality local care they currently receive.
As stated, our local Operations Director had initial discussions with pathology staff on Thursday 20 July to discuss the proposed change to our histopathology service.
We were also invited by Griffith Hospital’s management to present the recommendation to the hospital’s Medical Staff Council which we did later that same day.
These meetings took place after months of assessment and discussion with the hospital’s management to ensure we can continue to provide the best service for local patients and clinicians.
Our Operations Director and our Chief Executive participated in follow-up discussions with hospital management and clinicians on 25 July.
It is not appropriate for us to share any further details about the discussions we’ve held with our staff or the hospital staff.
We will continue talking with our staff, hospital management and clinicians to work through any questions they have.
3. On what date/dates did Ms McCosker's claimed discussions with clinicians and staff take place?
As stated, our local Operations Director had initial discussions with pathology staff on Thursday 20 July to discuss the proposed change to our histopathology service.
We were also invited by Griffith Hospital’s management to present the recommendation to the hospital’s Medical Staff Council which we did later that same day.
These meetings took place after months of assessment and discussion with the hospital’s management to ensure we can continue to provide the best service for local patients and clinicians.
Our Operations Director and our Chief Executive participated in follow-up discussions with hospital management and clinicians on 25 July.
We will continue talking with our staff, hospital management and clinicians to work through any questions they have.
4. Given Ms McCosker's assurance there will be "no impact" on the "outstanding quality local care" patients currently receive, can she guarantee patients will receive histopathology tissue test results as fast as they do now?
5. Could you please confirm the process and timeframe for transporting tissue samples from Griffith to Wagga, and informing patients of test results?
We can reassure the community the proposed change will not impact the timings in which local clinicians receive their patients’ results.
For all urgent or critical cases, we will continue to process, diagnose and report to Griffith clinicians by the following day.
Routine cases will continue to be processed, diagnosed and reported within five days as they are now.
Complex cases, which require further specialist analysis or opinion, can require additional time. This varies depending on the nature and complexity of the case.
Our Wagga lab already supports Griffith Hospital when our Griffith histopathology staff are on leave.
There will be no impact on where patients receive their care or the outstanding quality local care they currently receive.
This is simply so we can provide the best service for local patients and clinicians into the future.
ENDS