



The Open Disclosure Conversation
When a young patient deteriorates from back pain to septic shock and then paraplegia, the questions begin. ‘Safeguarding Healthcare’ host Dr David Rankin and Dr Paul Lane,the Medical Director Safety, Quality and Innovation at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, dissect this intriguing scenario…

Lessons from loss
A patient in ED dies of a catastrophic stroke after what seems like delays in clinical treatment. What should a medical administrator do? Dr Liz Mullins, Director of Medical Services, Bega Valley Health Service at Southern NSW Local Health District, joins our host, Dr David Rankin, to explore the c…

A bit of a problem in surgery
A surgical tool breaks mid-operation, and a piece of metal is left inside a patient’s knee bone. What would you do? Safeguarding Healthcare host Dr David Rankin presents this complex real-world scenario to seasoned medical administrator Dr Brett Gardiner for his views on how this problem could be s…

Mistakes that burn
A preventable burn, a missed disclosure, and a patient on the brink of legal action — what happens when clinical governance falls short? Our host Dr David Rankin presents a challenging scenario to Professor Mary O’Reily, Chief Medical Officer at Austin Health. Together, they unravel the clinical, s…

Technology and backs
When a hospital’s financial gain potentially clashes with patient wellbeing, who draws the ethical line? Host Dr David Rankin is joined by experienced medical administrator Dr Emily Kirkpatrick to explore a complex ethical dilemma facing hospital executives: should a private hospital invest in an e…

Rural ructions – integrating GPs in country care
Providing adequate healthcare in rural areas can be challenging enough, but what happens when local GPs have a toxic relationship with their community hospital? ‘Safeguarding Healthcare’ host Dr David Rankin discusses such a scenario with Associate Professor Rex Prahbu, the Executive Medical Direct…

Keeping things straight as a board
How do hospital board members champion patient safety and good governance while dealing with complex information offered up by management? ‘Safeguarding Healthcare’ host Dr David Rankin probes this issue by presenting a difficult and thought-provoking scenario to Dr Peter Lowthian, an experienced m…

A bully in theatre
A surgeon’s outburst in the operating theatre leaves a nurse shaken, disrupting patient care and raising serious questions about workplace culture. How should medical leaders respond when bullying behaviors persist despite previous warnings? In this episode, Professor Matt Sabin, Group Director of …

Incidents by the numbers
A serious patient injury flagged by a surgeon exposes a systemic issue with incident classification. What is a medical administrator to do? ‘Safeguarding Healthcare’ host Dr David Rankin dissects this scenario with Dr Lynette Knowles, the Medical Lead for Patient Safety and Quality at Clinical Exce…

Mental illness and patient safety
A locum emergency doctor submits a timesheet claiming excessive overtime and a conversation leads you to suspect they are suffering from mania. How can you protect patient safety while, at the same time, being compassionate and fair? In this episode, host Dr David Rankin presents this difficult sce…