Complaints about AHPRA notifications increase by 39%: Ombudsman

There have been fewer complaints about AHPRA overall but a sharp spike in those about the notifications process, according to the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman (NHPO).
 
Figures contained in its recently released annual report show complaints about notifications have gone up by more than a third compared to the previous 12 months, with the rise in those related to fairness and the process itself labelled as ‘troubling’ by the NHPO.
 
‘We continue to explore the causes of these increases,’ the report states.
 
‘It is important that AHPRA’s attempts to reduce the length of time taken to manage notifications does not lead to negative results downstream.’
 
More health practitioners are also approaching the NHPO than previously, leading the report’s authors to suggest that the 27% increase could reflect an expanding awareness of its role.
 
Nonetheless, most issues raised about the handling of a notification were made by the person who made the complaint.

The NHPO also acknowledged concerns from practitioners about the potential abuse of the AHPRA notifications process.
 
Accounting for 430 complaints (65% of the total), the feedback surrounding the notifications process was a return to pre-pandemic trends, the NHPO believes.
 
‘This trend has been consistent for many years,’ the report states.
 
‘However, the volume of notification-related complaints was 39% higher than last financial year.’
 
In 2022–23, there was also a significant slide in the number of COVID-19-related complaints, the NHPO notes, with just 12 relating to pandemic policy or response compared to 306 during the previous year.
 
‘This change drove the overall reduction in the number of Ombudsman complaints we received this financial year,’ the annual report states.  
 
When approached about the NHPO report, AHPRA referenced the volume of complaints it receives.
 
‘Although there was an increase in complaints that related to notifications, it’s important to note that last year we received 9706 notifications about 7970 practitioners, and closed more than 10,500 notifications,’ a spokesperson for AHPRA and the national boards told newsGP.
 
‘It is reassuring to note that the vast majority of complaints referred to the NHPO are closed with no further action required.’
 
They also referred to ‘significant changes’ it has been made to the way notifications are managed.  
 
‘We increased resources focused on those issues we assess as posing a significant risk to the public,’ they said.
 
‘Through the introduction of a revised case-management process we also better identified low-risk notifications suitable for an early determination, while referring higher-risk notifications to our new strengthening practice team.’
 
According to AHPRA, around half of the notifications accepted last year were referred to the strengthening practice team.
 
‘This new way of working means that, where appropriate, we champion non-adversarial, personal engagement between notification staff, our clinical advisors and the practitioners who are the subject of a notification,’ they stated.
 
‘This allows safeguards to be put in place to protect the public while detailed information is sought in line with the complexity of the issue raised.’
 
In its annual report, the NHPO acknowledged the impact of the regulator’s efforts to cut the length of time to resolve notifications.
 
‘While our office identified some concerns with AHPRA’s new triaging model, it appears to have helped AHPRA to manage notifications more quickly,’ the annual report states.
 
It said the number of complaints linked to delays fell to 92 from 110.
 
‘However, the triaging model has also changed the number of concerns AHPRA manages as a notification,’ the NHPO noted.
 
‘This has flow-on effects for how we record complaint issues.’
 
Fourty-four complaints, including 41 by health practitioners, alleged that AHPRA had failed to identify a notification as vexatious. Of those, 16 had involved regulatory action regarding the practitioner’s registration.
 
The Ombudsman said a review of vexatious complaints processes ‘will strengthen protections against the use of the notifications process to cause harm, while ensuring that the process remains open and accessible to notifiers raising concerns about patient safety’.
 
A newsGP survey earlier this year suggested that four in five readers believe they have been the subject of a complaint that was an improper use of the system. 
 
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