The Corruption and Crime Commission has today tabled a report in Parliament following its preliminary investigation into an allegation of serious misconduct at Rockingham General Hospital.
The allegation related to the death certification process for patient Mr Kevin Reid, who died at the hospital in September 2022.
It was alleged that an executive officer at the hospital attempted to coerce a medical services registrar into changing the date of death on Mr Reid’s death certificate.
The Commission did not investigate whether the Mr Reid had passed away at the time death was pronounced.
The Commission has completed its investigation, which included a private examination and the review of a range of documents. No serious misconduct was identified in relation to the allegation.
However, the investigation did highlight a misconduct risk in relying on paper records. It is now a matter for Rockingham General Hospital to manage that risk.
This investigation serves an important reminder for all public sector agencies whose operations have a reliance on hard copy or manual forms of record keeping.