Bullying complaint 'professional suicide'

Bullying complaint 'professional suicide'

A former Royal North Shore Hospital nurse testified today that she had committed "professional suicide" when she complained about being bullied at work.

Helen Ganley told the NSW parliamentary inquiry into the troubled hospital that she had been continually harrassed by her manager. She said that because she had been working a nine-day fortnight she had often been compelled to work 12-to-15-hour days.

Ms Ganley, who no longer works at the hospital, said she tried several times to report her complaint to higher management and at one stage used Freedom of Information laws to access documents relating to her situation. "I complained knowing it was professional suicide," she told told the inquiry.

She was one of three nurses to testify today to the inquiry, which was set up following an outcry over the case of Sydney woman Jana Horska who has testified that she miscarried in the hospital's overstretched emergency ward.

The two other nurses gave their evidence in camera because they said they were too scared to appear openly. The inquiry is expected to wind up this afternoon.

Bullied nurse's complaint 'suicide' (Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November 2007)