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Former GC appointed co-chair for Tasmanian Child Safe Governance Review
A senior legal counsel-turned-adjunct-professor and consulting principal has been appointed as the co-chair of a review into the Launceston General Hospital and Human Resources, which will focus on the handling of serious misconduct such as institutional child sexual abuse.
Jerome Doraisamy
In a statement, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff announced the appointment of independent co-chairs Professor Debora Picone AO and Adjunct Professor Karen Crawshaw PSM for the governance advisory panel, which will conduct the review.
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Adjunct Professor Crawshaw has held several senior executive positions within the NSW Public Service, the Premier noted in a statement, including as NSW Health’s director legal and general counsel for 17 years.
She has also worked as deputy secretary governance, workforce and corporate until 2017, with responsibility for a broad range of policy areas, including health system governance, regulation, legal services, workplace relations and human resources.
Adjunct Professor Crawshaw currently works at the University of Sydney and is the principal of Crawshaw Consulting.
“[She] had key responsibilities for implementing NSW Health’s response to the Garling Inquiry into Acute Care Services and the Wood royal commission reference which resulted in major reforms of the NSW child protection system,” the statement noted.
“She continues to provide strategic policy and legal advice to governments and health organisations, including state health departments and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and has just completed her third term as a member of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency’s governance body.”
“While we look forward to the recommendations next year from the commission of inquiry, we will not be waiting to take action where it is clear it is needed now. This review is starting immediately and is about making important and necessary change, through the lens of safeguarding children,” the statement went on.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the Tasmanian government is committed to accepting and implementing recommendations made by the commission of inquiry, but is already taking action to drive important and necessary change.
“There is nothing more important than keeping children safe. We are listening and acting now to ensure past wrongs are never repeated,” he said.
Secretary of the Department of Health Kathrine Morgan-Wicks added: “The appointment of co-chairs to the governance advisory panel is an important step for the Child Safe Governance Review and I thank Professor Picone and Adjunct Professor Crawshaw for taking on these important roles.
“I have given my personal commitment to our victim-survivors, our staff and to the commission that I will drive wide-scale change to ensure child safety and wellbeing are embedded in our health leadership, governance and culture.
“The advice of the governance advisory panel is critical to ensure that our organisational approach is child-safe, contemporary and leading to help rebuild the trust and confidence of the Launceston community to continue to seek high quality and safe health care.”
The Child Safe Governance Review will report its recommendations to the secretary by November 2022, with a commitment that they will be implemented across the entire Department of Health.
