A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Canberra Liberals has revealed text messages planning for the Canberra Health Services (CHS) Workplace Culture Survey, originally scheduled for March, to be delayed till November when the warmer weather is expected to make staff more optimistic.

Shadow Health Minister, Leanne Castley, says a candid text exchange between the EGM People and Culture and the CHS CEO exposes the extent of the Government’s desperation to obtain better Workplace Culture Survey results.

“CHS’ hardworking staff deserve better than this. The Health Minister should say whether she thinks this is a good plan.”

Ms Castley said her FOI request also showed the Health Minister had misled the ACT Assembly. On 28 June, Ms Stephen-Smith told the Assembly:

“Ms Castley also said something about a March survey that Canberra Health Services was supposed to do but had not done—a culture survey. Ms Castley, that was a March survey that was for the ACT Health Directorate, which is a different organisation, and it did happen. I wanted to correct the record there and make sure that accurate information is recorded in the Hansard…”

CHS contracted BPA Analytics Pty Ltd for $200,000, to conduct a Pulse Survey in December 2022 and full Workplace Culture Survey in March this year. CHS officials initially wanted to delay the full survey until late August/early September, thinking it “way too soon” – and then November was raised.

“The Health Minister is again clueless when it comes to CHS culture surveys. Previously she said the December Pulse Survey had returned CHS’ best ever results on workplace culture, despite an internal memo stating that the results would be statistically invalid due to a low response rate.”

These Pulse Survey results were also skewed because CHS administrative divisions with an interest in a positive result had high response rates, as opposed to frontline hospital employees, many of whom boycotted the survey, according to the ANMF.

“The Health Minister should stop focusing on rebranding, spin and ‘announceables’, and address the significant cultural issues afflicting Canberra’s public health system,” Ms Castley concluded.