The Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) won't say if staff numbers had a part to play in the "unchecked tests" saga engulfing Dubbo Hospital.
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But it has confirmed a willingness to work with the NSW parliamentary inquiry into rural and regional hospitals "if requested".
The WNSWLHD has also quibbled about the cause of current community concern.
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"We undertake activities like Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to best understand where errors or issues have arisen," its spokesman told the Daily Liberal.
"The RCA in this instance identified that electronic medical record systems for diagnostic reports were not being used appropriately, not that test results were not being checked at all.
"We have taken on board the learnings from this process and have implemented measures to ensure that results are appropriately checked."
This week Sydney media reported of an official investigation finding a "systematic failure to check test results" at the hospital contributed to the death of a baby girl last year.
It also reported of a doctor, who discovered a further 2000 "unchecked results" and alerted hospital management, being dismissed.
The WNSWLHD responded with advice of new procedures being put in place including the involvement of patients and carers in clinical handovers and an "open disclosure" approach to communicating with families.
It has highlighted the Speaking Up for Safety program encouraging staff to "advocate for patient safety" along with the REACH program which allows families to request a review if the health of a loved one is inexplicably deteriorating.
But an inquiry from the Daily Liberal as to whether staff numbers may have factored into the bungle has fallen on deaf ears.
In a statement, the spokesman reeled off WNSWLHD and Dubbo hospital staff data.
"Compared to the 2016 financial year, by the end of the 2020 financial year, Dubbo Health Service itself has, on fortnightly average, engaged 27 additional medical FTE (full time equivalent), and 42 additional nursing FTE and 10 additional allied health FTE, as total engaged FTE increased by 110 FTE," he said.
The spokesman said recruiting for regional and rural communities was a "significant challenge" nationwide.
He said the state government was investing $2.8 billion in 8300 more frontline hospital staff, including 5000 nurses and midwives, 45 per cent of them for regional and rural areas.
The spokesman also outlined numerous programs and incentives in place to attract doctors to rural areas.
The parliamentary inquiry, announced on Tuesday, will examine a range of issues including "staffing challenges".