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Speak Out
August 2013
Speech Pathology Australia
Professional Practice News
I
n 2011/2012 the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation
Agency (AHPRA) received 7,594 notifications (i.e.
complaints) about health practitioners. Happily this
equates to only approximately 1.2% of the 548,528 registered
health practitioners.
However, what really caught our interest in the AHPRA
Annual Report (really interesting reading for those of you
who would like more information about which professions
complaints were made against and why) was that a
large number of these complaints were made by other
practitioners.
Now, rightly so we hear you say. If someone is doing the
wrong thing then they should be reported to the appropriate
authority, and we agree. However, what we are hearing at
Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) is that some of those
complaints were vexatious and may have been motivated
more by professional jealousy or commercial rivalry than a
desire to protect the community, and that got us thinking.
In our years as speech pathologists we have been proud
of the fact that there is a strong sense of support and
camaraderie between colleagues and we would hate to see
an erosion of this professional standard resulting in vexatious
complaints being made against colleagues for personal gain.
Sadly we are noticing at SPA an increase of examples where
this professional standard has not been upheld.
This includes situations where a speech pathologist has:
•
Spoken disparagingly to a client or another professional
about a colleague or the service they provide;
•
Posted a negative and/or unsupportive comment on
social media;
•
Advertised in a way that undermines a colleague’s
practice or service;
•
Not expressed concerns with an employer or colleague
(where appropriate) before making a complaint to SPA or
others;
•
Attempted to obtain clientele from a colleague or a
previous employer (without consultation);
•
Set up a private practice adjacent to or next door to a
previous employer (without notification);
•
Worked for an employer to gain experience or
knowledge and then set up a practice in competition;
•
Not given appropriate notice of intention to leave a
practice;
•
Not completed all work or to an appropriate standard
required prior to leaving a practice;
•
Photocopied or used resources, including assessment
tools, without an employer’s knowledge or permission;
•
Employed or engaged colleagues in a way that is not
legal and doesn’t meet their legal obligations re leave
and other entitlements (i.e. contractor or casual when
they should be employed as a permanent part-timer);
•
Employed or engaged staff in a way that is exploitive
(i.e. seeing an unrealistic number of clients per day);
•
Not advised a client of another service available to
them because it is provided by a competitor or by
an alternate sector (i.e. public sector not referring to
private and vice versa).
Now we are sure you will all agree that in most instances the
speech pathologist may not have done anything illegal and
there is always going to be two sides to every story. We do
believe, however, that all of our dealings with our colleagues
must be conducted with the utmost integrity and we must
take personal responsibility for our actions.
It should also be highlighted that some of the situations
reported to SPA have not just been lapses in professional
conduct or standards, or for that matter personality clashes,
but unprofessional behaviour which has been a potential
breach of SPA’s Code of Ethics (2010). It is timely to remind
all SPA members that as members we agree to read,
understand and apply the Code of Ethics (the Code) within all
our professional interactions.
So, how can we maintain the highest professional standards
in our dealings with our colleagues and meet our obligations
to uphold the values, principles and standards of the Code?
Our advice would be to read the Code and in particular take
note of of Section 3.4, ‘Duties to our Colleagues’ where it
states:
We treat our colleagues with honesty, fairness,
respect and good faith.
We work collaboratively with colleagues…
We support our colleagues…
We do not exploit our relationships with our
colleagues…
We urge you to keep these principles in mind at all times
when dealing with colleagues and if a situation arises
discuss your concerns with your colleague. If, however, you
are unable to resolve your differences or need advice then
seek the assistance of your manager or human resources
department (where applicable) or contact either of us to
discuss.
Christina Wilson
Senior Advisor Professional Issues
Christine Lyons
Senior Advisor Professional Practice
Our professional responsibility to our colleagues
should be held in high esteem