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More than 1500 health workers have sent letters to the hospital criticising its decision to axe the event, which was set to discuss the health impacts of war in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and Myanmar, according to event organisers.
The listed speakers on the panel were Associate Professor Tilman Ruff, co-founder of the Nobel-awarded International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; Médecins Sans Frontières paediatric nurse Alison Moebus, who has recently worked in Gaza; Asia-Pacific refugee leader Najeeba Wazefadost; RCH head of immigrant health Associate Professor Georgia Paxton; and Dr Sue Wareham, president of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War.
Dr Peter Steer, chief executive of The Royal Children’s Hospital.
Wareham said the latest letter from the CEO was “totally unacceptable”.
“We want to talk about the health of children in war, not politics,” she said. “Children of Gaza must definitely be included in that discussion as they are suffering the worst impacts. Any suggestion that they shouldn’t is deeply offensive.
“He talks about looking after staff. Is he talking about looking after Palestinian staff? Is he considering how those people may feel?”
Wareham said the panel’s cancellation had the effect of “ramping up divisions”.
Earlier this month, Sydney psychiatrist Doron Samuell wrote to Steer saying Jewish staff or patients could be exposed to “moral injury, vicarious trauma and harmful workplace behaviours” if the event went ahead, according to an article in the Guardian. He reportedly copied in WorkSafe Victoria.
Samuell told this masthead that the hospital’s CEO and board had now found the “right approach” and other institutions should follow their strong leadership. He confirmed that he had sent a letter to the hospital ahead of the event being cancelled.
“Melbourne patients ought to expect that their institutions are focused on patient care rather than politics,” he said.
In April, Samuell described two Greens volunteers in the inner-west Sydney seat of Reid as “Nazis” in a group chat for Liberal Party volunteers.
Asked about the cancelled panel on Thursday, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said it was a matter for the Royal Children’s Hospital.
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“This decision, which is taken by the hospital, would have been taken in the best interests of the patients and staff,” Thomas said.
“I’m well aware of heightened tensions in our community. It’s incumbent upon leadership to make sure that we provide safe, welcoming health services for all Victorians.”
The Royal Children’s Hospital did not respond to questions about how many internal and external complaints it had received about the event.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Victorian branch secretary Maddy Harradence said nurses, midwives and carers had an ethical obligation to advocate for life, health, dignity and human rights – especially for children in war.
“Grand rounds are collegial clinical forums in which doctors, nurses, midwives and other health professionals can discuss and share respectfully on clinical topics of interest both locally, nationally and internationally,” she said.
“We have heard from ANMF members who were disappointed in the decision to cancel the Children and War event.”
Save the Children reported earlier this month that at least 20,000 children – about 2 per cent of Gaza’s child population – have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023. A similar number of children have been left permanently disabled, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said in August. The deaths and injuries follow terrorist organisation Hamas’ killing of about 1200 Israelis.
Matt, a union member of Nurses and Midwives for Palestine who did not want to disclose his surname for security reasons, said many RCH staff were now questioning whether it was the right place to work.
“One doctor ripped up their values poster because she couldn’t reconcile those values on the wall with the behaviour of the organisation,” he said.
The Age revealed last year that dozens of doctors had come under scrutiny from the national medical watchdog for sharing their views about the Israel-Gaza war on social media, including for using the term genocide.
An Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency spokesman said the watchdog had received a small number of notifications about practitioners expressing views in relation to the Gaza conflict.
“These include concerns around comments that might be characterised as antisemitic, as well as concerns around comments that might be characterised as Islamophobic,” he said.
AHPRA is legally obliged to consider every complaint it receives. Some doctors have nonetheless complained that this process is stressful and being weaponised.
The spokesman said notifications were assessed and investigated where appropriate.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners last month called on AHPRA to fast-track its assessment of complaints made against GPs expressing views on the conflict.
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