Former director general of NSW Health and Queensland Health Associate Professor Michael Reid visited the hospital on Tuesday to communicate the findings of a 12 month follow-up formal review.

“Our report says the Local Health District should be congratulated on the work they have put in over a year in changing the culture, it’s a slow and precarious burn, because things can change to alter the change,” he said.

“The effort and the energy that the senior leadership, clinical and managerial, have put in over the last year has been really, very impressive. Most people we spoke to indicated that the look and the feel of the hospital has changed.”

He said, while the hospital is doing well, an adequate clinical services plan for its future is needed, issues surrounding theatres should be fixed, more clarity provided around access to elective surgeries, and the $28million worth of public patients taken to Canberra each year should be reduced.

“There are clearly still issues, as there would be in any organisation, which are quite specific issues, not broad, overall issues and pockets of concern,” he said.

In March last year the NSW government announced a “far-reaching” independent review into the operation of and management of the newly built hospital, and to investigate bullying, leadership, clinical governance, and budgeting issues.

According to Associate Professor Reid, a key issue leading to the review was the “inadequate energy and effort put into planning the models of care wanted”, with just six weeks given to the transitional phase.

Since then there has been “enormous” effort invested in bringing together nursing and medical staff around best practice and creating a “better look and feel”, he said.

He said hospital manager Wendy Hubbard has lead an effective campaign to have staff undertake a bullying prevention and intervention program, and doctors are becoming more involved in the hospital to create a “a better and more functional place with better safety and quality of care”.