The West Australian Health Minister Roger Cook is in crisis talks with the board at Perth's children's hospital over an Australian Medical Association report that warns staff morale is at rock bottom and patient safety at threat.
The survey of more than 850 junior doctors found only eight per cent said morale was good at the Princess Margaret hospital, compared with between 59 and 97 per cent at Perth's other five major hospitals.
PMH performed by far the worst on a range of measures including feeling supported at work (17 per cent), the hospital's culture (19 per cent) and recommending it as a place to work (30 per cent) compared to 55-99 per cent for all other hospitals.
The revelations come after Perth father and TV personality Trevor Cochrane publicly criticised the hospital when he was told his young son's brain tumour operation was cancelled, and would be delayed for nearly a month because no surgeon was available.
That decision was changed and 10-year-old Harry's operation brought forward when his father's comments were reported on Wednesday.
AMA WA president Andrew Miller said Harry's case highlighted what was going wrong at the hospital because management was not listening to the people that worked on the frontline.
"Yes low morale is having an impact on patient safety," Dr Miller told reporters.
"In any industry stressed and miserable people can't deliver their best."
Dr Miller said the hospital has not been as well maintained as before because it was supposed to have been closed by now, but construction problems have delayed the opening of the new $1.2 billion children's hospital by more than 18 months.
Mr Cook said he was in urgent talks with the hospital, which had made a mistake in initially delaying Harry's operation for so long, while management should not have let morale deteriorate.
He said he was confident patient safety and the quality of services was not at risk.
The hospital board commissioned an independent report into problems at the hospital, and are currently completing a response, including what action will be taken.
"It's important that we make sure our staff feel valued, it is important we make sure morale issues in any hospital environment doesn't impact on safety and quality," Mr Cook told reporters.
