Latest news with #Mary-AnneThomas
The Age
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
The collateral damage from Monash IVF's colossal embryo bungles
The next part of the script unusually involves activists calling for enhanced regulation or better laws. Advocates are also lobbying for all those who use assisted reproductive technology to have their babies DNA tested, which, if implemented, could uncover if other mistakes have gone undetected. And no scandal is complete without a politician or two making some hay by grabbing a microphone and castigating the culprits. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas was the first to step up this week, calling the embryo mix-up 'completely unacceptable'. 'It's very clear to me that the board of Monash IVF needs to have a very good look at what's going on,' Thomas said. Loading 'Clearly their clinical governance standards are not what they should be.' But amid the outrage there is another group that will also sustain collateral damage – the shareholders – although sympathy for this group will be way more muted. They have seen the share price of Monash IVF plunge after the first incident was revealed in April and after the company cut its 2025 full-year profit guidance by 11 per cent. It took another dive this week when the second implant bungle was revealed, taking this calendar year's stock performance down by 50 per cent. The shares kicked up by 5.7 per cent on Thursday on the news of the departing chief, but this represents a small recovery. Enter the investment bank analysts who use their sophisticated models to provide commentary on the impacts of these types of events on a company's market share and future earnings. In the case of Monash, their opinions run the gamut of possibilities. RBC Capital markets suggests that the fallout from the original bungle in Monash's Queensland clinic would confine the loss of market share to that state, and not impact too heavily on other state operations. But given there have now been two separate embryo transfer incidents in different states, it believes there is risk of a greater impact of a spread of reputational damage and market share losses. It has a negative stance on the stock. Macquarie Equities has a somewhat different view. It acknowledges the reputational damage, but says the stock is oversold and represents a good buying opportunity. You could characterise its advice as 'don't throw the baby out with the bathwater'.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The collateral damage from Monash IVF's colossal embryo bungles
The next part of the script unusually involves activists calling for enhanced regulation or better laws. Advocates are also lobbying for all those who use assisted reproductive technology to have their babies DNA tested, which, if implemented, could uncover if other mistakes have gone undetected. And no scandal is complete without a politician or two making some hay by grabbing a microphone and castigating the culprits. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas was the first to step up this week, calling the embryo mix-up 'completely unacceptable'. 'It's very clear to me that the board of Monash IVF needs to have a very good look at what's going on,' Thomas said. Loading 'Clearly their clinical governance standards are not what they should be.' But amid the outrage there is another group that will also sustain collateral damage – the shareholders – although sympathy for this group will be way more muted. They have seen the share price of Monash IVF plunge after the first incident was revealed in April and after the company cut its 2025 full-year profit guidance by 11 per cent. It took another dive this week when the second implant bungle was revealed, taking this calendar year's stock performance down by 50 per cent. The shares kicked up by 5.7 per cent on Thursday on the news of the departing chief, but this represents a small recovery. Enter the investment bank analysts who use their sophisticated models to provide commentary on the impacts of these types of events on a company's market share and future earnings. In the case of Monash, their opinions run the gamut of possibilities. RBC Capital markets suggests that the fallout from the original bungle in Monash's Queensland clinic would confine the loss of market share to that state, and not impact too heavily on other state operations. But given there have now been two separate embryo transfer incidents in different states, it believes there is risk of a greater impact of a spread of reputational damage and market share losses. It has a negative stance on the stock. Macquarie Equities has a somewhat different view. It acknowledges the reputational damage, but says the stock is oversold and represents a good buying opportunity. You could characterise its advice as 'don't throw the baby out with the bathwater'.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Three strikes': Demands for answers over repeat Monash IVF bungles
'Clearly at some point in time, management is responsible because they are approving budgets and systems and everything else.' Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said she was open to reforms that would better safeguard patients as wider concerns over the regulation of Australia's fertility industry will be discussed by Australia's health ministers in Melbourne on Friday. 'We have recently reformed the way in which we regulate fertility services, including Monash IVF, and an investigation has commenced into what went wrong here in Melbourne,' Thomas said. 'When we're thinking about fertility care, it's such an emotional rollercoaster for so many families and people seeking to either start or grow a family, and I want to ensure that we've got regulation that's fit for purpose, and that people can have confidence in these private fertility services in which they invest so much money.' The Victorian Health Regulator has launched an investigation into the embryo mix-up at Monash IVF's Clayton clinic. Loading But Swinburne University senior lecturer in corporate law Helen Bird said the sharemarket might deliver a far quicker verdict. 'The signs aren't good that they [Monash IVF] took this seriously at the start,' she said. 'They all point to poor risk management, but they also point to poor oversight by the board. 'The board may have its justifications, but after you've done it three times, with three major issues across two states at least, then you've got more than just the odd mistake going on here. You've got a systemic issue to deal with.' Monash IVF Group's board refused to provide a statement of confidence in the company's management when asked to do so by The Age on Wednesday, saying it would not comment beyond information already released to the ASX. Australian Shareholder Association chief executive Rachel Waterhouse said Monash patients would have concerns, while investors will be asking questions about the company's oversight. 'It's a concern, because you've got to trust in management, you've got to trust in the board, and mistakes in other organisations could have quite different outcomes, but this has a huge effect on trust,' Waterhouse said. While Monash IVF Group's price increased slightly to 62¢ on Wednesday, it is still a long way from its $1.42 value in August 2024, as well as the $1.09 at which it was trading before news broke of the Brisbane embryo error on April 11. 'The price has dropped because the market lacks confidence in the current management and governance of the company. The market reacts very quickly, it's much more powerful than the law in this regard,' Swinburne's Helen Bird said. Loading 'So what the major investors are doing, I imagine, is knocking on the door and saying, 'please explain, please give us some confidence that you can get on top of these issues going forward'.' Head of medical negligence at Maurice Blackburn Tom Ballantyne said the string of issues at Monash IVF demanded stronger action by regulators. 'It's three incidents in a couple of years and all of them raise concerns about the fundamental processes in the organisation,' he said. 'Fertility treatments are provided commercially, but it's a health service and a public good and needs to live up to that, and the government and Safer Care Victoria need to ensure it does live up to that.' Compensation is typically only awarded in medical negligence cases when permanent harm can be proved, which is not the case where a person is denied the chance to have a child, or potentially when they give birth to an unintended child. Rather than result in compensation, Ballantyne said most cases are resolved by offering patients replacement or free IVF cycles, with little public accountability. 'The provider can avoid the scrutiny of an actual court case that occurs in other areas,' Ballantyne said. 'It's all done behind closed doors. And, you know, the deterrence or accountability the compensation otherwise provides, is lost.'
The Age
a day ago
- Health
- The Age
‘Three strikes': Demands for answers over repeat Monash IVF bungles
'Clearly at some point in time, management is responsible because they are approving budgets and systems and everything else.' Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said she was open to reforms that would better safeguard patients as wider concerns over the regulation of Australia's fertility industry will be discussed by Australia's health ministers in Melbourne on Friday. 'We have recently reformed the way in which we regulate fertility services, including Monash IVF, and an investigation has commenced into what went wrong here in Melbourne,' Thomas said. 'When we're thinking about fertility care, it's such an emotional rollercoaster for so many families and people seeking to either start or grow a family, and I want to ensure that we've got regulation that's fit for purpose, and that people can have confidence in these private fertility services in which they invest so much money.' The Victorian Health Regulator has launched an investigation into the embryo mix-up at Monash IVF's Clayton clinic. Loading But Swinburne University senior lecturer in corporate law Helen Bird said the sharemarket might deliver a far quicker verdict. 'The signs aren't good that they [Monash IVF] took this seriously at the start,' she said. 'They all point to poor risk management, but they also point to poor oversight by the board. 'The board may have its justifications, but after you've done it three times, with three major issues across two states at least, then you've got more than just the odd mistake going on here. You've got a systemic issue to deal with.' Monash IVF Group's board refused to provide a statement of confidence in the company's management when asked to do so by The Age on Wednesday, saying it would not comment beyond information already released to the ASX. Australian Shareholder Association chief executive Rachel Waterhouse said Monash patients would have concerns, while investors will be asking questions about the company's oversight. 'It's a concern, because you've got to trust in management, you've got to trust in the board, and mistakes in other organisations could have quite different outcomes, but this has a huge effect on trust,' Waterhouse said. While Monash IVF Group's price increased slightly to 62¢ on Wednesday, it is still a long way from its $1.42 value in August 2024, as well as the $1.09 at which it was trading before news broke of the Brisbane embryo error on April 11. 'The price has dropped because the market lacks confidence in the current management and governance of the company. The market reacts very quickly, it's much more powerful than the law in this regard,' Swinburne's Helen Bird said. Loading 'So what the major investors are doing, I imagine, is knocking on the door and saying, 'please explain, please give us some confidence that you can get on top of these issues going forward'.' Head of medical negligence at Maurice Blackburn Tom Ballantyne said the string of issues at Monash IVF demanded stronger action by regulators. 'It's three incidents in a couple of years and all of them raise concerns about the fundamental processes in the organisation,' he said. 'Fertility treatments are provided commercially, but it's a health service and a public good and needs to live up to that, and the government and Safer Care Victoria need to ensure it does live up to that.' Compensation is typically only awarded in medical negligence cases when permanent harm can be proved, which is not the case where a person is denied the chance to have a child, or potentially when they give birth to an unintended child. Rather than result in compensation, Ballantyne said most cases are resolved by offering patients replacement or free IVF cycles, with little public accountability. 'The provider can avoid the scrutiny of an actual court case that occurs in other areas,' Ballantyne said. 'It's all done behind closed doors. And, you know, the deterrence or accountability the compensation otherwise provides, is lost.'
Perth Now
a day ago
- Health
- Perth Now
Hospital in hot water over 'cooking the books' claims
A major public hospital has been accused of pulling the wool over health authorities' eyes by doctoring emergency patient transfer records. Staff at Melbourne's Northern Hospital have allegedly routinely doctored records since 2017 to show patients being offloaded from ambulances within target times, the Herald Sun reports. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said she wasn't aware of the "serious" claims from an unnamed hospital whistleblower until Tuesday evening. In response, Ms Thomas has ordered the health department work with the hospital at Epping in Melbourne's outer north to investigate. "These are all anonymous allegations to date," she told reporters on Wednesday. "Nonetheless, we need to find out exactly what has happened." Northern Health said in a statement it was reviewing the matter but taking the allegations "very seriously". Ms Thomas has not viewed reported screenshots of the falsified offload times but said she would welcome the documents being shared. She encouraged whistleblowers to come forward with information to hospital leaders, her office or the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission. "We'll get to the bottom of what's happening out at Northern and when I find out more I'll be happy to share it with you," the minister said. Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier believes the problem of "systematic fudging" may be more widespread. She is demanding an investigation be done at arm's length of government and will write to the Victorian Auditor-General's Office to request a separate probe. Victoria's statewide benchmark is for 90 per cent of ambulance patients to be transferred to emergency care within 40 minutes of arrival. Northern Health aims for 80 per cent within 40 minutes. An ambulance transfer is not considered complete until clinical information is handed over to an emergency department doctor and a patient has been moved to a hospital bed, care area, or waiting room. The latest statewide data shows 69.6 per cent of ambulance patients were admitted to an emergency department within 40 minutes. The median wait time in March was 26 minutes. Northern Hospital's median transfer time and performance against the 40-minute benchmark was consistently better than the statewide average. Ms Thomas insisted funding was not tied to hospitals hitting the key performance indicators. "There are no financial incentives to cooking the books," she said. But when unveiling new standards across all emergency departments to reduce ambulance ramping in February, she warned there would be "consequences" for failures. Ms Thomas on Wednesday sought to clarify she was referring to forcing hospital leaders to meet with her to explain the results. Hospitals were required to deliver a four per cent improvement in ambulance offload times by the end of June. Some of the state's busiest hospitals have demonstrated improvements of up to 10 per cent in transfer times since the introduction of the standards, Ms Thomas said.
