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A registered nurse working out of a Logan Hospital in Queensland was granted back pay after a tribunal found his suspension process was flawed.
Ahmadu Bah, who worked as a nurse in the rehabilitation unit at the Logan Hospital, was suspended without pay by Queensland Health after facing serious criminal charges for his action towards a patient who had suffered a stroke.
Around 22 November 2022, Queensland Health was notified that Bah allegedly grabbed the patient’s (who had suffered a stroke) testicles and penis while in the shower – twisting the patient’s genitals in an attempt to “rouse the patient”.
Due to the nature of the allegations, Bah was placed into alternative duties in a non-patient-facing role until he was advised with a letter from Queensland Health that notified him that he would be suspended with pay.
In March 2023, the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) issued an immediate registration action – banning him from any practice in any role that involved “direct patient contact”.
The OHO report that grabbing a patient’s testicle is “not an approach that would be utilised in clinical practice and is not an acceptable or safe method to rouse a patient”.
In August 2023, Bah was charged with and arrested for sexual assault due to his conduct with the patient. Bah did not notify Queensland Health of his arrest or charge.
In a statement made to Queensland Police, Bah admitted to “knowing that the testicles are one of the most sensitive parts in terms of inducing response to pain”, he affirmed he “gently at first and then gradually with increasing pressure [used] his testicles as a means of determining whether [the patient] was conscious or not”.
On 24 November 2023, Queensland Health decided to suspend Bah without pay via a decision letter. In the letter addressed to Bah, Queensland Health claimed that the nature of discipline is of the “utmost serious nature” as his conduct occurred in the workplace and towards a patient.
Bah expressed the financial and emotional impact that the decision will have on his family. However, Queensland Health noted that it has a “statutory obligation to manage public resources efficiently, responsibly and in a fully accountable way”.
“The reputation of the department may also be seriously and adversely affected if you were to remain suspended on full remuneration, whilst the criminal charges remain outstanding,” said the letter.
The department, therefore, suspended Bah without pay.
An appeal on the suspension was filed, and the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission was tasked with reviewing whether Bah’s suspension from his job without pay was fair and reasonable.
Submissions from Queensland Health in defence of its decision to suspend Bah included claims that he demonstrated a “pattern of inappropriate behaviour” as he was allegedly involved in three incidents involving inappropriate conduct towards colleagues and patients.
The commission, however, concluded that Queensland Health “failed to sufficiently outline” the distinct incidents that enabled them to form the view that Bah displayed a “pattern of inappropriate behaviour”. The commission also noted that Bah was not given the opportunity to respond to these previous allegations.
The commission found that the department also failed to provide specific examples of what alternative arrangements were considered before concluding that a suspension without pay was the correct course of action.
In its original decision letter to Bah, the department touched on the broader public interest pertaining to suspected unlawful conduct. The commission retorted that “it is not in the public interest to cause detriment to an employee … While he is trying to financially provide for his wife and five children.”
Based on these findings, the commission found that Bah’s suspension without pay was not fair and reasonable – granting him a suspension on normal remuneration for the period 29 November 2023 to 29 February 2024, setting aside the original suspension.
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Industrial relations is the management and evaluation of the interactions between employers, workers, and representative organisations like unions.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
