The head of the national healthcare regulator has outlined a plan to improve the complaints process for alleged victims of sexual harassment and racism and is calling on the government to change laws to enable widespread reform.

Martin Fletcher, chief executive of Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), released a statement on Tuesday outlining his blueprint to improve operations after sustained media attention by this masthead and the ABC’s Four Corners program.

AHPRA chief executive Martin Fletcher has been warned about poor investigations leading to death and injury among patients.

Fletcher acknowledged the need to raise the bar for patient safety and said the organisation would review the way AHPRA deals with the criminal history of health practitioners and expand support services for victims of sexual misconduct within the healthcare system.

“Sexual exploitation of patients is a gross abuse of trust and can lead to long-lasting and profound damage. Health practitioners are in positions of power and responsibility and patients are vulnerable,” he said.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald revealed shortcomings with the way AHPRA investigates allegations of sexual misconduct, including a recent case in which a teenager was allegedly sexually harassed by her optometrist. AHPRA refused to suspend him and took 20 months to order additional training.

Fletcher, who has been chief executive since AHPRA was created in 2010, said the community expected regulators to take prompt action to protect patients from sexual misconduct and that lessons had been learnt over the past five years.

“There is always scope to improve and do more,” he said.

“Keeping the public safe is always our focus. We look forward to doing our part and working with governments and other regulators to get the job done.”

Last week, this masthead reported that a senior decision maker at AHPRA had warned Fletcher that poor quality investigations by the regulator were causing death and injury among patients. This came after reports of systemic racism, under-resourcing and a toxic culture within the organisation.

Fletcher called on health ministers to introduce new laws to bolster patient safety, including through the introduction of a charter of rights for patients who experience professional misconduct and new arrangements to implement a separate complaints stream for First Nations people. He also called for changes that would remove duplication in complaints management.

Earlier this month, federal Health Minister Mark Butler called for a review of past efforts to reform AHPRA.

AHPRA has called for legislative reform

• Ensure the needs of First Nations people are prioritised: Establish new shared governance arrangements with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak bodies via the National Health Leadership Forum to oversee implementation of the culturally safe notifications program and the broader health strategy towards eliminating racism from health care.
• Strengthen the hand of patients and the public: Increase the role of community members in decision making committees about practitioner misconduct.
• Greater tribunal transparency: Seek amendments to the national law requiring tribunals to decide – in an open hearing – if practitioners who have had their registration cancelled can apply for re-registration.
• Improve standards for those harmed by practitioners: Introduce a charter of rights for those who have experienced professional misconduct by health practitioners. This could set out the principles to ensure victims and witnesses are acknowledged, respected and provided with necessary support and information through regulatory and tribunal processes and wider use of victim impact statements.
• More information on the national register: We are keen to publish more information on the national register about practitioners with a history of professional misconduct in sexual boundaries cases. Any change needs ministerial support. We already publish links to published tribunal decisions and want to extend this.

AHPRA is due to appear before Senate estimates this Thursday.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston noted the regulator’s plan did not address concerns about the term “surgeon”, which is used inconsistently in the sector, and said she planned to prioritise discussion of it on Thursday.

Ruston said it was good to see AHPRA admitting to failings but that it was disappointing these admissions did not extend to serious issues related to cosmetic surgery.

“All Australians rightly expect surgical medical procedures to be performed by appropriately accredited medical professionals,” she said.

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