Dandenong Hospital cleared over claims of falsified discharge records DANDENONG Hospital has been cleared of falsifying patient discharge records by an audit generated by complaints from its own medical staff. An analysis of the hospital's 85,000 emergency attendances since July 2012 by Ernst and Young found only .02 per cent were not reliable, and that there was no evidence entries had been altered to help the hospital meet the national four-hour discharge target. The audit was ordered by the Department of Health and Monash Health earlier this month after the Herald Sun revealed 60 medical staff had written a six-page letter to Dandenong Hospital managers alleging they were being ordered to backdate patient discharge times. After receiving the audit results Monash Health chief executive Shelly Park said there was no evidence that data had been deliberately altered. I am very pleased to report that Ernst and Young have found Dandenong Hospital emergency department data to be overwhelmingly reliable and accurate," Ms Park said. The auditors found no evidence of systemic manipulation of emergency department data, and no evidence that staff had been directed by management to manipulate data. Under the National Emergency Access Targets hospitals must discharge or admit 90 per cent of emergency patients within four hours or the state's health system jeopardises $12 million in bonus federal funding. Doctors and nurses signed a comprehensive complaint to Dandenong Hospital management on December 2 claiming patient lives were being put at risk because of that backdating of patient discharge times in the Symphony computer system, which could lead to patients being lost or missing out on treatment. When contacted by the Herald Sun about the allegations Monash Health, which operates Dandenong Hospital, announced the Ernst and Young audit and said it was treating the claims extremely seriously. Ms Park said this afternoon that audit also found a new "team-oriented model of care" at Dandenong Hospital increased patient flow, improved patient care and improved the relationships between medical and nursing staff. Patients are waiting less time to see a doctor, are being moved in from the waiting room much sooner, ambulances are being released back to the community sooner and patients are being admitted to the right ward faster," Ms Park said.