The first speaker to address the crowd, Dr Tony Kirkwood, said he resigned as head of anaesthetics in January 2014. 

“I found I could not work effectively with the current administration who had a policy of non-engagement, and it pains me and many senior and retired doctors to see what has happened at Orange hospital,” he said.

“To quote Shakespeare, there is something rotten in the state of Denmark and we want to see a return to mutual respect and engagement.”

Dr Fran Gearon told the crowd she was forced to resign from the OHS three years ago by a management team who refused to listen to the concerns of clinical staff about patient care, and failed to use fair and transparent process.

“They continue to do this time after time, and since I have left I have watched the progressive destruction of that once harmonious workplace  to the point where the medical community and hospital departments are deeply divided and nurses, allied health staff and doctors fear reprisal if they speak out,” he said.

Dr Ben Brabin, an anaesthetist at the hospital, said he and his wife chose to return to Orange several years ago after doing an internship here because of the hospital’s high reputation.

“But we have watched it [anaesthetics department] destroyed over the last few years”, he said.

In his address to the crowd Dr Lee Rouse said all the speakers at yesterday’s rally were “quality people”.

“How do I know that?  Because I refer my work to them and the people who decide on their quality are the patients who report back to me and that is why I am backing them - they are absolute quality,” he said.

janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com.au