Nola Fraser

Nola Therese Fraser (née Chalhoub) is an Australian small business owner, former nurse and former Liberal candidate on two occasions for the seat of Macquarie Fields. Fraser became a whistleblower at two Sydney hospitals.

Fraser rose to prominence when she publicly criticised the administration of Camden and Campbelltown hospitals in south-western Sydney. Her claims were backed by fellow nurses Valerie Owen, Vanessa Brag, Sheree Martin and Yvonne Quinn. On 5 November 2002, Fraser took her concerns to the health minister, and her local member of parliament, Craig Knowles. Fraser claimed that upon cataloguing the dangers patients faced at the hospitals, the minister threatened her.

Knowles demanded evidence, which the nurses provided, but after three weeks there had been no word on any investigation. It was reported that New South Wales Department of Health officials had been destroying incriminating documents. Meanwhile, an internal review concluded that the nurses' claims merited investigation by the Health Care Complaints Commission.

On 25 February 2003, the HCCC recommended that no action be taken, having made "no findings that support any loss of confidence by the community in the Macarthur Health Service." The findings came three weeks before 2003 state election, which Labor won.

Fraser and her colleagues brought public attention to this matter with the help of talkback radio host Alan Jones. As HCCC investigations continued, according to a 2003 Sydney Morning Herald report, "those staff who were considering reporting their concerns about the failures watched helplessly as the whistleblower nurses were sidelined and victimised, their jobs placed in limbo." The department ordered a second investigation, led by the head of the Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care.

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