Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) has lost its accreditation to train doctors in one department next year due to allegations of bullying among surgeons.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) said accreditation for trainee doctors to work in the inner west hospital's cardiothoracic surgery department is on hold for next year.
The decision was made following an accreditation review of the department in May.
"There's been some problems there this year, that I'm not sure of, but they were related to the provision of education for trainees and the clinical opportunities for them," said RACS executive director John Quinn.
The Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) said the college was concerned relationships between surgeons were negatively impacting trainees.
"We've been working with the cardiothoracic department to improve the communication and interaction between the surgeons to enhance their ability to provide support to our trainees," said SLHD chief executive Teresa Anderson.
The SLHD said steps were being taken to improve the work environment for trainee doctors.
Dr Anderson said the hospital's hierarchy hoped the accreditation could be reinstated as soon as possible.
"We've been going through an extensive action plan, we've had extensive discussions with the college and the aim is for us to be accredited for 2019," she said.
"The district's understanding is that the decision may be reconsidered by the end of the year and we're aiming for the college to come to the district before the end of the calendar year."
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons said no trainees had been allocated to the department for 2019.
"The expectation is that the positions will be accredited and then trainees will return in 2020," said Dr Quinn.
The SLHD said the cardiothoracic department will be fully staffed next year and patient care will not be affected.
The decision comes after Westmead Hospital in Sydney's west was stripped of its intensive care unit training accreditation in September.
This was following a string of serious bullying and harassment allegations against senior medical staff.
