We recently learned there was an alleged predator in our midst, accused of secretly filming people in staff bathrooms with a phone camera hidden in a bag.

Police say the target was women. Dedicated professional women working in hospitals to keep people alive and safe, all the while not being safe from an accused deviant within.

The alleged perpetrator is a junior doctor who studied at a Melbourne university and worked at three public hospitals across the city from 2021. One of those hospitals is my workplace and the specific area that I work in.

Police allege that what began with the discovery of one hidden camera has spiralled into the recovery of more than 10,000 images and videos of hundreds of women using toilets and showers at work.

At this stage, we don’t know who has allegedly been violated and it will take a considerable effort for the police to review all the retrieved files and try to identify all the potential victims.

It’s an unsettling feeling that has reverberated across the organisation with more than 1000 staff tuning into a Q&A session with one of the investigating police officers.

The main comfort is that police say there is no evidence to suggest the invasive material was shared online. And they have assured us that only a very small, specialised team will see the images as part of their investigation.

We’ve been told that one person has been charged with multiple offences – including producing intimate images and using an optical surveillance device – and remanded in custody until their next court hearing later this year.

For healthcare workers, this dark event is an affront to all that we stand for.

Respect, dignity and privacy are at the heart of what we do. We protect people, not exploit them. We aim to heal, not to hurt.

As one of our leaders said, they have never dealt with anything like this in their 40 years working in healthcare.

Staff members are understandably rattled, combing through our memories to think of anything that might have been suspicious.

But then, why would we be suspicious when most people go to work with a bag and a phone and use staff facilities, particularly in hospitals where it’s common practice for doctors and nurses to change in and out of scrubs before and after shifts.

And why would we be suspicious of colleagues when healthcare workers have to tick certain boxes depending on our role and responsibilities – police checks, working with children checks, proof of qualifications, work history and references.

We trust the people we work with and we rely on each other to do demanding jobs with literal lives in our hands and families depending on us.

I can hand-on-heart say that the culture at my workplace is the best I’ve ever known in my working life of 30 years. ICU is an extraordinary environment and the staff are incredible.

No matter who is found responsible for this disturbing event, or the outcome of the judicial process, we won’t allow an accused creep with a covert camera to take away our dignity and purpose, or the pride we have in our team and the work that we do.

Needless to say, it has also triggered internal investigations and our leadership team has rallied to support staff, providing regular briefings as well as psychological support and wellbeing services.

We realise it’s going to be a long investigation and legal process with more revelations and discomfort to come.

To my mind, the way forward is to not give the alleged offender any power. To stand united and lean into doing what we’ve always done – looking after our community and each other.