Former and current Bupa managers and staff will give evidence at a royal commission probing governance at the provider and its South Hobart facility.
Lawyers assisting the commission on Wednesday said Bupa introduced policies to cut nurse hours at its facilities across Australia from 2016 to 2018 to save money but didn't appear to give adequate attention to residents' care.
The company's South Hobart home was sanctioned in October last year for failing to meet 32 of 44 national standards and placing some residents at "immediate and severe" risk.
Dr Elizabeth Monks, who has worked as a general practitioner at the home since 2016, raised understaffing issues for years before the failed audit.
She told the inquiry emails to higher management fell on deaf ears.
"I felt there was a feeling amongst those in the central office that I was histrionic, over reactive, over passionate and therefore ... not valid," she said.
In a 2016 email to a regional director, Dr Monks warned of premature resident deaths due to a lack of staff.
"If people had have listened and acted, we could have fixed quite a number of the problems," she said.
South Hobart's former general manager and former regional director are among 10 witnesses listed on Thursday.
Australian Associated Press
