John Haggie not treating management problems at Central Health, say doctors

Doctors in Gander say their former colleague, Health Minister John Haggie, is pulling in his horns and not dealing with administrative problems at Central Health.

• 'Bullying and harassment': Gander doctor files human rights complaint against Central Health

"This is a human resources issue within Central Health and it is the responsibility of their senior administration to resolve such issues," wrote Haggiein an email to CBC Friday.

"Am I surprised?Very surprised that he's just been willing to sit down and do nothing about it when he knows they have really big problems," said Dr. Michelle Ong, a Gander radiologist.

Ong is among a group of physicians at the JamesPatonMemorial Hospital who asked for an external review of senior administration last July.

Dr. Ilse Kemp, president of medical staff at the Gander hospital, cited "ongoing concerns regarding poor leadership that is compromising patient safety."

In a subsequent letter in November, Kemp wrote about a lack ofcommunication between the upper management teamand staff.

"Most of them stay in their offices and don't come out to the units to make themselves seen," she wrote, addingthe responsibilityfor another hospital in Grand Falls-Windsor often kept administrators on the road for two hours a day.

The letter outlines pages of concerns about orthopedics, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and radiology.

It also allegedfamily doctors have been pushed out of the Gander hospital and replaced by salaried doctors from other countries.

"There have been multiple concerns with continuing of care and the overall medical skill and knowledge of these individuals," Kemp wrote on behalf of the Gander doctors.

'Divide and conquer attitude'

Meanwhile,Onghas filed a human rights complaint accusing the health authority of bullying, sexismand harassment.

Ong,who said she was told during the late stages of her pregnancy that she no longer had a job at the Gander hospital, spoke out in December.

She and two other radiologistsaccused Central Health administrators of creating a toxic work environment.

Fellow doctor Robert Russell, an orthopedic surgeon,has come out in support of his three colleagues, and he wants the public to know the medical staff at James Paton Memorial Hospital also support them.

"It is a big deal. I think there has been a general divide and conquer attitude the administration has had with medical staff," said Russell in a Here &Now interview.

"It's been difficult to get medical staff unified on any single issue, but certainlythe disconnect between administration and medical staff has brought us physicians together."

High hopes for Haggie

The doctors hopedHaggie would use his authority as health minister to intervene, since he was openly critical of Central Health managers while working as a surgeon in Gander.

In a strongly worded emailin September, two months before his election to the House of Assembly, Haggietold Central Healthchief ofstaffthe health authorityhad an "ostrich style of management."

The email, which was copied to all staff,came after Central Health asked doctors to volunteer their time in response to a shortage of operating room assistants in Gandera shortage that the chiefsaid"poses significant patient safety risk when it comes to emergency C-sections."

Haggie wroteCentral Health was using a "machiavellian way to resolve the issue" and had created a "poisoned well" for resident doctors considering a placement in Gander.

Haggietold CBC his criticalemailwas written in his previous capacity as a clinicalpractitionergetting ready to leave practice, and was an opinion on the "complex"challenges of recruiting doctors.

"This is a completely distinct issue from the allegations of the three radiologists," he said.

Change in tone

According to the doctors,Haggiehas not dealt with any of the issues that have been brought forward.

"When people get in politics they often change their whole, everything, which Dr.Haggieobviously has, I guess," said Dr. JaneRendell.

In a letter to the radiologists' lawyerJan.12,Haggiewrote thattwo external reports on the problems at Central Health "clearly stated that at no time has patient safety been compromised."

He said in the letter Central Health is working with the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association on workshops to resolve conflict and human resource issues.

However, doctors maintain they are not being respected orlistened to.

"A lot of things are going downhill. We have all been told we have no authority to be able to fix anything," said Ong.

"Go find a job somewhere else," is heradvice to other doctors. "The problem is you may want to do the right thing that you're supposed to do, but you're not allowed to."

'Level of hypocrisy'

Former health minister Steve Kent, who intervenedto get Ong her job back, said Haggie needs to step up to the plate.

"Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty, and you have to dig in, and you have to be hands on," said Kent.

He added that as recently as September, Haggie was "crying from the mountaintops" about the serious situation with Central Health management.

"Now he's putting his head in the sand and saying he won't deal with those very issues," said Kent.

"That level of hypocrisy is concerning when we're talking about matters that affect the quality of health care in our province."