Shakeup at Brampton Civic
Three top executives resign; more changes likely at troubled high-tech hospital
Jan 25, 2008 04:30 AM
Prithi Yelaja
Staff Reporter
RICHARD LAUTENS/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
The BramptonCivicHospital opened to replace PeelMemorialHospital on October 28, 2007.
Civic timeline
Oct. 28, 2007: The 479-bed, $790 million Brampton Civic opens to replace the aging 366-bed PeelMemorialHospital.
Nov. 19: Harnek Sidhu, 52, dies of pancreatitis after a 10-day stay; family blames a long wait in emergency, poor staffing.
Dec. 2: Amarjit Narwal, 42, dies of a stroke; his cousin says doctors didn't attend to Narwal until it was too late.
Dec. 9: 1,500 people march through downtown Brampton protesting long wait times, short staffing and poor communication.
Dec. 10: Health Minister George Smitherman says he'll appoint a supervisor to investigate, restore public confidence.
Dec. 31: Smitherman names Ken White as supervisor.
Jan. 24, 2008: Resignations of the hospital's CEO, chief nursing officer, finance VP announced.
Three top executives at BramptonCivicHospital have resigned, barely a month after a tempest of accusations about patient care at the high-tech facility prompted the province to send in a supervisor to investigate.
The sudden resignations of chief executive officer Robert Richards, chief nursing officer Brenda Elsbury and Vicki Truman, executive vice-president finance, come on the heels of street protests and media furor over long emergency room waits, poor communication and lagging patient care that some believe contributed to two untimely deaths.
The complaints have fed an ongoing controversy over the public-private partnership that built the hospital, with P3 opponents blaming the deal for alleged cost overruns, a shrinking bed count and shortage of staff.
Effective this week, the resignations are part of an overall shakeup at the top levels of the hospital's administration. More voluntary staff departures, as well as dismissals at all managerial levels, will be coming in the next couple of months, supervisor Ken White told the Star yesterday.
"There will be more changes. I'm doing that tough job of determining what the right combination of skills should be ... It's a new era, so it's time for everyone in the organization to look to the future now."
Richards, Elsbury and Truman were respectively paid about $300,000, $233,400 and $233,000 in 2006, the latest figures available. All are expected to receive hefty severances, particularly Richards, though neither White nor board chairman Duncan Glaholt would comment on the amounts.
Both insist the three executives were not fired.
"These were all amicable. There's no suggestion at all that these were anything other than voluntary resignations," said Glaholt. "These are wonderful people."
Added White: "I didn't give them the axe."
In Richards' case, he said, "When a supervisor is appointed, in essence, he (CEO) loses his authority. Most people would say that's constructive dismissal."
As supervisor, White took over the hospital on Dec. 31 and reports directly to provincial Health Minister George Smitherman
Richards had been CEO of William Osler Health Centre, which includes Brampton Civic as well as Etobicoke GeneralHospital, since May 2005. Elsbury and Truman, both longtime employees, retired, White said.
"From my experience, good people know when it's time for them to move on, and the not-so-good, you have to tell them. I put that out to the senior team. I said, `I know you've been through a lot and I haven't worked with you folks directly. How are you feeling? Are you feeling you're right for this place at this time?'
"A couple of them came back to me and said, `I think maybe it's time for me to make a change.' So it's more retirement decisions than anything," he said.
"Those poor folks are really tired. I don't know how they got the hospital constructed and opened and at the same time did their day jobs. They're just fried."
The hospital has hired a headhunting firm to help fill two new positions White created: chief financial officer and senior vice-president of patient services.
Previously, responsibility for patient care was shared among several vice-presidents. The system was clearly flawed and allowed patients to fall through the cracks, said White.
"Broken up like that, there was too much fragmentation. It needed to be better integrated ... (This) is a more efficient model."
Until permanent hires are made, both new jobs will be filled on six-month contracts. Brian Edmonds, former CFO at Trillium Health Centre during White's tenure there as CEO, will assume that role at Brampton Civic.
White hopes to fill the second position shortly, on a temporary basis.
For White, just over three weeks into his mandate, "It's been 16-hour days and weekends, trying to get to the bottom of challenges for the hospital," he said.
Smitherman has previously said that while he was pleased with frontline staff at Brampton Civic, the quality of leadership at the CEO and board level needed improvement.
"I would echo Minister Smitherman's comment," White said. "Generally I've been very impressed with the frontline staff and the chiefs of medical departments....There are a lot of strengths here. It just needs a little fixing."