[ad_1]
Breadcrumb Links Politics Opinion columnists
Opinion: It’s unbelievable that leaders use the term ‘all fail’, even when the minister reviews a service that failed British Columbians
Author of the article:
Vaughn palmer
Release date :
Jul 15, 2021 1 hour 4 minutes read 5 comments Paramedics respond to an emergency medical call within 100 blocks of E. Hastings Street in Vancouver. Photo by Jason Payne / PNG Article content
VICTORIA Health Minister Adrian Dixs, B.C.’s late but ambitious overhaul of emergency health services should not be taken as a criticism of anyone in the system, Provincial Health supervisor executives said Services Authority.
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Today’s announcement aims to focus on strengthening the base of emergency health services so that we can improve service to patients and communities and the day-to-day work experience of our employees, said Authority Acting Chairman David Byres and Executive Vice President Susan Wannamaker. in a letter to staff on Wednesday, the same day Dix announced the changes to BC’s ambulance service.
Byres and Wannamaker then ruled out the possibility that the moves were the result of a blame exercise.
It is important to recognize that the failures that occurred were not the fault of any one person or group of leaders, they wrote in the two-page memorandum obtained by reporter Jordan Armstrong of Global TV.
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Failures that have occurred?
It is incredible that the leaders of authority say so.
People were forced to wait hours for ambulances to arrive during the recent heat wave. Police and firefighters took people to the hospital because the ambulances did not show up.
The paramedics themselves were in distress, overwhelmed by calls for help from people on the brink.
Even British Columbia’s beleaguered emergency health services director of operations Darlene MacKinnon, who is the subject of a petition calling for her resignation, has had to admit that there have been failures.
I think we did a really good job of responding, she insisted in an interview on July 1, after Global TV reported that her agency had activated its 24-hour emergency coordination center. until June 29, after the heatwave. sharp.
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
But when asked for testimonials from families and first responders that life-threatening people waited for an ambulance for hours, MacKinnon conceded: We know some of these people have waited too long for our response and we sympathize. and we apologize for it.
Still, Byres and Wannamaker weren’t about to hold her responsible for the debacle.
The only finger pointed in their memorandum was aimed at critics of the service.
We’ve all seen events unfold on social media recently in which COO Darlene MacKinnon and other senior executives were targeted and subjected to personal attacks, they wrote. This type of abuse and intimidation has no place in our organization or our society.
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Admittedly, this is not the case. But, in addition to the mostly anonymous online abuse, MacKinnon and the emergency services have come under harsh criticism from those named, including those with an interest in the system and families who have described in detail how he had failed them.
Instead of acknowledging the validity of these criticisms, the Provincial Health Services Authority suggested that the critics really do not understand how there are many factors and shortages in the complex health care systems of which BC Emergency Health Services is a part.
The memorandum expressed sympathy for the front line staff: We know that many of you have expressed your anger, sadness and frustration at the recent challenges in providing service to our patients. We understand that this has damaged the sense of pride in the organization, and we are very sorry for that.
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Far from agreeing with the calls to lead MacKinnons, the leaders of the authority have declared their support for her and her entire team: the management team, including Darlene, continue to benefit from our full support as well as support from the Minister, the Ministry of Health and our Board of Directors. .
Still, the memo got me thinking: if there weren’t some failures worthy of public acknowledgment, if the staff were the only ones in line to apologize, if the whole team could count on the support of Dixs, why the makeover?
On Wednesday, Dix announced the appointment of a new board to oversee emergency health services. He appointed former Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu as chairman and Telus chairman Darren Entwistle as special adviser. He recruited Leanne Heppell, COO of Providence Health Care, to fill the newly created role of Chief Ambulance Officer on an interim basis.
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
If things were as copacific with the emergency services as the PHSA management seems to believe, Dix wouldn’t have said like he has done half a dozen times that when people call for an ambulance, they must. know that help is on the way and quickly.
On the contrary, Dix waited too long to publicly acknowledge the problems within the provincially funded ambulance service.
Horror stories predate the heat wave, although unprecedented temperatures have brought it to a point of crisis with what appear to be (pending final verdicts from Chief Corner) hundreds of excess deaths .
For a very long time the New Democrats denied it, just saying that the problem was caused by the pandemic and the overdose crisis and, anyway, they inherited a mess four years ago from the Liberals in the United States. British Columbia.
Arguably this week’s announcement got a bit of a scramble because Dix a retail politician if there ever was one didn’t announce budget numbers or a timeline to go with the hiring of a service. extended and reliable ambulance.
We hope that the results will be needed soon, he admitted.
But after stalling while the alarm bells were ringing, he didn’t leave much time to keep his promise that when people call for an ambulance, you can be sure you’re on your way.
Share this article on your social network Advertising
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
By clicking the subscribe button, you agree to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thank you for registering!
comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil discussion forum and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour of moderation before appearing on the site. We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications, you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, if there is an update to a comment thread that you are following, or if a user you are following. follow comments. Check out our community guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
|
Sources 2/ https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-health-agency-denies-blame-for-b-c-ambulance-service-fiasco-attacks-critics The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
[ad_2]