Why I have called for the resignations of Dr. Brian Postl and Dr. Brock Wright

It was with great sadness and much hesitation that I called for the resignation of Dr Postl and Dr. Wright. I have much respect for both men. While there continue to be significant problems in health care, it should be acknowledged that there are areas in health care which are working well.

Nevertheless in their leadership roles with the WRHA, Dr. Postl and Dr. Wright have to ensure 1) that Emergency Rooms are working very well, 2) that critical incidents are well investigated and measures taken to prevent subsequent problems and 3) that communication about major tragedies is accurate. In all three areas, they have fallen short.

1) Emergency Rooms: One of the most critical responsibilities of the head of a Regional Health Authority is to ensure that our Emergency Rooms are working well. Emergency Rooms as the initial contact for critically ill people, are a vital and critical part of the whole system. In this respect the efforts over the last ten or so years by Brian and others at the WRHA have not been successful in ensuring optimally functioning Emergency Rooms.

When Dorothy Madden died in a WRHA Emergency Room several years ago, there was a major Task Force set up and an Emergency Care Task Force report that was to finally fix the problems in the WRHA Emergency Rooms. As well as this report, there have been a variety of other reports – including the one into the death of John Klassen. Indeed, as we have learned there were about 50 critical incidents in WRHA Emergency Rooms in the last three years, and presumably 50 additional reports on these incidents with recommendations to improve.

I have over the last few years been told of many instances where there continue to be problems in the operation of Emergency Rooms in the WRHA.

The incident with Brian Sinclair is a terrible tragedy, but from what I can see it is not a completely isolated event in that there continue to be major problems in our Emergency Rooms in Winnipeg.

2) Investigation of Tragedies and Critical Incidents: A second area where action needs to be done well is in the investigation of tragedies and critical incidents. Medical errors, like aeroplane accidents in the airline industry, need to be investigated very well and very thoroughly because information from what happened in such situations is critical to improving to make sure processes are improved and errors are not repeated. In the case of Brian Sinclair the recent evidence brought forward by Dr. Balachandra has sadly showed that the initial investigation was not at the standard which we should expect. In this respect, when the Brian Sinclair tragedy first came to light, I specifically urged that there be an outside expert brought in who had major experience and had already demonstrated competence in improving emergency room function. It is sad that my recommendation last September was not considered because I believe it would have saved a lot of the heartache which has resulted from the poorly conducted initial investigation.

There is a real need for a culture of openness in dealing with medical errors. We need to be constructive in dealing with those who were directly involved in making the errors (in this case the individuals in the Emergency Room), but we do have to have accountability at a senior level of the WRHA. Indeed, I have fought hard to change the culture so that we can be open and transparent in dealing with what happened and make sure processes are changed. In this case, it is in part precisely because there was a lack of openness and a lack of accuracy in dealing with the tragedy and the medical error(s), that I have taken the drastic step that I have taken.


3) Excellent communication: The CEO and the Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer of the WRHA must be able to communicate well and to be accurate in what is communicated particularly in times of tragedies. It has been most distressing to many Manitobans to find that what we were told last September by the leadership in the WRHA and indeed by the Premier and the Minister of Health was not accurate. This has created a major credibility gap and sadly from my communication with many Manitobans this credibility gap will make it very difficult for Brian Postl and Brock Wright if they continue in their present positions.

Just as it is Brian Postl’s job, as CEO, to ensure certain standards are met in the WRHA, so it is my job as a leading politician in the opposition in Manitoba to call for change when certain standards are not met. I have done so.