Vancouver Island doctor calls for resignation of Island Health leader amid health-care 'crisis'
An emergency room doctor on Vancouver Island is calling on the leadership of the health authority to resign, saying harassment by Island Health officials is prompting doctors to abandon the region amid a critical shortage of health-care workers.
Dr. Alex Nataros will be the only emergency doctor working in Port Hardy, B.C., by the end of June, once the resignations of two of his colleagues are finalized.
"My own experience for the past two weeks is continued harassment by the health authority leadership," Nataros told Victoria's CFAX 1070 on Friday.
"That is leading to us hemorrhaging doctors from the North Island and leading to the crisis that we're facing now and into the future," he added. "As a result of this I'm calling for the resignation of the chief medical officer of Island Health, Dr. Ben Williams."
The emergency room doctor said one of his colleagues who plans to resign in the coming months asked Nataros to share his reasons for leaving his post.
Specifically, the doctor complained of "poor treatment at the hands of the health authority and health authority leadership," according to Nataros, as well as "lost income because of health authority negligence and threat to patient care."
Williams responded to the doctor's comments in an emailed statement to CTV News, saying he takes the allegations with "great concern," but is unable to comment directly on the matter due to his responsibility to the health authority.
'THE ADMINISTRATION IS PATHETIC'
Dr. Prean Armogam, a family clinician in the northern Vancouver Island town of Port McNeill, B.C., says the complaints raised by Nataros are shared by doctors across the region.
Armogam, who has been practising medicine in Port McNeill for 17 years, told CTV News on Friday that North Island doctors are united in their desire for a change in leadership at Island Health.
"The problem with Ben Williams and the executive medical leadership is that they're not present," Armogam said.
"Decisions continue to be made without consulting with people on the ground, people who are frontline, like Alex and myself and the doctors who have been here all these years."
Last week the B.C. Health Ministry said "significant efforts" were underway to improve access to health care on the North Island, while announcing that two emergency rooms in Port Hardy and Alert Bay would be closed overnight for the foreseeable future.
Defending the announcement on Friday, Williams said the health authority "remains committed to the initiatives announced last week, and to work in collaboration with our many partners – including physicians – to stabilize and improve the reliability of health care services in the region."
Doctors of BC, a voluntary association of 14,000 physicians, residents and medical students in B.C., released its annual membership survey Wednesday, showing Vancouver Island health-care workers reported the lowest level of satisfaction with their health authority in the province.
Forty per cent of respondents in the Island Health region said they were satisfied with practising medicine in the region in 2022, compared to a provincial average satisfaction rate of 50 per cent.
Chief among the complaints from Island Health practitioners were a lack of transparency and clear communication from Island Health decision-makers.
"We are not likely to be successful if we have the current leadership," Armogam said. "The administration is pathetic. The local administration and senior leadership has been so broken."
"We cannot function with the current leadership model," he added. "Changes need to happen for us to be set up for success otherwise it's hopeless."
According to the survey, more than half of Island Health respondents reported experiencing a "psychological safety incident" over the past 12 months, while 35 per cent reported at least one threat to their physical safety.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.