By Doug Draper
In the wake of a superbug outbreak that has so far killed 21 people at hospitals managed by the Niagara Health System, another administrative head has rolled.
In 'better days', Christine Clark at left with Niagara Health System board head Betty-Lou Souter and former CEO Debbie Sevenpifer in background as board congratulates itself for another 'excellent ' year at a 2010 annual meeting. Photo by Doug Draper
Christine Clark, who has been the communications director at that organization since its creation by the province a decade ago, has suddenly been let go. The NHS is not disclosing any details around the reason for her departure however, which is in keeping with the tradition of Clark and others at this malfunctioning hospital board to share as little information as possible with a public that is paying the bills.
That leaves the rest of us to speculate why Clark has been ejected from a job that commanded a yearly salary of more than $132,000 and more than $5,500 in annual benefits.
One can only imagine that it may have had something to do with the fact given a disturbing number of C. difficile deaths over the past month and a half at NHS hospital sites in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake, that has finally shone the national media on what has been the health care equivalent of a train wreck in this region for more than five years.
It always seemed to be okay for Clark and company when they had The St. Catharines Standard – a paper that has proudly functioned as a propaganda rag for the NHS – to blow out its smoke while a slime few more adventurous news venues, like the Niagara This Week paper this journalist has reported and written columns for, dared to ask some tough questions.
This reporter will never forget the sour reaction from Clark and company some six years ago when I called from the newsroom of the then newly launched Niagara This Week to question the choice of west St. Catharines, rather than a more central site in the region, for the new hospital complex. That’s old news, insisted Clark and company, since the hospital board and its p.r. organ, The St. Catharines Standard, had already decided that this choice of a site for the new hospital was a great one. How dare we question it!
A year ago, after the NHS closed the emergency rooms in hospitals in Fort Erie and Port Colborne, and was systematically cutting other acute care services at hospitals in Niagara’s south end, it held some open houses for the public. One was held in the corridors of the WM/YWCA building in Welland, where the place was so loud with groups of kids and others running from one gym area to another that the people trying to express there concerns, at that time, about the cutting of front-line services and what it might mean for quality health care in our hospitals, could hardly be heard. I suggested in a column that the NHS might just as well have held the open house in a bowling alley, and you should have seen the daggers coming out of Clark’s eyes the next time I saw her.
No bother to Clark and company though. Their underlying contempt for any media other than The Standard that happened to cross their bow the wrong way with a few hardball questions continued unabated. At least it did until the past number of weeks when the failure to make prompt disclosures about the seriousness of the superbug outbreak in their hospitals finally caught up to them with stories in The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, on CBC, and more. Finally too much for a bush league communications hack like Clark.
Don’t count on any more openness and transparency from this outfit though. They have finally begun holding daily media briefings on the C. difficile crisis, but that is only because of pressure from an embarrassed province that has been stupid enough to put their faith in these people for far too long.
As for anything other disclosures, it is as doubtful we will find out anything more about the departure of Clark and how much of our money they will be paying out to her in a settlement package as we will ever find out how much Debbie Sevenpifer, the NHS’s former CEO, will receive as a severance after her sudden departure this past winter.
So the NHS don’t-tell-em-what-you-don’t-have-to game goes on. Eighteen deaths and counting.
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I certainly empathize with Doug Draper’s disgust with all of these NHS boobies and their supporters in the main stream press. Three years ago, as I tried repeatedly to warn NHS of time-critical emergencies (about to happen to the people from the southern tier who would die in ambulances on their way to the still intact, more central ER’s) the same PR types as Ms Clark, the one just fired by NHS, also treated me with insolent contempt or complete silence. But lopping off the head of just one such fool is not the answer! The whole top-heavy bunch of corporatist managers at NHS and elsewhere in Ontario must be unceremoniously dumped – and replaced with medically knowledgeable people. The time is ripe for all grass root protesters to press hard for this critical change in hospital management. Otherwise, there will be more totally unwarranted deaths.
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Doug this is one great article questioning the credability of the useless N.H.S. and the useless pieces of crap that that comprise the board that dictates how it is run and who gets paid and how much, they can squander millions from the working public with no fear of retribution or having to explain their actions and get shit canned and still get out with a substantial so called payout.
If in fact these payouts are required why are they not made public? What are they hiding? Are these payout agreements made to silence the ones that are fired.
Too many unanswered questions that must be addressed before it gets any worse, if in fact it can.
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The P3 partners probably need more exposure. According to an earlier NAL article by Dr. Hogg, the three partners are The Royal Bank Of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank, and Bank of Montreal.
For this and other reasons, I won’t be dealing with the Bank Of Montreal after next week.
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Actually as an after thought Dr.Hogg you are right Ms Clark was just as guilty as the rest in this dysfunctional NHS administration for she along with Sue Matthews were present at the “ONLY” open consultation with the people held in the bustling hallway in the busy YMCA in Welland …. actually they were offered a room but refused probably because they did not want to be trapped and forced into answering questions they had no answers for….They were a very angry group having to be there.
Oh Yes when the Doctors finally forced the hand of Souter on the term over-run of Dr, W. Shragge and he moved on……. it was to another appointed position as the Chairman and CEO of the Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee,whatever the hell that is supposed to be.
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Shoot the messenger, problem solved.
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Doug:
Thanx very much for this site. You’re allowing folks to get together and attempt to correct injustices.
One of the commenters under Mr Walkom’s column asked the correct question:
What happens to all that tax money Dolton McWimpy grabs from us… you know, that “health tax” he promised he wouldn’t raise?
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I confess that I was sorry to hear the news about Christine Clark’s departure.
I can understand that, in her position, she would find an experienced and knowledgeable journalist like Doug Draper a threat. At NHS Board meetings, however, Christine was both cordial and approachable in her behaviour towards “trouble-makers” like myself, Pat Scholfield, Sue Hotte and Sue Salzer. In other words, she behaved as a PR professional should. Her title amused me, though. Instead of Director of Communications, her position was actually “Director of (Deliberate) Miscommunications.” Or, lately, “Director of Non-Communication.” Call me a hopeless idealist, but I really hope that Christine Clark threw in the towel, saying to the NHS Board: “Do your own lying from now on. I’ve had it.”
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Mr. Levick is correct. The significance of her departure is minimal. She is simply the messenger.
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Chris was indeed one of the class acts but at some point the word integrity should enter this picture. What is the price point where it can be bought.
Off with Sevenpifers head and the politicos will be quiet
Off with Christines head and the masses will be quiet
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN
Only a complete impartial review of the damage caused and yet to be caused by the HIP will reveal the systemic problems in the NHS.
So don’t bother with sacrificial lambs..Individuals are not the problem.
The Board must be held accountable for allowing this situation to develop.
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