Deagle says he apologized to Health P.E.I.’s board for how CEO’s departure was handled | CBC News
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Prince Edward Island’s health minister told MLAs that he has apologized to Health P.E.I.’s board members for not consulting them before making changes at the top of the organization earlier this month.
The authority’s board of directors was only informed after the fact that Melanie Fraser was out as Health P.E.I.’s chief executive officer.
During question period in the legislature Friday, Health Minister Cory Deagle said that the situation “could have been handled better.” He said he met last week with Health P.E.I. board chair Richard Wedge and vice-chair Mona O’Shea.
“I have apologized for that and I think we can move forward and make that relationship stronger,” Deagle said.
Deagle told reporters after question period that the meeting was productive and included “a frank and honest discussion of where things are at.”
“I did apologize for how it rolled out with the parting ways of our CEO and the board’s involvement. I think we could have done better there,” he said.
“I’m committed to working on the relationship with the Health P.E.I. board and as we move forward.”
Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane said that while “it’s nice to hear the admission” that the process wasn’t handled properly, government needs to be held accountable for not following the terms of the CEO’s contract.
“It clearly says that Health P.E.I. is the employer — not the government, not the premier, not the minister — and that the employer has the ability to terminate the CEO,” MacFarlane told reporters after question period.
“That wasn’t followed in this case.”
‘Rebuilding the culture’ of Health P.E.I.
Deagle said work needs to be done on “rebuilding the culture” of Health P.E.I. and allowing its leadership to do their work.
“They’re the experts in this,” he said. “Let’s let them do the work that they can do, and for us to stay out of their way.”
Deagle said his goal is to have open lines of communication between the government and Health P.E.I.
MacFarlane said he isn’t convinced anything will change. He said political interference is hurting the health-care system, even though Health P.E.I. is supposed to be an independent and arm’s-length body.
“It’s getting worse every year, especially when we look at access to primary care,” he said.
“Until we get the politicians’ hands out of this health-care pie, we’re going to have bad results for Islanders and we’re going to have a very difficult time recruiting the experts who want to come in and be able to do their jobs.”