LHSC shakeup: Critics applaud changes but warn long road ahead

Article content

Health-care advocates across the city cheered news Wednesday that the board of directors at London Health Sciences Centre – described as a “colossal failure” by a former president – has resigned and a supervisor has been appointed.

But a former hospital board member, a former LHSC president and a union official warn the work has just begun to overhaul London Health Sciences Centre and get its staffing and spending in line with patient care.

Article content

That task falls to David Musyj, LHSC interim chief executive who was appointed by the province as a supervisor.

“I am encouraged by this step,” said Ronald Breen, a chartered accountant who sat on the LHSC board in the late 1990s until 2003. “There will be a significant focus in getting operational practices right. The board did not deal with proper governance.” 

Breen had pledged a $1 million to the hospital on his death from his estate, but withdrew that pledge in July over what he believed was hospital mismanagement.

He said he has not seen enough change at LHSC to reinstate his gift.

“I want to see the road map going forward. As supervisor (Musyj) has wide-ranging authority and in 18 to 24 months there will be a new plan, a new board. This will be a long process,” said Breen, who now lives in Kingston. “They are on the right track.”

The hospital announced Wednesday board members had stepped down from their posts “in acknowledgment of the need for a fresh path for LHSC under new leadership.” 

Musyj was given sweeping authority by the Ministry of Health to overhaul the hospital, one of Canada’s largest acute-care teaching hospitals with three campuses, following public outrage over lavish hospital spending, bloated senior administration and exorbitant salaries.

Article content

 LHSC announced the termination of 59 managers and demotion of 71 others with pay cuts on Sept. 5 as part of its strategy to reduce a $150-million deficit in its 2024-25 fiscal year. 

Former LHSC chief executive Tony Dagnone, who one year ago openly questioned why LHSC was moving away from a shared services agreement with St. Joseph’s Health Care, refused to take comfort Wednesday in the board’s demise.

“This should have happened years ago. We would have saved so much money, on severance and huge salaries. I am saddened by the destruction of so many careers,” he said.

But Dagnone also urged support for Musyj in his restructuring plan, saying it is critical London has a healthy LHSC. 

“This board was a colossal failure. They were warned years ago they were not fulfilling their mandate to the staff and the public. But I want to wish David and his team good luck. It is so critical.”

Donald Farquhar, a doctor who runs a clinic at LHSC’s University Hospital, also applauded the move. He said staff morale already has improved with the ongoing hospital restructuring that began with the appointment of Musyj, chief executive of Windsor Regional Hospital, as acting chief executive of LHSC in May.

Article content

“I think this is the right thing to do and I would see this as a natural progression” of the hospital restructuring to date, Farquhar said.

He wrote a scathing open letter, published in The Free Press in May, that called for the board to be ousted and a supervisor named, saying the legacy of financial and administrative mismanagement is so long, a new approach was needed.

“It was not the right fit,” Farquhar said of the board. “There were problems with governance. I believe the board is responsible to the general public.”

Doris Grinspun, chief executive of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, side-stepped the question of the board’s removal and said the real issue challenging LHSC and all Ontario hospitals is staffing and funding.

Hospital expenses and administration need to be looked at, she said, but until more money flows to nurses being hired, patient care will suffer.

“Nurses are paying the price every day, and patient care is being destroyed. This is about staffing and funding. It is clear what the system needs,” Grinspun said.

Musyj, in his message to staff, called for the establishment of a community advisory committee, which Farquhar applauded as needed to connect directly to the community.

Article content

“That makes tremendous sense to me; we need community input,” he said. 

Farquhar also stressed that, as drastic as the changes may appear to the public, he believes front-line care will not suffer.  

“This kind of thing won’t have a direct impact on patient care. The hospital functions well. Care is being delivered in emergency and operating rooms,” he said. 

Musyj replaced Jackie Schleifer Taylor, who had been chief executive since 2021. Schleifer Taylor went on a medical leave of absence in November 2023, and the hospital announced June 11 she was no longer employed at LHSC. 

ndebono@postmedia.com

Article content