Clearing up who’s boss

Re: “Health board fired over executive bonus clash; System continuity threatened, ousted members claim,” the Journal, June 13. When it fired the Alberta Health Services board this week, the government sent a clear message it maintains a strong hand in our healthcare system. That might not be a bad thing.

One of the biggest problems with accelerating change across our health care is lack of centralized power. Pockets of control have competing interests.

No one is truly in charge, and firing the AHS superboard is unlikely to create instability in the short term. Our government funds the system but AHS is free to make decisions that result in gross mismanagement of those funds. For better or worse, someone needs to take responsibility.

When medevac services were reoriented in northern Alberta, physicians and patients were outraged. AHS told us it was obliged to follow the government’s orders. The government told us AHS was in charge and it didn’t want to get involved.

The AHS superboard has been inconsistent in its leadership, allowing government priorities to sway many key decisions. Changes in medevac services, closure of hospitals and cuts to frontline staff are examples.

The superboard had opportunities to pick a better issue to stand its ground. The matter of paying bonuses to well-compensated executives far removed from frontline care was a poor choice.

AHS needs leadership as it transforms itself into something better than it was.