Top doctor stepping down after stroke
OTTAWA — One year after suffering a stroke, the doctor who led Canada through the H1N1 flu scare is stepping down.
Despite “tremendous progress” in his rehabilitation, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. David Butler-Jones said that “it will not be far enough and fast enough for what is needed.”
In the event of another public health emergency on the scope of a listeria outbreak or H1N1 flu pandemic, “the agency and country needs someone with a stamina I no longer possess,” Butler-Jones said in a message sent Friday to Public Health Agency of Canada staff.
“Over the past year since my stroke, I have made tremendous progress for which I am extremely grateful,” he said. “Excellent doctors, therapists, hard work and the support of family, friends and colleagues have accomplished a lot.
“While much has been recovered, I have found it is not sufficient for the frequent challenges faced and time commitment required to fulfil the responsibilities of the Chief Public Health Officer.”
Butler-Jones said that he would step down once a successor is in place.
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who worked closely with Butler-Jones during the H1N1 flu scare in 2009, issued a statement saying: “Whether it was dealing with the H1N1 pandemic or taking action on childhood obesity, Dr. ButlerJones’ professionalism and extensive knowledge were invaluable to me.
“I know his decision to step down from serving in the role of Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer for personal health reasons was a difficult one. But by doing so, he is once again showing his commitment to public health, and putting the best interests of Canadians first.”
She said Butler-Jones would continue to offer advice.
“He helped build and shape the Public Health Agency of Canada into a world-class organization that is respected and admired globally.
Butler-Jones became the public face of the fight against H1N1, meeting with reporters at weekly briefings and patiently answering their questions, something that can be rare among public servants dealing with a crisis.
The H1N1 outbreak, the first global flu pandemic in more than 40 years, unnerved a nation, led to emotional, emergency debates in the House of Commons and an unanticipated shortage in the vaccine supply that led to hours-long waits at flu clinics and delays in vaccinating all but those most at risk of the virus.
Butler-Jones headed the lead government department on the pandemic response as confusion reigned over how fast the virus was spreading, and where it was spreading most quickly; who was at greatest risk for infection and death and whether the new vaccine was safe.
He has been at the helm of the public health agency of Canada since the agency was created in 2003 in the fallout of the SARS outbreak. Butler-Jones was reappointed for another threeyear term in 2011.
“This note to you all comes with a mix of gratitude and sadness,” Butler-Jones said in his message to staff Friday.
“Given the ever-present potential for an event that would once again require of the (chief public health officer) very intense long days, requiring all of his or her skills for weeks or months at a time as we saw in the listeria outbreak and H1N1 pandemic, the agency and country needs someone with a stamina I no longer possess.”
“I look back on so much we have accomplished together with pride and gratitude.”
In May 2012, the doctor became patient when ButlerJones suffered a stroke.
In an interview with Postmedia News Friday, Butler-Jones, 59, said he had to learn words over again, including the names of his four grandchildren.
“I don’t feel done yet, there is just so much to do. But I gave myself a year to get to a point where, either I can do this job, or I can’t.”
“For this job, you have to be able to be ‘on’, 100 per cent, for 10, 12, 16 hours a day, day after day, week after week, and for months sometimes, like when we were in H1N1.”
If H7N9 flu, which has infected 132 people in China, turns into something bigger, “you need somebody in this position who can be there the whole time, not after a few hours say, ‘sorry, I’ve got to go rest my brain now.’
“It’s very hard, but at the same time, I know it’s absolutely the right thing to do.”
Butler-Jones said his stroke was small, but in a “very strategic area” of the brain “where all the bundles pass through.”