Alleged kickbacks suit ‘concluded’

Five years after launching a lawsuit naming former employees and contractors in an alleged fraud and kickback scheme involving the hospital’s procurement process, The Ottawa Hospital says the suit has concluded.

The hospital released a statement Thursday saying: “Over the course of the last five years, The Ottawa Hospital has been engaged in civil proceedings arising out of matters identified in its procurement processes. While some aspects of these proceedings were resolved last year, the proceedings have now entirely concluded. All settlements are confidential.”

The hospital added that it takes its commitment to patients, staff, funders and the community extremely seriously “and is committed to the stewardship of our health care dollars, both from funders and donors.”

The statement said the hospital has completed a series of internal reviews and implemented additional controls and monitoring processes in light of the issues identified in the procurement processes.

The Ottawa Hospital made explosive allegations — which were never tested in court — against former employees and contractors in a 29-page statement of claim filed in civil court in 2015. Employees that were the focus of the legal action no longer work at the hospital.

The document outlined an alleged conspiracy that included bid-rigging and manipulation that favoured some contractors, as well as inflated prices paid to contractors for goods and services in exchange for kickbacks that occurred over years.

The lawsuit alleged that some contractors offered high-end trips, jobs for family members and discounted work on the homes of some employees with key roles in the hospital’s procurement process. One of the trips was to a luxury fishing lodge in British Columbia.

Contractors and employees denied the allegations in counter suits. As of last year, some of the defendants had been planning to ask that the suit be dismissed.