Medical director resigns
Physician blames "appalling disarray"

by Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Jan 14/98) - A doctor hired as the Keewatin Regional Health Board medical director for a five-year term is leaving after what he says was a frustrating six weeks with an organization that is being run with such a staff shortage that service is just barely being delivered.

He cites poor leadership as the root of the problem.

Bette Palfrey, chair of the board, has also tendered the position she's held since 1990. She said Monday that her reasons for leaving are personal.

Dr. Ken Hedges says he resigned from his position because he feels it's the only way that he can speak publicly about the state of health care in the region.

"I feel I am forced to resign... in order to bring some rectification to the appalling disarray of the health service," he said. "It seems to be the only way I can do anything."

Hedges has brought his concerns to the attention of the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, David Ramsden, who was unavailable for comment. Health Minister Kelvin Ng who said Friday he hadn't seen the letter, declined to comment.

Palfrey, chair of the KRHB, was also unaware of the doctor's departure until she returned to Rankin on Friday. She said she is sorry to hear he's leaving and wishes he would have come to the board about any problems he was having before going public.

But Hedges maintains the deficiencies at the board were so severe he couldn't ignore them as a medical doctor. He said he felt required to bring them to the public arena because of the magnitude of the problems.

In particular, he sees the shortage of nurses (down to 1 or 2 in most Keewatin communities in recent weeks) as a big problem that is contributing to a system that he feels is barely functioning.

"It's functioning on the momentum of the dedication and energies of the nurses, and that can't go on for long," he said.

Other issues such as the shortage of necessary medical supplies, he said, indicate clearly to him that the system is in complete disarray.

"We are out of tongue depressors," he said. "We were down to one I.V. (intravenous unit) but we got some from Keewatin Air (medevac) -- I asked the nurse for an I.V. ... she broke down and said "I can't, it's the only one we've got -- maybe we should save it (for a more serious patient)."

Hedges said these problems are symptomatic of poor leadership.

Jim Egan, CEO of the KRHB, is expected to return to Rankin this week from Christmas holidays. He was unavailable for comment.

Palfrey, who travelled to Yellowknife to meet with Ng on the issue of the shortage of nurses in the region, agrees it's a time of crisis in the health care system when it comes to recruiting and retaining nurses, but said she was unaware of the other problems Hedges has gone public with.

"...there are periods of time up here when you have unforeseen circumstances...if you've had a number of I.V. usages that would be above and beyond what you'd normally use...possibly that could have contributed to this, but I don't know if that's indeed the case without looking into it a bit more carefully," she said.

"The fact it has been brought to my knowledge, I would look into it and ask some questions and determine why it happened to prevent it from occurring in the future."

Hedges is booked on a flight out of Rankin Inlet on Thursday to begin looking for a new job, but he says he would return in February as a locum if there isn't a doctor for the region.

"I feel I owe that to the community," he said.

Meanwhile, on Friday, a Rankin Inlet Health Centre midwife met with the hamlet and the Kivalliq Inuit Association for an emergency meeting to announce the closing of the birthing centre because of the staffing shortages. It's not known when it will reopen.