Thread by @DennisKendel

As a Saskatchewan citizen I invested an enormous amount of time & energy into the process that culminated in the creation of the SHA. I am deeply concerned about some of the things that are currently happening at the SHA. I believe all citizens should be concerned (1/21)

Through evidence from high quality health services research & feedback from patients/families, in 2016 concern arose that delivery of health services through 13 autonomous geographically-defined RHAs was yielding fragmented patient care (2/21)

On August 18, 2016, the Government of Saskatchewan appointed a 3 member Advisory Panel on Health System Structure to review the Regional Health Authority structure. The Panel was given 4 well defined mandates & asked to submit its report in 3 months (3/21)

The mandates included:
Options for reducing the number of RHAs
Reviewing regional RHA structure and accountability
Looking at services that could be delivered more efficiently & effectively on a provincial scale;
Enhancing measurement of health system performance
(4/21)

I was appointed to the Advisory Panel along with Brenda Abrametz & Tyler Bragg. We worked together very effectively as a team with support from Health Ministry staff. I developed deep respect for Brenda & Tyler during the course work together (5/21)

After intensive public consultation that was conducted with full public transparency, we recommended consolidation of 12 RHAs while leaving Athabasca unchanged because of its unique collaboration between First nations & both Federal / Provincial governments (6/21)

On January 4, 2017, the Advisory Panel presented its report to Health Minister Jim Reiter, who accepted all of the report's recommendations & announced the province would begin work to consolidate 12 existing RHAs into one single Provincial Health Authority. (7/21)

Beth Vachon, CEO of the Swift Current RHA was appointed to lead the Transition Team. Dr. Kevin Wasko was appointed to the team to bring a medical perspective. Both Beth and Kevin now serve as members of the SHA Executive Leadership Team (ELT)
(8/21).

It is noteworthy that Brenda Abrametz & Tyler Bragg currently serve as SHA Board members. This is positive as it ensures that the perspectives of the Advisory Panel continue to be present at the Board table (9/21)

The SHA Board selected Scott Livingstone as its inaugural CEO. Trained as a pharmacist, Scott had served as the CEO of the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency prior to his appointment as SHA CEO. I have always had & still have a very high regard for Scott's leadership (10/21)

From conversations with Scott over his years of service as the SHA CEO, I know he had to deal almost daily with intrusions into management of the SHA first by Jim Reiter & then Paul Merriman. This was very stressful (11/21)

In recent days, Zak Vescera, a very diligent Star Phoenix reporter, published a report on actions taken by Minister Merriman to ensure that a staffer from the Deputy Minister's office be appointed as an SHA VP. (12/21)

This media report has intensified my concerns about inappropriate Ministerial interventions in the management of the SHA, the damaging impact of this on the entire SHA ELT & its potential adverse impact on all of us as citizens (13/21)

For a very complex organization with 43,000 staff, the SHA has a relatively small ELT. In the early years of the SHA's life, this team of dedicated & talented managers worked very hard to transform the culture of 12 RHA management teams into 1 cohesive team (14/21)

In my opinion the SHA ELT has done an amazing job of organizing & managing much more integrated healthcare for all citizens of this province. Though they function in relative public obscurity, this management team is vital to the success of our health system (15/21)

When the COVID pandemic struck in the spring of 2020, the SHA ELT rose to the challenge of redirecting human resources to ensure rapid mass immunization & rigorous PRC COVID testing. The ELT has been working under very high stress levels throughout the pandemic (16/21)

Long-term exposure to relentless stress has taken a toll on the SHA ELT just as it has on front line clinical care givers. We often express gratitude to front line HCWs. The work done by system managers is less visible so we often just take it for granted (17/21)

In addition to being taken for granted, the members of our SHA ELT now finds themselves insulted & demeaned by the words & actions of our Health Minister. He asserts that they are failing to properly manage some unnamed logistical issues in the SHA (18/21)

In response to his perceived managerial failings of the SHA ELT, Minister Merriman now parachutes a Ministry staffer with no experience in managing healthcare services into a VP position with no publicly disclosed goals (19/21)

Today I am calling upon the SHA Board to protect its ELT from these damaging actions by the Minister of Health. Although the Board reports to the Minister, it is not obligated to allow the the Minster to control the management of the organization. (20/21)

Today I am also calling upon my fellow citizens to pay attention to how the Minister's action may ultimately erode the quality of healthcare you may receive. If the integrity of our publicly funded healthcare system is eroded, we will all suffer! (21/21)