In my humble opinion as a mere mortal, the Ontario Ministry of Health and the public's elected
health minister decided on and signed off on allowing
Hospitals to first, outsource this pharmacy work and bulk purchasing without:
(a) Ensuring that any such companies had provincial or federal
oversight and
(b) Were registered with Health Canada or would obtain the
required necessary federal license?
Secondly, both the Ontario ministry of health and the Hospitals
also approved and gave permission to go ahead with the practice of group
purchasing of drugs through companies such as Medbury and others approved by
Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Hospitals as group drug purchasers!
Since 1998 all Canadian companies and establishments require a
license to package, label, distribute, import, wholesale or test drugs among
other restrictions. What was the Ontario
Hospitals role and the Ontario Health Minister’s role in ensuring or not, that
Medbury and Marchese had such licenses as noted in the above paragraphs?
According to
the Ontario Health Ministry and its Health Systems Accountability and Performance
Division it exists to ensures that the
strategies and programs that it has oversight for, deliver the intended results
by providing expertise to inform the development of strategies and initiatives;
guiding implementation of provincial strategies and initiatives; negotiating
agreements that enable a sustainable health care system and contribute to
achievement of provincial objectives; ensuring that partners and health service
providers are held accountable for achieving the best outcomes through their
use of funds, and are in compliance with legislation; evaluating outcomes to
identify opportunities for future health system improvement, and leading
performance improvement initiatives and activities.
Boy that is a
wonderful mouth-full with the attempted escape card of “that it has oversight for”!
Now let’s see the mix instructions contracts
that was drawn up by Medbury as arranged and thus supposedly approved by our
Hospitals and the Ministry of Health in Ontario?
Far too many questions remain unanswered or asked and the
public deserves an open transparent public debate and judicial hearings at a
minimum.
First people and corporations must all be held criminally responsible
for those decisions that first allowed Marchese Hospital Solutions
to manufacture chemo drug solutions without being licensed and an
accredited pharmacy?
Secondly when and who was involved in deciding that Hospitals could
outsource such chemo pharmacy work without first seeking provincial and
federal oversight?
Thirdly when and by what authority and from whom were Ontario Hospitals
given authority and go ahead with the practice for group purchasing of drugs
through companies such as Medbury and others?
Officials in government, Hospitals, elected and non elected representative of
the public along with senior stakeholders of Marchese Hospital
Solutions and Medbury a group seller of drugs to Hospitals all must be held
accountable and if warranted be charged with culpable
homicide through criminal negligence in my opinion as a mere mortal.
As from the beginning of this scandal, it has been far too simple and convenient
for all parties to play the blame game as suggesting that Hospitals
somehow erred in administering the drug solution provided!
What proof is there that this happened or was the drug
solution diluted by either Medbury or Merchese in the packaging and
distribution prior to the Hospitals receipt?
Further, what are the contract preparation
instructions for the solution that the supplier, Medbuy, followed or perhaps
did not follow?
What is the maximum value to their members by driving costs out of the
healthcare system that Medbury follows as stated in their mission
statement?
What are Marchese and Medbuy's specific principles of contract participation
and compliance with their product manufacturing and product
suppliers?
What are the secret details that remain kept
behind closed doors by the Ministry, Hospitals, Medbury and Marchese?
All such information must be made public
along with the roles that all parties played in this “colossal sloppiness” and
health care blundering that resulted in the deaths of 137 Ontario residents and
Canadian citizens.
The public and patients are deeply upset and demand answers from all parties
including this liberal government in Ontario
whose track record on health care and governing are disastrous.
Thanks to Diana Zlomislic and Tim Alamenciak from the Toronto Star for their
investigative reporting and hopefully they shall continue to probe much deeper
into this scandal.
My deepest and sincere
condolences go out to the 137 families and their communities who have been
traumatized and suffered from these unnecessary preventable deaths.
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