By Mario deSantis, November 2, 1999

The recent resignation of Gord Nystuen(1), president of the Saskatchewan Health Information Network (SHIN), was the initial tangible signal of a governmental campaign to cover up the financial flop of the SHIN project. The covering up of the financial disasters caused by health reform is not stopping with the SHIN project. In fact, Pat Atkinson, Minister of Health, is beginning to understand the incompetence of her own ministry, of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), of the Health Services Utilization and Research Commission (HSURC)(2), and in an unprecedented move has called for an outside review of the Regina Health district's $22.5 million operating deficit(3). Atkinson said that the review will be conducted by Bert Boyd of British Columbia, a competent health management consultant who has served as CEO for both health regions and hospitals. Also, Atkinson said that the review will investigate how to make the boards more accountable and will explore whether the government should have more direct involvement in the affairs of health boards.

Health reform have failed in Saskatchewan, and the Atkinson's solution for failure is more management by confusion(4) and more re-engineering by outside consultants. This government would have had more accountable boards if these boards would have been allowed to assert their own authorities and responsibilities as per the District Health Act and away from behaving as puppets of both the government and SAHO. Further, in response to Atkinson's review, Regina board chair Anita Bergman has stated "...We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate to a third party the service demands that are placed on us by the public and the government, and the underfunding which forces us to operate in a deficit position..." I wonder why Anita Bergman doesn't demonstrate how her board was able to afford the $40 million overrun caused by the closure of the Plains Health Centre(5).

Healthcare expenditures were approximately 33% of the governmental expenditures in 1993 and today, while we are experiencing a health care crisis, they have increased to approximately 40%. Therefore, the major cause of the health care crisis is not necessarily underfunding as stated by Anita Bergman and most other health care leaders and governmental politicians. One of the major causes of the health crisis is due to the corrupted policy directions of this government(6) and of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations(7)(8).

Endnotes

1. Saskatchewan Health Information Network: Gord Nystuen leaves his post to cover his assets, by Mario deSantis, October 23, 1999

2. Fragmented Research comes to the help of Saskatchewan Reform, by Mario deSantis, September 28, 1999

3. Deficit review of health district makes SAHO nervous, by Bonny Braden, The StarPhoenix, October 30, 1999

4. The Saga of Health Reform: Pat Atkinson Wants Fewer Health Boards and Fully Appointed Boards, by Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis, October 16, 1999

5. Premier Romanow: playing the number game. Publicizing the 22% salary increase and covering up the $40 million overrun, by Mario deSantis, April 19, 1999

6. One example of corrupted governmental source: Neil Gardner has been a long time fixture of Saskatchewan Health, first as Associate Deputy Minister and later as Chief of Information Technologies. In 1993 I met with Neil Gardner and he explained to me how busy he was in designing the so called Healthcare Computer Architecture, today's SHIN.

7. Letter dated April 28, 1997 from Mario deSantis directed to all Chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers of Saskatchewan District Health Boards. Re: Computerization of Health Care Payroll and Economic Policies. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-letterToChairsCEOs-Apr28-97.htm

8. Letter dated May 7, 1997 from McKercher McKercher & Whitmore and response by Mario deSantis http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-letters-McKercher-deSantis-May97.htm