A 13 Year Late Bureaucratic Political Reaction that Does Not Address Cause, Fault or Mismanagement.

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.

Source 

http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2013/04/19/chemo_scandal_health_canada_cracks_down_on_drug_suppliers_operating_without_oversight.html