Blady’s leadership lacking: Opposition

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/03/2015 (4215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Health Minister Sharon Blady is showing “weak leadership” by delaying a decision on whether to allow paramedics to form a self-regulating body, the Progressive Conservative health critic says.

Myrna Driedger said Blady should have acted upon an advisory council report that advised self-regulation proceed — with some conditions.

Instead, the minister announced Tuesday she was referring the matter back to the Health Professions Advisory Council for more study amid accusations she was deferring the decision to pay back the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg for its support of Greg Selinger’s leadership bid earlier this month. (Both the firefighters and Blady have denied there was any deal.)

“She was supposed to take that report and make a decision,” Driedger said Wednesday. “That (is) clear in the legislation.”

Driedger rejected the notion the advisory council needed to do any additional work, calling it a “real cop-out” on Blady’s part.

In a Dec. 30 letter to Blady accompanying its report, the council indicated the Paramedic Association of Manitoba (PAM) had engaged in broad consultations as part of its application to form a paramedics college, the Tory critic said.

The government’s advisory council added, however, PAM hadn’t done enough “consensus-building” with affected groups, and it urged self-regulation only proceed after the paramedic association provided sufficient evidence to the minister there was satisfactory support among paramedics.

But Blady asked the advisory council to take on that task and report back to her.

Driedger said it was “very irresponsible” of the minister to needlessly delay a decision that could improve patient safety in Manitoba.

“I think it showed weak leadership. She copped out of making a decision because she, for some reason, didn’t want to. And I think that is totally unacceptable.”

Alex Forrest, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, said this week his members are not opposed to paramedic self-regulation, but they haven’t been adequately consulted.

Manitoba is not the first province to consider self-regulation for paramedics along the same lines as what’s in place for doctors and nurses.

Saskatchewan established a college of paramedics in 2008 and New Brunswick did so in 2006. Alberta is also establishing one. and other provinces are considering it.

Dale Backlin, deputy registrar of the Saskatchewan College of Paramedics, said the process took about a decade in his province.

As in Manitoba, Saskatchewan firefighters with paramedic training expressed concerns about membership in the self-regulating body.

There are 200 firefighters working as paramedics in Saskatoon and about 100 in Regina.

Backlin said a dispute-resolution consultant with the province’s Justice Ministry helped achieve a consensus between firefighters and paramedics on the issue. Firefighters wanted the right to be called fire-medics within the new college and sought assurances of adequate representation on its education and discipline committees and governing council.

Backlin said the organization is operating smoothly and the “trust level” among various types of paramedics has improved significantly.

He said further consultation in Manitoba may seem to be a “headache,” but it will be worth it.

“This is the time to do it and make sure that they get things right, and it will make implementation that much easier,” he said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca