Sack health minister over bungled probe: Liberals

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams should replace his minister of health amid widening confusion about a review of thousands of suspect radiology reports, an Opposition critic says.

Liberal critic Dwight Ball said Health Minister Ross Wiseman should step down because of a loss of public confidence in the health-care system.

"We've had enough here now. The minister has to be removed [from] his duties and we need to put some leadership in place here," Ball said Thursday, responding to revelations that more than 1,100 radiology records were somehow missed during a high-profile review of a suspended radiologist's work.

The Eastern Health regional authority made the admission on Wednesday, prompting Wiseman to call the authority's handling of the issue unacceptable.

But in an interview, Ball said Wiseman shares some responsibility for mismanagement of the issue, in large part because in May he instructed the authority which operates at arm's length from the government to complete its review in two weeks.

Eastern Health assigned the work of reviewing the records of suspended radiologist Fred Kasirye to almost two dozen other radiologists working within its jurisdiction.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association said the timeline that Wiseman had set was far too short, although Eastern Health executives said they could meet the target.

Ball said the fact that the authority missedat least 1,100 records on top of the 4,600 records involved in the original review proves Wiseman made a mistake calling for a speedy review.

"Arbitrarily, the minister came out and said two weeks," Ball said. "Minister Wiseman is ultimately responsible for this. I don't think the premier has any choice now but [to] get involved in this and make the necessary changes."

While castigating Eastern Health on Wednesday, Wiseman said he bears no responsibility for how the radiology review was conducted.

Eastern Health announced Monday that chief executive officer George Tilley had resigned. Wiseman acknowledged he was sharply critical of Tilley's handling of the issue during a meeting last Thursday, but insisted he did not call for Tilley to step down.

Tilley came under heavier fire this spring when court documents proved that the authority knew that the error rate of faulty lab testing involving hundreds of breast cancer patients was several times higher than what it had disclosed late last year.

A judicial inquiry has begun work on faulty hormone receptor tests, which may have affected treatment for breast cancer patients, some of whom have since died. An affidavit filed with a class action lawsuit since certified by Newfoundland Supreme Court showed that more than 300 patients were excluded from consideration for the drug therapy Tamoxifen.

Launch external review of authority: NDP

Meanwhile, New Democratic Party Leader Lorraine Michael said a full, external review of Eastern Health is needed to restore public confidence in the authority.

Michael said she is concerned about record-keeping within the authority, given that so many records that Kasirye handled largely involving those that were not billed directly to medicare were missed during the review.

Michael said she was disturbed that Wiseman learned of problems of the radiology review last Thursday, but said nothing about it, even as Tilley's resignation was announced on Monday.

"He knew on Monday, when he was interviewed and gave all of those circuitous kinds of answers and wouldn't respond directly to questions, he knew then what was going on," Michael said.

"So he withheld stuff that he knew on Monday I don't think that's acceptable for a minister."