Fraser Health Authority boss fired
After months of serious management problems, the executive in charge of the largest health region in B.C. has been fired. Fraser Health Authority CEO Bob Smith was dismissed by board chair Barry Forbes on Monday night.
The authority has been under intense public scrutiny in the past few months because of problems at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
There have been recurring complaints about waiting times and questionable procedures at the hospital's overcrowded emergency ward.
The latest case involves the death of 42-year-old Baljit Bains, who died in the ER earlier this month, two days after originally being sent home by medical officials at the hospital.
- FROM FEB. 21, 2005: Hold inquest into Surrey hospital death, says MLA
The death prompted outrage among Bains' family members, and prompted a call from a Surrey Liberal MLA for a coroner's inquest.
 Baljit Bains |
Smith's firing happened just as Surrey city council passed a unanimous motion Monday night, calling on the provincial government to speed up the expansion of the hospital's ER.
Last month, Smith sent an e-mail to staff stating there were not enough nurses or beds in the region's emergency departments to keep up with demand.
And he urged staff to discharge patients as soon as possible to free up beds.
Smith said in the e-mail that FHA health officials were working to resolve the ER problem, but said it would "not happen in the immediate future."
- FROM JAN. 25, 2005: ERs in crisis in Fraser Health Region
 Health Authority chair Barry Forbes |
- LINK: Smith's e-mail to staff
Fraser Health Authority chair Barry Forbes says Smith's firing was not the result of the problems at Surrey Memorial specifically. But he says there were issues of patient care and public confidence.
"We think the real focus has got to be on ensuring that the public has confidence in our health-care system. So it's not about Surrey Memorial, it's about public confidence throughout Fraser Health."
Forbes denies there was any political pressure involved, with the provincial election just three months away.
- RELATED: Minister backs CEO's dismissal
Smith has been replaced on an interim basis by Keith Anderson, who had been the FHA's vice-president of health planning and system development.
