Management purge at Niagara Health System

There’s a major shakeup happening in the senior ranks of the Niagara Health System, with six members of the management team confirmed to have left the organization.

Two vice-presidents have left their positions, along with four other executives.

An internal memo obtained by the media discusses the departures of VPs Anne Atkinson and bay-la ka-thir-isan – but doesn’t say if they were fired, or left voluntarily.

This latest round of changes comes after a year of controversy and restructuring at the Niagara Health System, which operates seven hospitals in St Catharines, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Fort Erie, Welland and Port Colborne.

Last January, former president and CEO Debbie Sevenpifer was dismissed. As well the health system’s chief information officer left in July after a public outcry over how long it took to release information about more than 30 patient deaths during last summer’s c-difficile outbreak. Then in August, the Ontario government put the NHS under the control of government-appointed supervisor Kevin Smith.

There have also been several scandals involving injured patients on hospital grounds being told to call an ambulance rather than being admitted to the ER.

Video: Lauran Sabourin reports: