"Zero consequences": victims of health worker firings underwhelmed by Ombudsman's report

An ombudsman's report on the B.C. government's controversial firing of drug-safety researchers in 2012 fails to get to the bottom of the affair, says one of the former employees.

“It’s complete vindication, but really, it’s underwhelming because it starts by saying they’re not going to lay blame. And they mean it,” said Rebecca Warburton, an assistant professor in the University of Victoria’s school of public administration.

Warburton, along with seven others, lost positions or contracts with B.C.’s Ministry of Health in 2012 after what Ombudsperson Jay Chalke calls a “flawed” and “biased” investigation into allegations of conflict of interest and data misuse.

Chalke released his nearly 500-page report on Thursday. The report says there is no justification for the way the employees were treated, and recommends further financial compensation to them. But he limits responsibility for the firings to the then-deputy minister of health, Graham Whitmarsh, rather than to politicians above him or bureaucrats below.

Whitmarsh was subsequently fired with more than $400,000 in severance, according to news reports in 2013.

"Zero consequences"

One of the people deeply impacted by the incident is Linda Kayfish, whose brother, PhD candidate Roderick MacIsaac, committed suicide after he was fired along with the senior researchers.

Chalke recommended a $500,000 scholarship endowment at the University of Victoria to honour MacIsaac and called his story a dark chapter in the scandal. He added that the government shouldn’t have waited until MacIsaac’s family went public to take action on the case.

Kayfish said in a written statement Thursday that she’s angry no bureaucrats are being punished for their actions.

“Where are the investigators who cost Roderick his job and ultimately his life? Many of them have been promoted, been given raises. They have faced zero consequences.

“I want those truly responsible for what happened to my brother to be held accountable. And that’s something the Ombudsperson is incapable of doing.

“I want the premier to look me in the eyes and take responsibility for the destruction and heartache her government has caused.”

Firings related to drug company pressure?

Warburton says the report doesn’t deal with a wider question she believes underlies the scandal.

“We do think this is related to drug companies. They lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the last decades because of evidence-based drug policies in B.C.,” she says.

“If drugs are prescribed more appropriately, they’re usually prescribed less.

“We’ve certainly heard that this had a chilling effect on all research everywhere because, in our case, people were fired for doing their jobs.”

The events surrounding the firings in 2012 resulted in researchers throughout the province losing access to the data collected by the province’s PharmaNet system which tracks drug prescriptions and patients. It’s considered a singularly important resource for tracking the effectiveness and safety of medications.

“Simply put, access to and analysis of administrative health data by qualified researchers can help save lives,” says the ombudsperson’s report entitled Misfire.

One of Chalke’s 41 recommendations is for the Ministry of Health to review what gaps still remain “in providing evidence-informed, safe, effective and affordable drug therapy … British Columbians.”

No evidence for interference claims

In a telephone interview with The National Observer, Chalke said he didn’t find pharmaceutical company interference “in the context of the investigation.” But he noted in the report that the industry had raised concerns that access to a wide range of drugs was being limited by the work of some drug-safety research groups, particularly the University of British Columbia-based Therapeutics Initiative. (That group’s contract with the province was cut in 2012 and subsequently reinstated, but not to its pre-2012 levels.)

All of the fired researchers were connected with the Health Ministry’s pharmaceutical services division, which was overseen by Bob Nakagawa in the six years leading up to 2012. Nakagawa, who is now registrar of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia, told National Observer on Thursday that he’s not sure there’s any substance to the claims of pharmaceutical interference in the firings.

Nakagawa is mentioned in the report for his role in bringing “real-world” drug safety research into the ministry through positions for academic researchers using PharmaNet data. Those contracts with researchers inside and outside the department led a whistleblower to question whether there was any conflict of interest among employees something the ombudsperson says is groundless.

Nakagawa, who said parts of the report “read like a spy novel” added that it affirms the value of “properly done, high quality research on both drug policy and the drugs themselves.”

A comprehensive apology

In response to the report, Kim Henderson, deputy minister to the premier and head of the B.C. Public Service said in a news release that it shows “the failings of multiple departments.”

“On behalf of the Public Service of British Columbia, I want to offer an unqualified and comprehensive apology to all who were adversely affected by public service conduct.

“Government will fully review the report, findings, and recommendations; but there is no question the public service must use this report as the basis for significant and meaningful action and changes."

Other report highlights:

• The ombudsperson’s team took 18 months to complete the report, examined 4.7 million records and interviewed 170 witnesses under oath including Premier Christy Clark, Minister of Health Terry Lake and Minister of Finance Michael de Jong.
• It also recommends goodwill payments to those harmed, ranging from $15,000 to $125,000, in some cases accompanied by personal written apologies.
• The firings caused widespread anxiety in the Ministry of Health, Chalke notes,“that has not been adequately addressed to this day.”
• The government has until April 20 to respond to the report and responses will be posted on the ombudsperson’s website at www.bcombudsperson.ca