Dispute among Alberta physicians now in second year

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EDMONTON — An Alberta Well being Companies investigation right into a long-running dispute involving six physicians and battle of curiosity allegations has been animated by new counter-accusations and authorized warnings.

The dispute involving Dr. Daniel O’Connell of Edmonton started greater than a 12 months in the past and led to the Opposition NDP calling for an impartial investigation. Alberta’s well being minister has mentioned she’s content material to let the in-house probe run its course.

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The allegations in opposition to O’Connell are contained in a criticism and revolve round his interim function as division director and Edmonton zone part chief for otolaryngology-head and neck surgical procedure. Otolaryngologists are specialists who deal with issues within the ears, nostril and throat, together with associated issues within the head and neck.

AHS is the arm’s-length, front-line supplier of well being companies provincewide.

The criticism was filed Nov. 21, 2022, by 5 physicians who work or had labored with O’Connell. They had been notified as just lately as early January that the probe was persevering with.

AHS paperwork present O’Connell’s interim tag was eliminated throughout the investigation, on Dec. 1, 2023, and he was appointed for a five-year time period.

The physicians who signed the criticism — Hamdy El-Hakim, Jeffrey Harris, Daniel O’Brien, Hadi Seikaly and Erin Wright — declined emailed requests for remark.

O’Connell additionally declined to remark, referring inquiries to AHS.

The 5 say within the criticism they’d issues with O’Connell earlier than and through his time period as interim chief.

They allege there have been issues together with his twin function as an AHS administrator and with the Canadian Most cancers Care clinic.

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The Edmonton clinic offers screening, monitoring and palliative care. Sufferers don’t pay out of pocket for insured companies. These charges are coated by Alberta well being care.

O’Connell is a minority shareholder within the clinic.

Battle of curiosity alleged

The complainants allege O’Connell could also be in a battle of curiosity with the clinic and an AHS triage protocol that places sufferers in a central registry and distributes their instances to specialists.

Beneath the protocol, sufferers can get matched with the following obtainable supplier. In return, all specialists are to achieve entry to a good system of referrals.

The criticism letter says Edmonton otolaryngology medical doctors started speaking in 2020 about becoming a member of the triage program and did so in 2021.

Round that point, they discovered the most cancers clinic had approached this system by itself and had been referring sufferers for months to its physicians, “thus monopolizing the potential referral supply to their benefit and to the detriment of the rest of the part,” says the criticism.

It says the clinic’s surgeons blamed the referrals on “administrative error.”

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The criticism alleges O’Connell used his authority on at the very least two events to take away from the triage program physicians who weren’t with the clinic.

O’Brien additionally says within the criticism {that a} search committee voted to rent him for a place in rhinology however O’Connell didn’t act to fulfil it. O’Brien has since left Alberta and works in Nebraska.

The complainants additional allege O’Connell disclosed his relationship with the clinic and promised to separate himself from selections about it however failed to take action.

“Since March 4, 2022, and previous to, regardless of his assurances, Dr. O’Connell seems to be appearing as an middleman on behalf of the CCC Clinic and/or appearing to learn it, by persevering with to make and assist selections that profit the CCC Clinic and its workers instantly,” says the criticism.

Extra allegations

There are a lot of different allegations.

The criticism says O’Connell started reallocating working room sources with out enough oversight or dialogue. It says he pulled important working room sources from Wright with out justification.

It alleges O’Connell left the Leduc Neighborhood Hospital off a listing of accessible sources to be shared, regardless of the positioning being utilized by surgeons affiliated with the clinic.

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It alleges O’Connell, with out warning or dialogue or justification, eliminated Harris from a cellphone seek the advice of triage function he had held for seven years, leading to “important monetary loss” to Harris.

It alleges a hostile work atmosphere wherein O’Connell used “inflammatory and accusatory language” towards El-Hakim in conferences. At one assembly, O’Connell accused Seikaly of “dishonest conduct,” says the criticism.

About two weeks after the criticism was filed, the 5 physicians despatched a second one, containing new allegations.

Within the Dec. 9, 2022, criticism, the 5 allege O’Connell was scheduling working room instances together with Christmas and New Yr’s on-call assignments to the advantage of surgeons affiliated with the clinic.

“We imagine that is demonstrative of a transparent favouritism in direction of the minority of sectional surgeons with monetary and medical ties to the CCC clinic group,” it says.

Clinic legal professionals reply

The problem got here to gentle in January information experiences by The Tyee and later CTV. Citing the tales, legal professionals for the clinic despatched a letter on Jan. 17 to the complainants difficult their allegations and warning of attainable authorized motion.

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“Sure members of the Part of Otolaryngology have made false allegations relating to CCC and its affiliated physicians, and sure members of the Part of Otolaryngology have engaged in different regarding behaviour,” states the letter.

The letter says the clinic has not exerted affect on AHS hiring, positions or working room sources and allocations.

“CCC has by no means and doesn’t inappropriately allocate AHS sources to the advantage of CCC.”

The letter says O’Connell runs his non-public apply within the clinic “given that there’s typically a scarcity of outpatient sources to see sufferers in session in hospitals.”

It provides, “Dr. O’Connell accordingly owns a part of CCC’s group clinic in a shared overhead mannequin,” says the letter. “For readability, Dr. O’Connell is a minority shareholder in CCC. He isn’t a director or officer of CCC.”

The lawyer letter makes allegations of its personal, saying some part members, together with some unnamed ones who authored the criticism letter, have made false statements, together with that some physicians with ties to the clinic are utilizing their roles at AHS for private acquire.

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“These false allegations are dangerous religion efforts to wreck the popularity of CCC,” it mentioned.

The letter says the accusations violate the code of conduct of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, stating physicians should behave respectfully in direction of each other.

The letter says a criticism could also be filed with the faculty.

NDP requires impartial investigation

After the Tyee and CTV tales appeared, NDP well being critics David Shepherd and Luanne Metz known as on Well being Minister Adriana LaGrange to launch an impartial investigation.

“It has been 400 days since this criticism was despatched to the AHS chief ethics and compliance officer,” wrote Shepherd and Metz in a Jan. 9 letter to LaGrange.

“In truth, throughout the time that this investigation was ongoing Dr. O’Connell’s (interim) place was made everlasting.

“There are important monetary pursuits at play in these clinics. And the general public must be involved if selections are being made with these non-public clinics behind somebody’s thoughts.”

Requested if LaGrange would intervene, her spokesperson, Andrea Smith, replied in a Jan. 18 assertion: “The minister did obtain the letter. Alberta’s authorities doesn’t touch upon AHS (human sources) and employment issues and forwarded the letter to AHS for his or her consideration.”

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AHS was requested in an e-mail why O’Connell’s job was modified from interim to a five-year time period throughout a conflict-of-interest investigation, whether or not any caveats had been positioned on his duties, and why the investigation has stretched out for greater than a 12 months.

AHS spokesman Kerry Williamson mentioned in a Jan. 17 assertion the interior investigation will decide if there may be any substance to the claims.

“Till that course of is accomplished, it’s irresponsible to attract any assumptions in regards to the substance of any allegations,” he mentioned.

“As a result of privateness and confidentiality, we’re unable to supply further element relating to this matter.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Feb. 11, 2024.

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