woman and her dog walking past hospital sign, hospital in background
Health, Opinion

 The Dark Side Of VIHA (Vancouver Island Health Authority)

(Editor’s note: The following open letter mentions matters of concern to residents of the entire Greater Campbell River Health Area, which includes Cortes, Quadra and other Discovery Islands.)

An open letter to the Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health for B.C. from Lois Jarvis, Richard Hagensen and Joanne Banks on Behalf of Citizens for Quality Health Care.

17 years ago, 6 people from the Comox Valley and 4 from Campbell River formed Citizens for Quality Health Care (CFQHC) to lobby for 2 acute care fully functional hospitals as all previous studies indicated were needed for the largest geographical area of Vancouver Island. VIHA had planned to downsize the Campbell River Hospital to a triage centre and replace both hospitals with one hospital located 40+ km south of Campbell River which would have been disastrous for all the people of the North Island and the Campbell River economy. 

Boundaries of the Greater Campbell River Health Area – courtesy Gov of BC

Dr. Aref Tabarsi, senior Pathologist for the Campbell River Hospital attended our CFQHC town hall meeting and ended up joining us to lobby to keep a hospital in Campbell River. He attended innumerable meetings, united all the doctors in this quest and devoted a lot of his free time in making presentations with us to the Mayors and City Councils of the North Island. We succeeded in getting both hospitals built to serve a rapidly growing population. However, VIHA (Vancouver Island Health Authority) did not like Dr. Tabarsi’s advocacy which was contrary to their plan. 

Then in 2014 a group of pathologists working at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria knew there was to be a change in the pay method for pathologists so they formed a private (for profit) corporation and lobbied VIHA for a contract for clinical pathology for all of Vancouver Island. They were granted this conflict of interest contract, as Dr. Gordon Hoag used his position as department head in VIHA, asking VIHA to allocate the contract to VICPCC –  he was also a major shareholder in the newly formed Vancouver Island Clinical Pathology Consultants Corporation (VICPCC). This private for – profit corporation working in a public lab then proceeded to simply take services from the Campbell River Hospital lab (and later the Comox Valley Hospital lab) with no consultation. The more services they took and gave to themselves the more money they made. 

VIHA promised to return clinical pathology to the Campbell River Hospital lab but reneged on this promise. On April 1st, 2019 VICPCC took the remaining clinical pathology from Campbell River. This made the lab unsustainable as there was no funding for an additional pathologist. The overworked, understaffed lab techs were forced to waste their valuable time trying to communicate with the pathologists in Victoria via phone, digital imaging and emails while a capable pathologist was right there in the lab only 20 ft away who could give an immediate diagnosis. North Island physicians no longer can communicate with the Campbell River pathologists about their patients. It is a teaching hospital so lack of funding prevented any further teaching which had been provided by the pathologists. 

Because of the transfer of funding to the VICPCC in Victoria, there was no possibility for hiring additional pathologist(s) locally. Also, VICPCC doing our clinical pathology in Victoria resulted in the increased turnaround times for urgent Clinical Pathology as well as Anatomic Pathology so that obtaining lab results are taking longer which negatively impacted and delayed treatment and surgeries for patients. Interestingly, transfer of services to Victoria always had a direct relationship in the transfer of funding to the private corporation VICPCC.   

Island Health has always ignored addressing people’s concerns about this and quashed any attempt for a full and transparent arm’s length investigation that would uncover this corruption. 2500 people signed a petition, hundreds wrote to VIHA, Premier Horgan, Minister Dix, MLAs, etc. asking for an independent investigation into conflicts of interest with that contract. All these levels of Government synchronized their response letters. They were all identical with erroneous information displaying an incorrect graph that the turnaround times were as good if not better than when done in Campbell River (which is false).They were also saying there was no conflict of interest and that the College of Physicians and Surgeons had reviewed the contract and all was fine. We wrote to the College of Physicians & Surgeons and they replied saying they do not review decisions made by Health Authorities. We wrote to the all the parties and showed the response we received from the College of Physicians & Surgeons and pointed out the errors in their graph. VIHA then removed those erroneous statements from any further responses.  However, the VIHA executives who misled the public with erroneous statements, were never held accountable for their actions. There has never been an acknowledgement or apology for misleading the public with falsified assertions.

Many people also wrote of their concerns about the lab and were just ignored or referred to the Patient Quality Care Committee which is not very effective. Neither VIHA nor the Government will order an independent investigation, so what are they all complicit in hiding?  They continue to respond to the public with misleading and some erroneous information saying everything is fine when it clearly is not. Why don’t they just tell the truth?  Dr.Tabarsi, the hospital lab staff and all the people who have written of their significant concerns regarding the lab issues have been treated with contempt by VIHA and the Provincial Government. We have been raising the issues of the Campbell River Hospital lab for 3 years, and VIHA has made it clear they will not resolve anything.  Patients are not benefitting from this contract.  In addition, the two oversight pathology positions held by Dr. Bellamy (medical lead for NI labs) and Dr. Tabarsi (the division head of General pathology for VIHA) were eliminated to ensure no local oversight for the North Island. This way the only people in charge of clinical pathology and benefitting financially is the private for profit VICPCC which is an ongoing conflict of interest. It seems like VIHA has put a fox in charge of the hen house with no oversight and is afraid that an external investigation would expose what appears to be an unethical management!!!  The one glaring beneficiary of this chicanery is the private for – profit VICPCC and possibly all the couriers employed to transport specimens. 

James Hanson who is Vice-President of Clinical Operations for the North Island responded to a letter of concern from us. However, when we wrote back politely correcting several erroneous statements he made and asked for a meeting, he responded by saying he didn’t want to hear from us again. Kathy MacNeil, President and CEO of VIHA also responded with the erroneous graph and an erroneous statement about the College of Physicians & Surgeons.  We replied and pointed out the inaccuracies and asked for a meeting.  We never heard from her again.  All the others have turned a blind eye to obvious conflicts of interest, abuse of power, abuse of staff and corruption. No one is accountable. There are obviously some people who have been given way too much power in Victoria. In other areas people have been fired for a lot less than all that has been inflicted upon Dr. Tabarsi and the Campbell River Hospital lab staff.  

Dr. Chris Bellamy and Dr. Donn – highly esteemed and long serving pathologists at the Comox Valley Hospital lab – were forced out by VIHA much to the dismay and bitter disappointment of that community.  

Now VIHA is forcing Dr. Aref Tabarsi out. Dr. Tabarsi believes patients’ care should always be put first. He is highly ethical, honest and a leader with great integrity. Dr. Tabarsi is highly esteemed in this community where he was nominated for Health Care “Hero of the Year Award”. It is unconscionable that VIHA is forcing him out when he worked so hard for the patients and to retain our hospital. 

VIHA has done just about everything possible to get Dr. Tabarsi to leave. They created a division in the lab which became an abusive and unsafe place of work for him and the tech staff.  Some lab technologists left.  Dr. Tabarsi and another tech lodged a complaint with WorkSafeBC citing abuse and an unsafe workplace.  Their claims were accepted as valid by WorkSafeBC.  Numerous complaints of staff to VIHA about abuse were ignored. Dr. Tabarsi was forced to take a temporary locum position away from his home and family until VIHA resolved the problems and created a safe work environment. Dr. Tabarsi said he would sign his contract and come back to work in Campbell River when the work place was safe for him and his staff.  VIHA waited until after the contract deadline and then told Dr. Tabarsi he was no longer a VIHA employee. They told him to pack up his things at the Campbell River Hospital lab and remove them. VIHA has made it pretty clear that all staff must play ball and shut up or they will have to leave no matter how badly they are treated or how bad their workplace is. The victims continue to be victimized. 

The absolutely abominable treatment of Dr. Aref Tabarsi and other lab staff can now be addressed only through legal channels as the executive and legislative branches failed miserably to deal with this issue in a fair, ethical and unbiased manner. VIHA has not spared the public purse in paying for lawyers when problems could have been easily and amicably resolved.  We were told that due to the cost, they would not launch the investigation we have asked for over 3 years which in reality would be considerably less than they are paying for lawyers. The big losers are the patients and taxpayers of the North Island who have been deprived of the services of an exemplary pathologist and who in no small part is responsible for us even getting this hospital.  Should VIHA force Dr. Tabarsi out this will be a very angry community!

Now is the time for VIHA to make things right and take action to restore some substantial lost trust and return optimum health care to the people of North Vancouver Island. To right these wrongs, this community demands an independent investigation ordered by VIHA and the Provincial Government in order to restore trust in our public health care system. 

Honesty, transparency, integrity and accountability are all sorely lacking with VIHA pertaining to the CR Hospital lab and the staff.  Most importantly too are the patients who are not getting the optimum health care they deserve.  

  • Lois Jarvis – 221 McLean St., Campbell River, B.C.,V9W 2M4. email loed@telus.net ph. 250-287-3096  
  • Richard Hagensen and Joanne Banks -1856 Tree Lane, Campbell River, B.C,  V9W 4E8. email surfdust@telus.net ph. 250-286-3019

on Behalf of Citizens for Quality Health Care

Top photo credit: Campbell River hospital – courtesy Google Maps