CancerCare patients call for fixes to agency

WINNIPEG — CancerCare Manitoba saved Ken Campbell’s life.

Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010 and faced with a fight for survival, CancerCare’s McDermot Avenue facility became his battleground; the nurses and physicians his comrades in arms.

That’s why it has been so difficult for the Winnipeg man, days away from his 65th birthday and cancer-free, to watch the provincial agency grapple with the fallout of a scathing internal review.

Ken Campbell says it is critical to resolve the grievances of CancerCare physicians for the good of patients such as himself.

The Doctors Manitoba examination, launched in September, culminated in a 14-page report that included physicians’ allegations of excessive workloads, burnout and lack of trust in leadership. Nurses and other staff echoed those concerns.

“It felt like a eureka moment for me,” Campbell said when he learned about the report.

“It sounds like … there is a toxic environment. And I can see, every day when I go there, I can see that there is something that is not quite right.”

While Campbell has beaten cancer, he continues to live with health issues stemming from chemotherapy treatments.

As a result, the former teacher routinely goes to CancerCare, including on Monday when he saw “staff run off their feet.”

After more than a decade of receiving services, Campbell is intimately familiar with the facility. He said he has watched in dismay as conditions have worsened.

He described shrinking examination rooms, limited privacy and a perceived desperation of staff.

“The people there are angels, but they are overworked and it shows. Every time I go there, everybody is running. That’s one of the main things I see,” he said.

“The situation is dire, in my opinion … It’s very concerning when you see an organization that can’t keep up. I think it’s critical that the system is fixed, and I call on the government to step in and make changes because this affects a lot of people.”

In an interview with the Free Press this week, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara stressed “CancerCare is working very, very hard to continue to be that beacon of hope for cancer survivors, for their families.”

The minister said the agency suffered under the former Progressive Conservative government.

“We are committed to fixing the damage done, and the impacts of that damage, by the previous government which have been felt across the system,” Asagwara said. “Under the previous PC government, there were many health-care workers and doctors who felt like they couldn’t speak up.”

Doctors Manitoba identified fear of reprisal as a major concern among staff at CancerCare; it found a “significant number of physicians who … had deep concerns about being victims of retribution from senior leadership.”

“(If) the doctors are not able to express their concerns without having retribution, I feel that needs to be fixed,” Campbell said. “I feel like the doctors are handcuffed, and there needs to be changes from the top.”

The cancer survivor said it was inappropriate to blame the ousted party.

“I see it as dismissive,” Campbell said. “I helped to vote this government in and I don’t want to hear that. It’s up to them now.”

Fellow cancer survivor John McLeod agreed health care was a mess when the Tories left office, but questioned whether the NDP is up to the challenge of fixing it.

“The new government is struggling with health care, which, they have to because of the situation it was in,” he said. “Turning that around is not easy. You need to work with the people who are there, or, if necessary, let them go and find good replacements. It’s a difficult situation.”

McLeod, 77, was referred to CancerCare for treatment in 2022 and received radiation therapy that year and into the early days of 2023. Before the Doctors Manitoba report, it never occurred to him the agency might be facing such challenges, he said.

He described physicians, nurses and other staff as professional, efficient and committed.

“These are good people who are working their asses off, doing the best they can, to provide really good care. I really can’t comment on the working conditions there, because I have no way of knowing, but it just distresses me as a member of the public,” he said.

Harold Penner said he, too, was caught off guard by the allegations.

The 78-old Manitoban is fighting cancer with radiation therapy.

He was diagnosed in 2020 and goes to CancerCare once every few months, he said.

“I admire (CancerCare staff) for being able to still provide such good service when there is such inner turmoil,” Penner said.

“It’s disappointing for us as patients to know that they are not in a happy situation, so we just … hope they feel that we support them and appreciate what they are doing.”

Doctors Manitoba has asked the Manitoba ombudsman to review CancerCare, saying the report uncovered “more serious” allegations that are beyond its ability to investigate.

» Winnipeg Free Press