BC-style legislation to bring healing to families, enforce accountability in health care system

WINNIPEG – Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard re-introduced legislation today to allow health care workers and other professionals to apologize for medical errors without making an admission of legal liability in Manitoba courts. The Liberal leader also re-introduced a second bill to make ‘accountability’ a legal requirement in the province’s health care system.

Bills 200 and 202 are part of a broader package to improve accountability in the province’s health care system which Dr. Gerrard said suffers from a ‘defend and deny’ mentality rooted in fear of legal repercussions. Too often, health care professionals in Manitoba fear sharing information, disclosing errors, or saying sorry – a fear that hinders the first priority of health care workers as healers.

“In my many years as a physician and then as an elected official, I have seen numerous cases where a simple apology could have gone a long way to settle disputes, bring closure to patients and families, and help in the emotional and mental healing process,” Dr. Gerrard said. “The role of an apology is often greatly underestimated and we need to have a health care system and a legal system that encourages the sharing of information with patients, not one that obstructs it.”

The Liberals’ Apology Act follows legislation now on the books in British Columbia.  Both Australia and several American jurisdictions have similar legislation in place including a broader “Sorry Works” strategy that seeks to open up the medical process to improved accountability and clarity.

The Liberals’ second bill, the Health Services Amendment and Health Services Insurance Amendment Act, would make ‘accountability’ a legally enforceable requirement for the province’s health care system. The bill also installs the five principles of the Canada Health Act (universality, public administration, accessibility, comprehensiveness, and portability) into provincial law.

“What we are trying to move to is a legal right to timely access to quality health care in Manitoba,” Dr. Gerrard said. “This is only the first step among many that will be needed and I hope our bills will receive support from all parties in the Legislature,” Dr. Gerrard said.

- 30 -