Health Minister Adrian Dix has announced the appointment of two mediators, Jane Morley and Jean Greatbatch, to help address the recommendations in the IHealth report as they relate to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

The mediators will work together with John Bethel from Ernst & Young (EY) to guide the process and develop the groundwork for productive discussion.

“To succeed with IHealth and meet the recommendations of the report, a completely different approach is required – one based on working together,” said Dix. “Mediators are very good at determining the root causes why there are difficulties or challenges in a work environment, and finding the solutions that bring stakeholders together. I am confident that, together with the continuity EY brings to the process, Jane Morley, Jean Greatbatch and John Bethel have the skills and experience to take on this work.”

The pair brings with them a wealth of knowledge. Morley, QC, a lawyer and mediator by profession, is a leader of organizational and social change. She has held a variety of public positions, including child and youth officer of B.C. and commissioner on Canada’s initial Truth and Reconciliation Commission. For eight years, she was public representative with the College of Physicians and Surgeons and an executive member for six of those years. In her extensive and varied work as a mediator with individuals, groups and organizations, Morley has acted as a bridge to develop trust between people and assist them to engage constructively in their conflict to achieve their goals.

Greatbatch has 40 years of experience in building more effective organizations, acting as a mediator, investigator with the BC Care Aide & Community Health Worker Registry, instructor and health-care union representative. She has conducted over 300 workplace interventions and is well-versed in managing conflict within health-care organizations. Her expertise lies in bringing people together to improve public service delivery.

John Bethel is a partner in EY’s Vancouver office. He leads the firm’s national health-care practice and is a member of its global health leadership team. Specializing in health-care transformation, he has in the past acted as chair of the province’s eHealth council. Currently, he is a Fraser Health board member and chair of the quality committee. Previously, Bethel held various roles in B.C.’s public service, having served most recently as associate deputy minister and chief operating officer at the Ministry of Health. His past roles saw him lead major reviews of the delivery of health information technology for the Ministry of Health and act as chief negotiator of the master generic drug agreement and physician master agreement. Bethel is well-placed to assist in achieving more efficient, higher-quality health care.

Morley will first attend briefings by EY and then begin work with stakeholders, with Greatbatch joining the process at a later date.

Learn More:

The EY report is available online: www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/2017/review-of-Island-Health-IHealth-electronic-health-record-system.pdf