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Winnipeg Free Press

Klinic directors fired days after scathing report released

Three senior-level directors have been fired from an inner-city health centre, the Free Press has learned. The terminations come on the heels of a third-party report that detailed staff concerns about a dysfunctional workplace, poor management and substandard safety practices. In an email dated Thursday and obtained by the Free Press, Klinic Community Health's executive director Deb Radi informed staff that three directors had their employment terminated and their roles eliminated earlier that day. 'These were difficult decisions, and they were not taken lightly,' Radi wrote in the email. 'We will be providing support to each one of these individuals as they navigate this challenging time.' Klinic, which provides health care and mental health resources, plays a critical role in the community, and every staff member deserves respect and support as they do 'this important, but difficult work,' she said. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Klinic Community Health at Sherbrook Street and Sara Avenue provides health care and mental health resources. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Klinic Community Health at Sherbrook Street and Sara Avenue provides health care and mental health resources. The names of the directors or their positions were not included in the email. On Wednesday, Klinic confirmed three doctors have resigned and will leave by the end of summer. Contacted by the Free Press, Radi said Klinic is unable to respond to specific HR matters. A 50-page report, conducted by Winnipeg-based consulting firm TLS Enterprises, was delivered to Klinic on Monday. The company interviewed 75 staff members and surveyed 128 employees and volunteers, some of whom described the centre as a dysfunctional workplace run by 'authoritarian leadership,' who didn't listen to concerns. It said staff felt unsafe working at the Sherbrook Street facility and listed an overdose and violent incidents in the centre's waiting area as examples. The report also found instances of racism and transphobia at the centre. The facility's board commissioned the report in the spring, after it received letters from employees alleging racism, transphobia, intimidation and bullying in the workplace. The report issued six recommendations, including redefining its drop-in services and creating a complaint reporting system for staff. Klinic board chair Kathy Majowski told the Free Press on Wednesday that all recommendations have been accepted and consultations with staff have begun. Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, said if the three directors being terminated is linked to the report, those are the actions needed to begin fixing Klinic's workplace culture. 'Leadership really matters. And we've been saying that across the health-care system. The leadership sets the tone for everything,' he said Friday. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals The union, which represents more than 150 employees at Klinic, has heard about the management issues for several years, Linklater said. In March, the union offered to assist Klinic's board in completing a management review, Linklater said, but was told the board would undertake the process. He advocated for a review of management practices at Shared Health and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. The province needs to consult with unions to identify problem areas in management so reviews can happen quickly and deliver effective results, Linklater said. 'When an employer fails to support (health-care workers), this report shows how that relationship has been actively damaged,' Linklater said. 'It impacts trust and for that to change, we want to see all of the things that the board of directors has committed to do be followed.' The WRHA and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom.