Calgary Flames skip flu vaccine lineups

[Tonka]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2009/11/03/calgary-flames-h1n1-swine-flu-shot.html

Calgary Flames skip flu vaccine lineups
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 | 1:03 PM MT Comments54Recommend32.
CBC News
The Calgary Flames gather at a practice on Tuesday. (CBC)
Calgary Flames players and some of their families received the H1N1 vaccine last week at a special clinic with the help of Alberta Health Services, the team confirmed on Tuesday.

At the time, the organization and its medical staff felt players should get the shot "given the risks associated with frequent physical contact, extreme exertion and onerous domestic and cross-border travel," a statement released by the Flames said.

After the team's doctors consulted with AHS officials on the "potential commotion and intrusion" that sending the team to one of the public mass vaccination clinics would cause, the players got their H1N1 shots on Friday at a medical clinic "under the direction of Alberta Health Services," the statement continued.

'When cancer patients, when chronic lung patients, when pregnant women and their children can't get it, this is a travesty of leadership.'
? David Swann, Alberta Liberal leaderOne day later, the province abruptly suspended its clinics because of a vaccine shortage. Details of when and how they will be reopened are expected on Tuesday.

Stephen Duckett, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services, has said that Albertans at the greatest risk of catching the virus ? including pregnant women, young children and people under the age of 65 with chronic health conditions ? will be inoculated first when the clinics resume.

But when the province-wide vaccination program began on Oct. 26, Premier Ed Stelmach encouraged all Albertans to get the H1N1 shot. Thousands of Albertans stood in the cold for hours last week to receive their swine-flu vaccination.

The team said the players got their vaccine from the same supply open to Albertans.

'Failure of leadership'
Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann slammed the decision to give the hockey players the vaccine while Albertans were lining up for hours.

"I think it's again a failure of leadership that we are providing vaccines willy-nilly to whoever has money, whoever has access and when health workers are on the front lines in dealing with this issue. When cancer patients, when chronic lung patients, when pregnant women and their children can't get it, this is a travesty of leadership and it's a violation of the basic principles of public health care," he said on Tuesday.

Premier Ed Stelmach confirmed that an investigation is underway.

"Alberta Health Services is investigating and I can't speculate on what happened but we will have a fuller report very shortly," Stelmach said.

Flames president Ken King said on Tuesday that the team thought they were doing the right thing based on the "facts available at the time."

He emphasized that the players were simply following the direction of the Flames' medical staff, and were not looking to avoid lineups or get special attention.

Flames captain Jarome Iginla confirmed that he and his family received the H1N1 vaccine on Friday.

[Pathfinder]

Re: Calgary Flames skip flu vaccine lineups

Alberta investigating Flames' vaccine access; opposition parties open fire

Renata D?Aliesio, Calgary Herald: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 4:22 PM
Opposition political leaders blasted today the immunization of Calgary Flames hockey players ahead of high-risk Albertans, contending this queue jumping underscores a ?failure of leadership? in the province?s handling of the H1N1 pandemic.
Photo Credit: Archive, Calgary Herald




EDMONTON - Opposition political leaders blasted today the immunization of Calgary Flames hockey players ahead of high-risk Albertans, contending this queue jumping underscores a ?failure of leadership? in the province?s handling of the H1N1 pandemic.

Alberta Health Services is investigating why the team was given access to the vaccine on Friday, a day before the province suspended vaccinations provincewide.

Premier Ed Stelmach was reluctant to comment on the probe until it?s complete.

?Alberta Health Services is investigating. I can?t speculate on what happened, but we will have a full report very shortly,? he told reporters at the legislature.

In a statement provided later, the premier added: ?If it happened, it shouldn?t have.?

Opposition parties contend the vaccination of most Flames players and some of their families is another symptom of a poorly managed immunization campaign. At 1:30 p.m. today, Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta?s chief medical officer of health, will outline when clinics ? abruptly halted on Saturday ? will resume and who will be given the flu shot first.

During the first week of the largest immunization effort in the country?s history, about 400,000 Albertans rolled up their sleeves. However, it?s unknown how many of those people were part of high-priority groups, which include pregnant women and children aged six months to five years, because the provincial Conservative government did not restrict access to the shot.

News of the Flames? vaccination outraged Liberal Leader David Swann and NDP Leader Brian Mason.

?When health workers are on the front lines and dealing with this issue, when cancer patients, when chronic-lung patients, when pregnant women and their children can?t get it, this is a travesty of leadership and it?s a violation of the basic principles of public health care,? Swann said.

Mason added that hockey players shouldn?t have been given priority over pregnant women and children.

?It?s not only a failure of leadership, it?s a failure of courage on the part of the government to be able to say this is what?s right and we?re going to make sure it?s going to happen,? Mason said.

Health Minister Ron Liepert declined to comment on the Flames? incident until the Alberta Health Services' probe is complete. He said the province?s revamped vaccination plan will strictly enforce who can get the shot and who will have to wait. Liepert said he?s not aware of other instances of queue jumping.

?In fact, that is a clear policy that that?s not going to happen, but that?s why it?s important to verify what happened here,? Liepert said.

The province has about 180,000 doses stockpiled and is expecting to receive roughly 80,000 additional doses this week. It has not heard from the federal government when it will receive more supply.

http://www.globaltoronto.com/Alberta+investigating+Calgary+Flames+vaccine+access/2179881/story.html

[Pathfinder]

Re: Calgary Flames skip flu vaccine lineups

Alberta Health Services apologizes over Calgary Flames getting flu vaccine


Published on November 4th, 2009
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EDMONTON - Alberta Health Services has apologized that members of the Calgary Flames were given swine flu shots at a special clinic last Friday as thousands of people waited in line for the vaccine or were turned away.

Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical officer of health, apologized on behalf of the agency, which reports directly to the Alberta government.

He says what happened is regrettable, a probe into the matter is complete and more information will be released by the government later Wednesday.

The Flames-flu shot brouhaha has angered many people who have been critical of Alberta's swine flu vaccine roll out, which was plagued by long lineups before it was shut down on Saturday.

The province is preparing to relaunch the vaccine program on Thursday when shots will only be available for children between the ages of six-months-old and under five years.

On Friday the program is to be expanded to include pregnant women.

http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/Canada_-_World/Society/2009-11-04/article-184911/Alberta_Health_Services_apologizes_over_Calgary_Flames_getting_flu_vaccine/1

[hornblower]

Re: Calgary Flames skip flu vaccine lineups

by email www.cknw.com

CKNW Breaking News...

Alberta Health Services says it has fired a senior staff member after members of the Calgary Flames and their families were given H1N1 flu shots last Friday while thousands of people waited in line or were turned away.

The board won't name who has been dismissed, but says it was wrong to give the hockey players and their families preferential treatment.

Members of the Abbotsford Heat, the Flames' farm team, also received the shot, but team officials say the players went to a public clinic and waited in line with everyone else.

Sent at 1:05pm

[Pathfinder]

Re: Calgary Flames skip flu vaccine lineups

Second Alberta Health employee fired

Dawn Walton
Calgary ? Globe and Mail Update Published on Friday, Nov. 06, 2009 3:07PM EST Last updated on Friday, Nov. 06, 2009 3:11PM EST

<!-- /#credit -->
A second Alberta health care worker has been fired in connection with the influenza vaccination clinic held for Calgary Flames players, officials and their families, the province announced Friday.

Alberta Health Services, which oversees health care delivery in the province, sacked the ?most senior? official involved earlier in the week when it came to light that people connected to the hockey franchise received preferential treatment at a private inoculation session while other

Albertans stood in long lines at public clinics.
Health care officials now say 150 people received the H1N1 vaccination.

?There is no written record of approval to proceed and there is no process for authorization of the use of the H1N1 vaccine for this purpose, as it contradicts existing protocols and processes,? Alberta Health Services said in a statement.

?An advisory has been sent reminding all AHS clinical personnel involved in the H1N1 vaccination campaign to ensure that it is understood that no exceptions will be made to existing protocols and processes,? it added.

The province said it expects no other disciplinary action will take place and the investigation is now complete.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/second-alberta-health-employee-fired/article1354344/

[Pathfinder]

Re: Calgary Flames skip flu vaccine lineups

Alberta got earful over Flames H1N1 scandal

Hundreds of emails, calls, letters sent after news of team's private flu shot clinic

Last Updated: Monday, April 19, 2010 | 8:19 PM MT

CBC News


<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.5945" name=GENERATOR><LINK title=/iw/ewebeditpro20/feature.css disabled href="/iw/ewebeditpro20/feature.css" rel=stylesheet>Thousands of Albertans lined up to get the H1N1 shot at mass immunization clinics in fall 2009. (CBC)
The Alberta government received a torrent of vitriolic messages from the public last November in the wake of news that the Calgary Flames had a private H1N1 vaccination clinic set up for them, according to hundreds of documents obtained by CBC News.

Alberta Health Services (AHS), which oversees health-care delivery in the province, fired two staffers in November 2009 for allowing members of the hockey team and their relatives to receive the swine flu shot privately while Albertans lined up for hours at mass vaccination clinics.

In letters, calls and emails to the premier's office, MLAs and the health board between Nov. 3, when the news of the Flames vaccinations broke, and Nov. 13, Albertans expressed their anger and called for the resignation or firing of the health minister.

"Failure to do so will only display that ? [Premier Ed] Stelmach and the Progressive Conservative Party are no longer fit to lead and govern this province," wrote one Albertan.

The correspondence was released to the CBC in response to a freedom of information request.

"It is obvious the minister of health needs to be sacked. On second thought, you all need to be fired! Hopefully, Albertans will remember this on the next election [day]," said another writer.

A registered nurse with 25 years' experience wrote to the premier's office:

"It really isn't that hard, and if you can't get these immunizations out to every Albertan (and not just egotistical hockey players), perhaps you need to go back to the farm."

The documents also reveal the flurry of emails between officials at Alberta Health Services who conducted an investigation within 48 hours of learning about the Flames clinic. That investigation resulted in the dismissal of two employees.

"I am in shock that this took place," wrote Lori Anderson, AHS vice-president of community and rural health in Calgary, on the first day of the controversy.

The next day, Anderson suspended one of the staffers, who was later fired. At the end of an email informing her superiors of the suspension, she wrote: "I am sick over this."

AHS rushed to save public trust

"We were as surprised and disappointed as the public was, and that's one of the reasons why we acted so quickly," Roman Cooney, an AHS spokesman, said on Monday. "The fundamental question was public trust, and you don't get many issues that are bigger than that."

/.../


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2010/04/19/calgary-h1n1-flames-angry-emails-alberta-premier-minister.html#ixzz0lfs642tt