The former provincial head of pediatrics for the Saskatchewan Health Authority says he is mystified at the sudden end to his appointment earlier this month.

“If you asked me today why this happened I have no explanation,” Dr. Laurence Givelichian told CTV News.

“I was mystified and I was shocked … and I really did not have a clear indication why that happened.”

Givelichian took over as the acting department head in 2011 before landing the permanent role in 2012. The health authority appointed Givelichian to a second five-year term in 2017.

On May 16 he was called into a meeting with Dr. Preston Smith, dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, and chief medical officer Dr. Susan Shaw where he learned his appointment was finished.

Smith and Shaw announced the move in an email to faculty staff on May 21, saying an interim replacement would be announced as soon as possible.

Givelichian said he will continue his practice as a neonatologist, but once news broke about his dismissal as the department head, questions began swirling in the medical community.

“I tried to ignore all of this until my daughter came home the other day and she said that in school many kids were asking her ‘what did your father do so bad that his position has terminated,’” Givelichian said.

“I want to be clear to all the parents and the children I took care of, and I’m still taking care of, for all the people in the community that I interact with, for all the healthcare workers across the province, I wanted all these people to know I have no idea, there is no big thing, and I have no answers to this question.”

His contract stated that at any moment either party could serve the other with a 90-day termination notice, he said.

The termination notice he was given said the SHA felt he may have breached his contract, but that wasn’t cited as grounds for termination, he said.

A Saskatchewan Health Authority spokesperson said in an email that since this is an internal personnel matter, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the College of Medicine cannot comment.

With just a few months before the doors to the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital are scheduled to open, Givelichian said his focus is on its success.

While he is no longer the provincial head of pediatrics, he still sits on the board of the hospital foundation and he is happy to share his knowledge and expertise to the interim head, once that person is named, he said.

“The number one priority for me is the children to be well-served, the hospital to be successful and for the donors to know their money is going towards a very good cause.”