Since my first Sault Area Hospital (SAH) story , dozens of employees and patients reached out . Only one patient and one hospital employee had anything positive to say about the SAH. The dozens of others shared horror stories of incompetence.

It’s too bad that frontline hospital employees have no way to make suggestions or complaints to the Hospital bureaucrats ! Yes, you read that correctly .

There’s no system for hospital employees to make suggestions or complaints to the hospital administration !

I’ve spoken with employees across many departments. This isn’t a single department issue. It’s hospital-wide. No one can make suggestions or complaints to the hospital bureaucrats.

In July 2019, Wendy Hansson became the new President and CEO. Before joining SAH, Wendy spent two years as Vice President Quality & Innovation and Chief Transformation Officer at Providence Health Care .

Assuming SAH hired Wendy to provide quality care, innovation, and transformation. How does Wendy learn about the hospital if she doesn’t listen to frontline staff?

When I contacted Wendy’s office, all I got was Brandy Sharp Young from Communications to answer my questions . According to Brandy, Wendy is still learning about the hospital when I requested an interview .

Learning about the hospital? Wendy’s been here for seven months!

In her previous position, she was there for two years. I would think after seven months, Wendy would have at least one idea on how to make the hospital better. Instead, she’s still learning.

Apparently , Wendy is a “lifelong learner.” Seven months isn’t long enough to come up with one positive change to the hospital or grant an interview to local media . If only there was some way for Wendy to learn how to improve frontline care.

Oh wait, there is a way. Listen to frontline employees’ suggestions and complaints. But, that would require a system to listen to them.

That’s too much work for the SAH bureaucrats!

If there were a local competition between hospitals for patients. Possibly , SAH would have a reason to provide better care. However , that isn’t the case. SAH is a monopoly and runs as a monopoly.

Unhappy with SAH care? Go to the other Sault hospital. Hold on, there isn’t another hospital. Unlike Toronto where another hospital is 20 minutes away. The next nearest big hospital is hours away.

Considering Wendy’s outrageous, overpriced salary. What are we getting? A sub-par hospital where employees cannot make suggestions to the bloated administration filled with overpriced bureaucrats !

Here’s a novel idea, spend money on frontline care and less on bureaucrats pushing paper around ! Consult with frontline nurses and doctors charged with providing the hospital services.

The blame falls on the hospital bureaucrats. They have a “don’t care” attitude in response to suggestions from frontline staff.

We are trapped by hospital bureaucrats that don’t listen to anyone nor are they held accountable .

Wendy is an “innovation and transformation” expert but doesn’t listen to frontline staff.

This isn’t a problem caused by the frontline staff. Plenty of them have suggestions and care about their jobs! Dozens of staff reached out to me with their suggestions and complaints about the hospital .