MPP wants ombudsman to investigate chemo drug scandal

NDP health critic France Gélinas is calling for an independent investigation, led by Ontario Ombudsman André Marin, into the chemo drug underdosing scandal.

“Ontarians expect that the drugs meant to treat their cancer should be safe, appropriately prepared, and properly labelled. Clearly that wasn’t the case and something went wrong in four Ontario hospitals,” said Gélinas.

New Democrats are asking for an independent investigation by Marin into how nearly 1,000 cancer patients in Ontario received the wrong doses of chemotherapy medication. The problem apparently arose from incorrectly labelled drugs coming from a private third-party provider.

Gélinas said it’s fine that Health Minister Deb Matthews will conduct an independent third-party review of quality assurance in the province's cancer drug supply chain, but that’s just a first step. Matthews hasn’t guaranteed that the findings will be shared with the people of Ontario or how this happened in the first place.

An ombudsman investigation would be open and transparent, and would provide answers for the 1,000 who were affected, Gélinas said. Even though the ombudsman does not have jurisdiction to investigate hospitals, he can launch an investigation if asked by the premier or a cabinet minister.

“I was in shock when I heard the news,” said Gélinas. “My initial thought was ‘How did this happen?’ And that’s what we need to find out.

“In order to fix the problem, we need to know what happened in the first place,” said Gélinas. “Ontarians deserve to have complete confidence in their health-care system and the best way they will get that is if they get the answers as to what went wrong and how come it took so long to find the error.”