STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS

An outside agency completed an examination of Health P.E.I.’s human resources division in December, which included consulting staff about what Health P.E.I.’s CEO described as a “difference of opinion” on the direction of the department.

But the exact concerns of these employees, as well as the recommendations on how to address these differences, remain a secret.

A redacted copy of a report prepared by HR Atlantic detailing a “workplace consultation” of Health P.E.I.’s HR department was obtained by SaltWire through Freedom of Information. Most pertinent details were redacted, including what prompted this review, what investigators heard from employees, and what recommendations were made.

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A total of 44 employees were interviewed. None were named in the report.

Health P.E.I. CEO Michael Gardam said he could not talk about the reasons why HR Atlantic was called in because of confidentiality.

He did say the consultation was not an investigation and was not done because of wrongdoing. He said HR Atlantic was brought in for an outside perspective and that there “may be some conflict.”

“It’s just that there’s a difference of opinion on which direction HR should be going. And we want an outside, third (party) opinion to get a sense of giving us some advice,” Gardam said in an August 16 interview.

The report was first raised publicly by Green MLA Peter Bevan-Baker during a June 15 late-night sitting of the legislature.

“Is it accurate that there was a workplace assessment conducted last fall by an independent company, HR Atlantic – Kathryn Coll – on the Health P.E.I. human resources section due to concerns that were brought forward by staff because of a failure to create a psychologically safe environment?” Bevan-Baker asked Health Minister Mark McLane.

McLane responded that he was “not familiar” with the report but acknowledged he had seen it.

Redactions questioned

Bevan-Baker took issue with the redactions in the document.

He said they echoed similar redactions of a 2021 report prepared by consultant Garth Waite that examined reasons behind the departure of a number of nurses from Health P.E.I. in late 2020.

Close to half the nurses interviewed described Health P.E.I. as a “toxic workplace.” Some described “bullying behaviour” toward staff. Staffing shortages, high workloads, inadequate pay, the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic and denial of vacation requests were also cited by some as reasons for leaving.

That report’s recommendations, like the new report from HR Atlantic, were also initially redacted by Health P.E.I.

“You have to conclude that the only people that this is actually helpful for is government itself because it maintains this veil of secrecy around what’s actually going on,” Bevan-Baker said.

Gardam said the redactions were completed by Health P.E.I. staff. He said he, not politicians, signed off on them.

He said revealing comments from the consultation could violate confidentiality.

“They’re heavily redacted because they have to be heavily redacted. Because otherwise, you’ll never do one again,” Gardam said.

“Like I can’t possibly tell our staff that we’re going to do a workplace assessment if they know the last time we did it, people got outed.”

HR to lead workplace strategy

Health P.E.I.’s human resources department is tasked with implementing a plan to improve the workplace culture of the health agency, according to a three-year people strategy released last fall.

This strategy, prepared by HR executive director Tracy Wolbaum, outlines measures to “promote a safe, healthy and positive workplace.”

In an introduction to the strategy, Gardam says it is meant to address reasons why staff often leave Health P.E.I., including “longstanding cultural issues, lack of responsiveness, inadequate recognition and many other issues.”

When asked what it meant that the department tasked with improving Health P.E.I.’s culture was the subject of an examination of its own practices by an outside agency, Gardam said this was a positive sign.

“I think what it speaks to is that, if people are voicing concerns, we take it seriously. To my mind, this is an example of us doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing,” he said.

“Perhaps the old Health P.E.I. wouldn’t have dealt with that. But we’re going to deal with it.”