Probes into spending by Manitoba’s regional health authorities over the last few years have found “systemic government failures,” the province’s health minister said as two new leaders were announced.
The audits, done by consulting firm Deloitte for fiscal years from 2019-20 to 2023-24, discovered a “disconnect” between the province’s order to improve health-care culture and decisions made by system leaders, Uzoma Asagwara said in a news release Wednesday.
All of Manitoba’s regional health authorities were examined, except for Southern Health-Santé Sud, after the province commissioned the audits in March 2024, the release said. All but one of the health authorities reported year-after-year deficits in the audits.
The accumulated deficits are the result of a culture in Manitoba’s health-care system that fails to distribute funds to the front lines, deprioritizes patients and ignores front-line health-care workers, Asagwara said.
Temporary leaders for two of the health authorities that underwent the audits were also announced on Wednesday.
Chris Christadoulou has been named interim CEO of Shared Health, the organization said in a news release. He’s replacing Lanette Siragusa, who served as head of the health authority since April 2023 after becoming a familiar face in Manitoba during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jane Curtis, who previously led Southern Health-Santé Sud, has been named interim CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, a news release said. She’s replacing Mike Nader, who had been in the role since April 2021.