CHARLOTTE, NC – County leaders are promising big changes after an audit of the health department.
The county brought in outside consultants and conducted an internal review after almost 200 women were not notified of pap smear results.
“Not a glowing report. I mean these weakness you know, are kind of out number the strengths,” said Mecklenburg County Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour.
Consultants recommend shaking up management structure, even asking some people to reapply for their jobs.
“We’ve gotta be committed to making the changes that are necessary. It’s not just management.. this is the whole structure,” said Commissioner Trevor Fuller.
The review found management didn’t hold personnel accountable, and that there was patient information not being documented.
It also found a lack of communication between the lab and clinics and no specific training for clinical staff.
“I wasn’t surprised. And you know, I think we just kind of heard the tip of the iceberg,” says Commissioner Pat Cotham.
Commissioner Bill James says he’s concerned bad employees were just being moved to other jobs instead of being fired.
“That really is terrible, I mean you think about patient, the ability to treat patients and deal with the public, that’s just, not good,” James said.
Now Ridenhour and some others on the board suggest privatizing some clinical services.
“If we’re going to be in the clinical operations business, then we need to make sure we’re delivering to our taxpayers and to the people who need these services,” Ridenhour says.
“I hope the manager got the message that she needs.. that everything should be on the table. And we should look at everything,” Cotham says.
