An $600,000 initiative aimed at improving the public reputation of the MUHC superhospital appears to have backfired, as the Quebec Health Minister has ordered the contract cancelled.
The MUHC had hired Jonathan Goldbloom and Associates to help repair the damage done by the Arthur Porter scandal and relevations at the Charbonneau Commission, but Health Minister Gaetan Barrette did not agree that it was a wise way to spend the money.
“The reason why this hospital is in this situation is because of poor management,” Barrette told CTV Montreal Friday. “If they want to rebuild their reputation, the only thing to do is to manage it properly that’s all we ask.”
Barette said he is considering having the MUHC pay back the money it spent on the two-year contract, which was awarded without going through a tendering process.
The MUHC has a public relations team of about 15 staffers which issued a brief press release Friday saying that it would comply and terminate the contract at the end of the summer. The MUHC declined to issue any further comment.
