Bishop is notified

Ullyot testified that on the morning of May 17 she telephoned Bishop to inform her of the decision. Bishop testified that she could not recall the phone call, but she did receive a copy of the memorandum that morning. After reading the memorandum, Bishop quickly arranged a meeting in her department for later that morning. Bishop also telephoned Odim and Giddins. Neither had heard of the memorandum and agreed to attend a meeting in her office. At the time of the withdrawal by the anaesthetists, a patient was scheduled for later that week.

Bishop testified that she was angered by the fact that the service was being shut down without any advance notice. She said that this made it very hard to provide patients with options. She was also surprised to learn that the anaesthetists had not fully communicated their concerns to Odim and Giddins.

Blanchard testified that he was astounded by the withdrawal of services.

It seemed to me that if you have this kind of clinical problem, and there was substance to it, and we had no idea whether there was substance to this, why hadn't that been sorted out between the anaesthetists and the surgeon and the cardiologist. (Evidence, page 36,505)

He also testified that it appeared to him that, aside from possible problems with mortality and morbidity, there were serious problems with communication and interpersonal relationships. He said the team that had been in place had unravelled. When asked if the team had actually existed in the first place, he responded:

Well, it existed. I mean, the system was there, but the functioning seemed to not be there. (Evidence, page 36,508)

He was only beginning to appreciate the seriousness of the situation.