ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The former chief of Newfoundland's largest health board says he was under increasing pressure from the province to cut millions of dollars from his budget just as serious errors with breast-cancer testing came to light.
Former Eastern Health CEO George Tilley told a public inquiry Friday that the provincial government asked him to trim at least $8 million from the board's budget in 2005. "The question was, 'Where am I going to find the savings?"' Tilley said.
Tilley, who resigned from Eastern Health two months after the full scope of the mistakes became known in May 2007, said he wasn't able to meet the cost reductions.
"Maybe they pulled some miracles since then," he said.
The inquiry is looking into how nearly 400 patients were given the wrong results on their breast-cancer tests.
The inquiry is also trying to determine whether Eastern Health or any other responsible authorities responded to patients and the public in an appropriate and timely manner.
The inquiry is focusing on hormone-receptor tests, which are used by doctors to determine the course of treatment for breast-cancer patients.
If patients are found to be estrogen-and/or progesterone-positive, they may respond to hormone therapy such as Tamoxifen. If not, they may be given a range of other treatments, or no treatment at all, depending on the characteristics of the patient's cancer.
In the spring of 2005, doctors began questioning the hormone-receptor test results of a patient with invasive lobular carcinoma, a form of breast cancer.
After retesting, it was discovered that the initial test result was wrong, as were those for a small sample of other patients.
Eastern Health subsequently halted testing in its lab and transferred its hormone-receptor tests to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
The health board then started a review of all hormone-receptor tests from 1997 to 2005.
