What Wiseman Doesn't Know

From Hansard, April 7th:

"If I could, Mr. Speaker, I will provide an update to the member opposite and to the House."
[In response to the question, "where is the evidence that communications and protocols are being put in place and being followed within Eastern Health?"]

"Mr. Speaker, the real answer to that question is that there is an issue of reasonableness here. What is the role of the government, what is the role of the health authority, and what should they do? If you look at Hansard, Mr. Speaker – this is ironic, if you read from Hansard, because Hansard records what people say in this House."
[In response to the question, "Why are you and your department not practicing proper follow up on this issue?"]

"Mr. Speaker, I need to understand what goes wrong so we can find a remedy."
[In response to the question, "Have you identified who made the judgements on Friday, and has the shot yet been fired across their bow, as the Premier indicated yesterday?"]

"If the member opposite has some information about her recent resignation, then I will commit to investigate in terms of that particular resignation and what plans are in place, actually, to provide a replacement for her, but the most current information I had was that the individual was going to be on a sick leave and returning around the middle of April, I say, Mr. Speaker."
[In response to a question on the resignation of the nurse practitioner at the HIV/AIDS clinic.]

"I understood that Eastern Health had made arrangements as an alternate plan while that individual was on sick leave and pending to come back around the middle of April. I will undertake to find out what the new plan will be, now that the member opposite has become aware that the resignation was tendered this morning....That is not something that I would ordinarily know...."
[In response to a question on the resignation of the nurse practitioner at the HIV/AIDS clinic.]
http://www.assembly.nl.ca/business/hansard/ga46session2/09-04-07.htm

No wonder he's such a very busy minister: that's a lot of non-knowing for one question period. So let's do a tally of where things stand before he speaks in public again.

In just three weeks of work, Wiseman didn't know:

1) That the only nurse-practitioner of the HIV/AIDS clinic had resigned:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/04/08/aids-clinic-nurse-048.html

2) That Eastern Health would release the new cancer test information last Friday: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/04/fantasy-island.html

3) Changes in the rates for personal care homes in Newfoundland and Labrador: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/04/freudian-slips.html

4) What is happening on a day-to-day basis at an operational level at many health authorities: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-wisecracks.html

5) That he was supposed to show up at a major health conference: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/03/busyness_31.html

6) That he was supposed to let the media in to hear him speak:
http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/03/wisecrack.html

Here's some food for thought: Wiseman is surrounded by an army of communications people. He faces a decimated opposition. After the coverage of the Cameron Report, there have been five major news cyclyes, none of which have focused on Wiseman's portfolio: Curious George Baker's circus and its aftermath; the tragedy of the helicopter crash; the bold and brilliant Throne Speech and budget; the debate and non-celebration of 60 years in Confederation; and the Hydro announcement.

The latest failure in his portfolio was overshadowed by DW shooting off his mouth. As for the current news cycle, the story of the resignation of the nurse practitioner is going up against the announcement of a new discovery of hydrocarbons off Newfoundland. I wonder which story will attract the most attention....http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/04/08/statoilhydro-offshore-find.html

To put the problems in Health in context, Orwellian News contacted an international expert in unknowledge, Donald Rumsfeld. Reached by phone in Washington, Rumsfeld had this to say: "There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know. And then there's Ross Wiseman."

Rumsfeld recommended that Wiseman view his instructional video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RpSv3HjpEw