By Rachel MacNeill
Richard Patten can’t sit down for an hour without getting interrupted by the buzz of his Blackberry. Patten may have officially left political life on Oct. 30, but it doesn’t look like he’ll become any less active in the Ottawa community. In fact, he has become something of a white knight for health-care issues in the city. And with new projects already in the works, it doesn’t look like he’ll be taking a break anytime soon.
Patten’s life and work is woven into the fabric of the community. He was elected as Ottawa Centre’s Liberal MPP in 1987, 1995, 1999, and 2003. After being defeated in 1990, he spent five years as president of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Foundation before running again. He is saying goodbye to politics to move into the public sector, but is leaving behind a record of fighting passionately for health-care issues.
Patten’s story of his entry into government is familiar. As director of International Programs and Federal Government Relations for the Canadian National Council of YMCAs in Ottawa, he found a lack of understanding between government and local organizations in providing on-the-ground programs. Frustrated, he decided to run for MPP. This was the start of what would become a 20-year journey.
During his time as a representative, Patten has become known as a warrior for health issues. His work with CHEO and his own battle with cancer exposed him to health care circles and opened his eyes to the room for improvement in the health-care system. “It certainly gave me an interesting health care perspective,” he says.
Two of the accomplishments he’s most proud of from his time as Ottawa Centre’s representative are pushing through amendments to the Mental Health Act and aiding in the development of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
While in opposition in 1998, Patten wrote a private member’s bill that would become known as Brian’s Law. The legislative reform would compel potentially dangerous mentally ill people to undergo treatment. It was named after CJOH sportscaster Brian Smith, who was gunned down in 1995 by a mentally ill attacker. “We fought like hell for that,” he says. The bill was passed in Nov. 2000. It amended the Mental Health Act and Health Care Consent Act, making it easier to commit people to psychiatric hospitals.
The bill ran into a great deal of controversy from critics who argued people have the right to refuse treatment, but Patten received support from schizophrenic support groups and members of the health community.
The Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa is a group that expressed concern about the bill. Mark Parsons, membership coordinator, wasn’t with the organization at the time, but has his own criticisms. “There was not a lot of local involvement,” he says. Parsons says that the changes emphasize a crisis-based rather than a recovery-based system. However, he does acknowledge that there have been some positive results. “Frankly, I would like to say no one liked it, but I know some people who would say it worked for them,” he says. “By formalizing the changes, they made services available in some areas where they weren’t before.”
“I understood their concerns,” Patten says of the critics. “But this was enabling people who were ill to get into the hospital quicker for an assessment, to avoid more tragedies.” Patten’s passion for the law is evident when he recites case after case of untreated mentally ill people harming themselves or others off the top of his head.
For his work on Brian’s Law, Patten received an Inspiration Award from the Royal Ottawa Hospital Foundation in 2004. These awards are given to individuals who champion mental health reforms. “It was quite a journey,” he says of getting the legislation enacted. “But the feedback I got from health care professionals said it was terrific legislation that will help a lot of people.”
Patten says that through fighting for that legislation, he became a part of Ottawa’s mental health support community.
“I met so many people who had or were parents, brother or sisters of people with mental health issues,” he says, shaking his head. Realizing how badly Ottawa needed a new mental health facility, Patten fought to replace the 100-year-old Royal Ottawa Hospital with a wireless, state-of-the-art building complete with a research institute. The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, a teaching hospital at the University of Ottawa, opened October 2006.
The original building was built more than a century ago for tuberculosis patients. A typical room had few windows and housed three or four patients.
The new facility, according to the project manager, is a bright, airy environment, with single rooms and a large garden.
“It used to be a costly, inefficient waste,” Patten says. “Now it’s a magnificent facility, and will be more effective for people who need to stay there.”
Graham Bird is the development manager for the new mental health centre, which is now in its final phases. He worked with Patten from the beginning of the project.
“Right from the get go, Rick got that it was a huge problem, and we rolled up our sleeves and did it,” he says. “He was very, very keen on the idea that it was time for us to fix this bloody thing.”
He says the new facility is making a real difference in the lives of patients. “I can’t imagine taking a loved one into the old facility, it was not a nice environment for making those with mental illness get better,” he says. “Now, from what I’ve seen, patients are more engaged, relaxed and comfortable.”
Bird has known and worked with Patten since the mid 1980s. “Rick has always been a great friend of the hospital and of mental health issues,” he says. “I think his life with the YMCA and all of the things he’s done in life have really set him up to be a champion of the issue.”
Patten’s health-care accomplishments aren’t limited to the sphere of mental health. He lists helping to stop Ontario from centralizing pediatric heart surgeries, moving them from CHEO to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, as another highlight of his career. Patten fought to keep procedures available in Ottawa so children wouldn’t have to travel to Toronto.
“We fought that tooth and nail,” he says, getting a quarter million signatures on a petition and making it an election issue in 2003. That year, the Liberals were elected and children’s heart surgery remained at CHEO.
According to Bird, Patten’s passion for health care stems from more than personal experience. “He’s just a big kind heart,” he says. “It’s not about trying to get re-elected; it’s about trying to help. That’s a pretty neat quality in a politician.”
Patten has played several roles in the health-care arena: public representative, advocate, professional, and patient.
His work wasn’t put on hold when he battled his own health issues. In 2000, he was diagnosed with a potentially deadly form of cancer. He took his health into his own hands and explored alternative medicine. “You learn a lot because you’re fighting for your life,” he says. “I found out that while individually the medical system is quite good, there’s no quarterback.” Seven years later, he is healthy and plans on staying that way.
Patten officially left public life on Oct. 30. However, he doesn’t see much more spare time in his future.
“My wife says no matter what, I won’t have much spare time because I throw my heart into everything,” he says with a laugh.
He plans on spending the next few years working in the private sector, taking on new challenges. He doesn’t want to reveal too much about his next project, which is currently in the negotiation stages. Unsurprisingly, what he will let slip is that it is related to the health-care field. Specifically, to the use of new technologies in reducing wait times for surgery.
One thing is certain – Patten plans on sticking around. “When you go door to door, you get to know the community,” he says. Patten says one thing he loves about Ottawa is that it is evolving into a culturally rich metropolis, but not a concrete jungle. “Ottawa Centre is ethnically diverse,” he says. “That makes it a very exciting place to live.” Patten also loves the proximity to nature, which facilitates his hobbies of skiing and cycling.
He spends his free time as a ski instructor during the winter. “I think it’s a great city to live in,” he says. “We just need to get our football team back.”
As for ending his career as a public servant, Patten says he has no regrets.
“The question should always be asked when you make a decision: have you strengthened the community, or have you weakened it?” he says. “I’d like to think, in most cases, we strengthened it.”