MUHC head Normand Rinfret stepping down in September

The largest hospital network in Quebec will be getting new leadership in the fall, following the controversial construction and problem-plagued opening of its flagship health centre in Montreal last year.

NormandRinfret, thepresident and executive director of theMcGillUniversity Health Centre,has informed hospital staff that he won't be seeking a renewal of his mandate.

"This decision feels right for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that I believe well-timed leadershipchange is vital to the health of all organizations,"Rinfret said in an internal memo obtained by CBC News.

Rinfrethas held the top job at the hospital since Arthur Porter's abrupt resignation in 2011.Rinfretserved directly underneath Porter, who was later charged with conspiring to accept to bribes.

Authorities suspected Porter sought to receive as much as $22.5 million in kickbacks from the $1.3 billion contract to build the MUHC's so-calledsuperhospital.

Porter died in Panama in 2015 while trying to avoid extraditionto Quebec.

• Arthur Porter's death in Panama leaves lingering questions about McGill, extradition

Superhospital problems

When the superhospital finally opened last year,Rinfret had to oversee a number of problems with the giant facility.

Among the most pressing: raw sewage backup that flooded certain floors and spotty cell-phone coverage. Patients have also complained that many parts of the hospital are not accessible to people in wheelchairs.

• MUHC works to address sewage backup at Glen Site

"Like a family, we have experiencedhope, satisfaction, joy and pride, as well as disappointment, frustration, bitterness and loss,"Rinfret's memo said.

"There has beentremendous growth, but also setbacks and delays."

Rinfret said he informed the MUHCboard of directors of his decision last week and planned to announce it publicly at the hospital's annual meeting on June 14.

The MUHC has already formed a search committee to findRinfret's replacement. A list of names will be prepared by the board, which will then be handed over the Health Minister, who gets the final say.

Among the priorities facingRinfret'ssuccessor will be the modernization of other hospitals in the MUHC network, such as thethe Montreal General Hospital, theLachineHospital and the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.

Rinfret also leaves the MUHCwith a deficit of $40 million for 2015-2016, after the provincial government refused to review how the hospital network isfunded.

Rinfret's term expires in September.

• MUHC still ironing out issues in new superhospital one year later