Topeka ? Senators upset about what they see as slow and inadequate action against errant doctors called Friday upon the state board that regulates physicians to fire some of its staff.

The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Board of Healing Arts to make “changes in personnel” promptly.

“Clearly, they have been failing to do their job,” said Sen. Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican and vocal critic of the board. “Clearly, they are standing over in that agency in a pool of innocent human blood.”

The measure is partly a response to the case of Stephen Schneider, a Haysville physician who faces 34 federal criminal charges. Prosecutors allege that he and his wife, a nurse, ran a “pill mill” linked to at least 56 overdose deaths.

A legislative audit in 2006 said the board let some cases drag out and noted that 14 percent of them at the time had been open three years or longer. Last year, a national advocacy group ranked the Kansas board 36th among state regulatory boards.

But Betty McBride, the board’s president, said it still has “a great deal of faith” in its staff.

“We have tried very hard in this legislative session to respond to the concerns that the legislators have indicated that they’ve had,” she said. “Our staff works very hard to provide us with the information necessary to help us make very hard decisions.”

At Wagle’s request, a Senate committee had an impromptu meeting in the Statehouse rotunda and agreed to sponsor her resolution. The Senate considered it about two hours later, with no one speaking against it.

After the vote, Wagle said the message was “clean house and get the agency functional again.”

“We’re saying that a., you have a problem with leadership and b., you have a problem with legal competency,” she said.

Legislators can’t force an administrative agency to fire staff members. But it’s highly unusual for them to express their frustration and make such a request in a resolution.

Response from board

The board itself is seeking legislation this year that it believes will allow it to be more aggressive in addressing bad medical care, and a version of the bill is before the Senate.

After reviewing the resolution, Larry Buening, the board’s executive director, said it was clear that its targets were him, as the board’s top staff member, as well as attorneys who handle investigations of alleged misconduct.

Asked whether such a resolution would prompt him to resign, he said: “I serve at the pleasure of the board.”

Abortion opponents, including Wagle, have been critical of the board for years, suggesting it has been slow to investigate allegations of misconduct by abortion providers. They’ve noted that Buening’s wife is director of constituent services for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a strong supporter of abortion rights. The governor also appoints the board’s 15 members.

Not protecting public

Wagle and other legislators see the Schneider case as evidence of serious problems at the board because of the number of overdose deaths federal prosecutors have linked at least indirectly to his clinic’s operations. A grand jury indictment alleges he and his wife, a nurse, were directly responsible for four deaths and contributed to 11 others.

An administrative hearing officer suspended Schneider’s license in January while the board considers whether to revoke it.

The board began proceedings against him in 2006 but put the case on hold for 11 months. The board’s staff has said federal prosecutors asked them to do so, but federal prosecutors contend they made no such request and have said some complaints about Schneider go back to 1995.

“When you look at the number of lives lost in Kansas because of one provider, the Kansas Legislature has to take drastic steps,” said Sen. Jim Barnett, an Emporia Republican and a physician. “The duty of the board of healing arts is to protect the safety of the public, and that hasn’t occurred.