The Injury Prevention Centre estimates healthcare spending on preventable injuries has grown into a multi-billion dollar problem, and something needs to be done before the problem worsens.
According to officials at the centre, the province spends an estimated $4 billion on injury annually – which adds up to about $1,083 per Albertan.
Doctors said any messages urging increased safety is falling on deaf ears, and better enforcement is needed by the government.
“We need the government to make some decisions that may not be popular, but we have to protect people from themselves,” Dr. Bill Sevcik said.
Doctors said the most common preventable injuries include incidents like not wearing a helmet or a seatbelt while travelling, texting and driving and driving while impaired.
“One of the things that we do have here is a young population that do a lot of activities and are working, working in perhaps risky professions, and drive a lot of kilometres to get to those jobs,” Don Voaklander Director of the Injury Prevention Centre said.
Behind Saskatchewan, officials said Alberta sees among the highest injury costs in Canada.
The Injury Prevention Centre said the province needs to provide more enforcement, and that could lead to a 10 percent drop in injuries, which could save taxpayers millions.
With files from Jonathan Glasgow
