Alberta’s Premier and Health Minister announced plans Tuesday to ease pressure on hospitals in the province.

Premier Jim Prentice, and Health Minister Stephen Mandel announced the first phase of the 2014 Continuing Care Capacity Plan, committing Alberta Health Services to open 464 continuing care spaces currently unfunded or unstaffed, over the next 12 months.

Mandel said the province has more than 700 acute care spaces, or the equivalent of three hospitals, being sued by people waiting for placement in continuing care.

The 464 beds will go to the following AHS zones as follows:

  • Edmonton – 22 in the next three months, 127 more over the next six months (149 total)
  • Calgary – 51 in the next three months, 143 more over the next six months (194 total)
  • North Zone – 55 in the next six to 12 months
  • Central Zone – 28 beds in the next six to 12 months
  • South Zone – 38 beds in the next six months

Officials said the moves will not only free up hospital beds, but save money – Health Minister Stephen Mandel said an acute care bed costs about $1,500 a day.

“A continuing care bed is slightly more than $250, so we’ll be able to move people into a more affordable environment, it’s going to take some time to do it,” Mandel said.

The province said the second phase of the plan will include the government helping patients in acute care with a $60 million in funds from the Affordable Supportive Living Initiative (ASLI).

The province also said AHS will dedicate about 20 percent of newly freed up acute care spaces for emergency department use.

AHS welcomed the announcement, calling it good news for seniors, their families and staff. Officials said in the last four months, the number of hospital patients waiting for continuing care placement has increased by nearly 30 percent.

Meanwhile, members of the opposition were not impressed.

“Let’s all remember that over the last five years [the PCs] promised to open 1,000 continuing care beds every year,” Wildrose MLA Kerry Towle said.

The Liberal candidate for Edmonton-Whitemud, who is running against Mandel in the by-election there is a nurse, and said there are some issues with the PC plan.

“It takes two to three years to build a nursing home,” Liberal candidate Donna Wilson said. “So saying immediately there’s going to be [464] spaces, well, that’s just a game.”

Friends of Medicare weighed in on the announcement as well, saying Prentice and Mandel are trying to reverse bad decisions made by the party.

With files from Susan Amerongen