Alberta health-care system underperforming, documents show; critics blame UCP 'privatization'
Alberta's health-care system is playing catch-up to pre-pandemic times as new documents obtained by CTV News show the system is underperforming and failing to achieve targets it set out for itself.
An Alberta Surgical Initiative (ASI) presentation by Alberta Health Services shows the province not only missed its wait-time reduction target for this current fiscal year, but it doesn't expect to reach the target until the end of the next fiscal year — spring 2024.
Meantime, acute-care sites in Alberta — like publicly owned surgical facilities and hospitals — were expected to perform 282,455 surgeries by the end of the 2022/23 fiscal year, but only performed 245,880 — missing its target by 36,575 surgeries.
For comparison, the province's pre-pandemic baseline was 256,600 surgeries.
So, the province is not only going to miss its 22/23 target, but it's still over 10,000 surgeries from returning to pre-pandemic levels.
"Creating a private surgical centre doesn't create another surgeon, it doesn't create more nurses, it simply moves people out of the public system, and the numbers you have today are showing that -- that they're able to get more surgeries done in private surgical centres and we're not keeping up in the public," said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare.
“This isn't about access, this isn't about patient care, it isn't about wait lists they claim they're trying to adjust, it's really about using our public dollars to provide profit for private surgical centres."
Earlier this week, health workers shared concerns the situation at a Red Deer hospital is so dire they feel the system will collapse.
"It's creating more chaos in our healthcare and Albertans are the ones who are paying the price, and it is exactly related to this focus that the UCP has on privatizing healthcare," Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley said.
"They're making the problem of overall health-care capacity worse, because they're now stealing those important front-line health-care workers out of the public system and putting them into the private one, where profit is now the fundamental motive."
Health Minister Jason Copping's office says the delays aren't new and it's pleased with AHS reaffirming its commitment to achieve its goals by the end of the next fiscal year.
"We campaigned on reducing surgery wait times after the NDP spent four years watching them get longer and did nothing about them. Reducing wait times is the right goal and we’ll keep working at it until we deliver on our promise to Albertans," Steve Buick, Copping's press secretary, added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.