Premier Danielle Smith directs Health Minister Adriana LaGrange to reform the management and structure of Alberta Health Services to spread ...
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the new health minister adriana lagrange has been given the green light to reform the management and structure of alberta health services by
AHS is mentioned in a broadcast about the Health Minister being given the green light to reform the management and structure of Alberta Health Services
: alberta's health minister has been given the go-ahead to decentralized healthcare, 15 years after alberta health services was created to
AHS is mentioned in a broadcast about Alberta’s new health minister being given the green light to reform the management and structure of Alberta Health Services to better decentralize decision-making and resources. Also aired on City Edmonton.
us. I'm lauren fink. Premier danielle smith wants the health minister to restructure alberta health services. That's just one of the new
AHS is mentioned in a broadcast about Alberta’s new health minister being given the green light to reform the management and structure of Alberta Health Services to better decentralize decision-making and resources. Also aired on CBC Calgary.
to adriana LaGRANGE was released today. The letter includes reforms to alberta health services, orders to improve lab services and ems, and
AHS is mentioned in a broadcast about Alberta’s new health minister being given the green light to reform the management and structure of Alberta Health Services to better decentralize decision-making and resources.
Alberta’s health minister will review what functions Alberta Health Services performs, saying there are questions about whether the provincial health authority has become too large.
Alberta's health minister will review what functions Alberta Health Services performs, saying there are questions about whether the provincial health authority has become too large.
"It was originally intended to just look after acute care," Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said in an interview with CBC News in Calgary on Tuesday.
"But now it looks after acute care. It looks after primary care. It's looking after continuing care. It's also a service provider. It's also developing policy. All of these areas were beyond the scope it was originally intended for."
Premier Danielle Smith released a hefty four-page health mandate letter on Tuesday, six weeks after LaGrange was sworn in as minister.
After four years as education minister, LaGrange is now charged with addressing health care recruitment and retention challenges across Alberta, including rural access to obstetricians, midwives and family doctors.
The premier also asked LaGrange to be willing to "reform the management and structure of Alberta Health Services (AHS) to better decentralize decision-making and resources to the front lines and local communities."
Smith's letter says the health system must welcome innovation and incentivize the best patient care.
In 2008, the Progressive Conservative government of the day created AHS by merging all regional health authorities and a handful of provincial health agencies.
It was the first provincewide health authority in Canada. More than 125,000 employees now work for AHS or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Since pursuing the United Conservative Party leadership last year, Smith has said she wants to reform AHS to allow local leaders to act more quickly to start new programs or respond to local problems.
On Tuesday, LaGrange said she doesn't want to presuppose the outcome of this reorganization, nor did she give a timeline for when the government would make restructuring decisions.
LaGrange ruled out the idea of hiring a consultant to conduct another analysis of the organization.
In 2020, the UCP government released the results of a $2-million AHS review performed by Ernst &Young, which recommended measures it said could save nearly $2 billion per year.
LaGrange said the time for studies is done, and the government will instead act on previous recommendations. However, closing or consolidating rural hospitals, as the EY review recommended, is not on her to-do list, LaGrange said.
Health-care union leaders, meanwhile, have raised concerns about restructuring a system that is already under strain from high patient demand, growing government expectations and a shortage of workers.
"Our health-care workers need stability and investment in the work they do every single day," Health Sciences Association of Alberta president Mike Parker said on Tuesday. "Not conflict between a public health guarantee and alternative models. Not this unknown nebulous of decentralization."
HSAA president Mike Parker has concerns about restructuring a system that is already under strain from high patient demand. (HSAA website)
Although the UCP government has been outsourcing some functions of the health system to private companies, Smith has said no Albertan will have to pay out of pocket for insured health services, such as a family doctor visit.
NDP primary and rural health critic David Shepherd said the government's pledge of decentralizing decision making is ironic, given Smith fired the AHS board and installed an administrator to speed up change.
"It's a bit laughable that she's suddenly now saying she wants to be more regional, collaborative and empower local healthcare workers and others," Shepherd said. "I don't think our system would be helped by creating additional red tape, additional boards."
When asked, LaGrange didn't say whether splitting AHS back into regional boards was a possibility.
Minister to fix 'unacceptable' lab delays
Smith has also asked LaGrange to resolve "the unacceptable lab services delay challenge" as patients, particularly in Calgary and southern Alberta, are sometimes left waiting more than a month for routine tests.
During the last year, AHS has outsourced more lab testing to Dynalife, a company that was already running community labs in Edmonton and parts of northern Alberta. Privatizing more of the service was one of the EY report's recommendations that was supposed to save money.
However, patients who depended on routine or timely tests sometimes spent hours waiting in emergency rooms instead to get their tests done on time.
LaGrange wouldn't say what solutions the government is considering, but that officials have made it clear to Dynalife they expect the company to scale up its staffing and improve service.
"Albertans deserve the best lab services available," she said. "And right now that's not happening."
She did not say what the consequences would be for Dynalife, should they continue to fail to meet expectations.
Dynalife deferred questions to Alberta Health.
HSAA represents around 3,000 lab workers across the province in both public and private labs.
Union president Parker said the service Dynalife provides has eroded because the company now needs to skim off profits for shareholders.
"How do you make those profits? It's in cutting of resources, time, scheduling, workers," he said.
Parker was happy to see the premier address worker concerns such as employee shortages in the mandate letter, saying unions have been pointing out the problem for years.
Among the rest of LaGrange's to-do list is containing to try reducing surgical and emergency room wait times, addressing a taxed EMS system, and strategizing how to recruit and retain workers, especially in rural Alberta.
She'll also implement UCP election promises to expand disease screening for newborns and bolster women's health research.
Alberta’s UCP government is looking to decentralize the provincial health authority while softening its stance on Premier Danielle Smith’s idea of personal health spending accounts.
In a mandate letter released Tuesday , Smith calls on newly-appointed Health Minister Adriana LaGrange to improve access to health care, saying it will require “a willingness to reform the management and structure of Alberta Health Services (AHS) to better decentralize decision-making and resources to the front lines and local communities.”
The letter gives LaGrange many of the same directives former health minister Jason Copping received in October, including working to improve emergency response services (EMS) response times, address surgery wait lists, and cut emergency room wait times, but it also expands on the previous directive to “enhance local decision making authority.”
In an interview with Postmedia Tuesday, LaGrange said she, along with administrator Dr. John Cowell, will be looking at reforming the existing system, but she didn’t provide specifics.
“There’s a great desire from everyone that I speak to, to make improvements, and so it’s too early to say what those improvements will be, but just be very sure that we will be making changes that are needed to make sure that our health care system improves,” she said.
Alberta has a long history of re-organizing regional health authorities, which were rolled into the provincial Alberta Health Services in 2008.
David Shepherd, NDP health critic for primary and rural care, told reporters Tuesday the letter offers no concrete solutions in the midst of a health-care crisis, and creating more governing boards will rip apart a system already in chaos.
“It’s a bit laughable, that the premier who fired the entire board of AHS to implement a sole administrator who answers only to her is saying that she wants to support more regional decision-making, that she wants to create a more collaborative environment for health-care workers,” said Shepherd.
“We have opportunities in many ways to work with and empower frontline health-care workers in the system as it stands,” he said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, former premier Jason Kenney touted the buying power of AHS as an advantage in securing sought-after medical supplies. Last September, he said structural changes at AHS in the past haven’t been fruitful and only amounted to a “political show.”
“What we’ve decided to do is stick to our knitting, focus on outcomes as opposed to replaying the endless cycle of structural changes at AHS,” he said at the time.
Minister to ‘explore the feasibility’ of health spending accounts
While LaGrange’s predecessor was asked to work to establish health spending accounts for Albertans to pay for uninsured services, Tuesday’s letter appears to downgrade the priority, directing LaGrange to “explore the feasibility” of the accounts.
The idea was criticized by a majority of Smith’s rivals during last year’s UCP leadership race, and did not become part of the UCP’s platform during May’s general election.
“It was a commitment that was made previously, and it’s a commitment that we’re going to continue to explore to see if there is value to Albertans,” said LaGrange, adding she’ll be working with Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish on how a system might be rolled out to augment existing employer coverage.
After reports of weeks-long wait times for appointments for things like blood tests, especially in Calgary, following the shuffle of community lab services to private company Dynalife, the letter directs LaGrange to resolve “unacceptable” lab services delays, without offering specifics.
Shepherd said if the government can’t manage those services, they shouldn’t be tinkering with a big-ticket project like health spending accounts.
“Albertans right now aren’t looking for bells and whistles, they’re looking for a competent government who can simply deliver the basics of health care,” he said.
Advocacy group Friends of Medicare said the minister’s mandate letter prioritizes “ideological pet projects” without meaningfully addressing the staffing crisis facing the health-care system.
“Throwing Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services into disarray with talk of restructuring is not what our public health-care system needs right now,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, in a Tuesday news release.
It said the health spending account proposal will add administrative complexity and costs to the health-care system, while worsening inequity among patients.
Smith has tasked LaGrange with working with Mental Health and Addiction Minister Dan Williams to ensure the province’s approach to recovery becomes “a guiding policy in modernizing Alberta’s primary health-care system.”
That comes after the province marked a record number of opioid-related ambulance calls for the third week in a row, and after 179 opioid deaths were recorded in April, the highest number of opioid fatalities recorded in a single month in Alberta since 175 deaths were reported in December 2021.
Specific women’s health initiatives, including putting $10 million into a midwifery strategy, support for health research, and hiring more obstetrics doctors for communities plagued by shortages, including Lethbridge and Fort McMurray, are also a focus for LaGrange.
“It’s very important to me that we look to address of the inequities that have occurred in research, innovation and women’s health,” she said.
Shepherd said while the initiatives might be positive, a lack of support from the UCP led to women in multiple communities across the province not being able to give birth in their own communities.
“They seem a bit performative in light of the actual damage that this UCP government has done,” he said.
While there is no mention of Indigenous health initiatives in the mandate letter, LaGrange said they are a priority under the Modernizing Alberta Primary Care System’s (MAPS) Indigenous health care advisory panel.
Shepherd noted that while the letter mentions MAPS, the full picture of its recommendations is still unknown .
Meanwhile, LaGrange is set to work with Justice Minister Mickey Amery to recommend new regulations for medical professionals in response to the federal medical assistance in dying (MAiD) law being expanded to include those whose only condition is a mental health illness.
In January, Smith’s government was publicly vocal in its opposition to expanding MAiD eligibility. In March, the federal Liberal government delayed expanding that eligibility until March 17, 2024, citing a need for more consultation, and to prepare health-care systems.
LaGrange declined to specify how new regulations might affect health-care professionals in the province.
The labour relations board says the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) must forfeit $1.6-million worth of union dues for its role in an illegal 2020 wildcat strike by health-care workers.
The labour relations board says the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) must forfeit $1.6-million worth of union dues for its role in an illegal 2020 wildcat strike by health-care workers.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) told the board it had to cancel nearly 300 procedures, postpone appointments and left soiled patients sitting in their own waste when an estimated 2,200 workers walked off the job on October 26, 2020.
The walkout "endangered the wellbeing of Albertans, and placed additional strain on a health care system that was already reeling from the unprecedented challenges brought about by the pandemic," the board concluded in its ruling on July 12.
"The union's actions in this case made a bad situation worse."
AUPE has said it had no role in organizing the wildcat strike, in which workers rallied outside more than 70 AHS sites across the province.
At issue was an AHS proposal to contract out some of their jobs at the direction of the provincial government. The parties were involved in collective bargaining at the time.
During the labour board hearing, which took place over several dates in 2021 and 2022, the union acknowledged leaders didn't do enough to shut the strike down after workers walked out.
AUPE also told the board it was wrong that one of its employees went into a Red Deer care facility and encouraged members to leave their posts.
AUPE represents about 25,000 general support services workers and another 16,000 auxiliary nursing workers employed by AHS. Although a fraction of them participated in the job action, the board ruled AUPE must forfeit collecting any of their union dues for a month.
AHS had asked for a six-month dues suspension, but the board decided one month was sufficient.
In an emailed statement on Monday, AHS spokesperson James Wood said the organization was pleased with the board's ruling.
"The decision reinforces the importance of the health and safety of our patients and the need for all parties to abide by the provisions of our collective agreements and the Alberta Labour Relations Code," he said.
AUPE had not responded to an interview request as of publication time.
Bob Barnetson, a professor of labour relations at Athabasca University, said the board's penalty financially rewards the employees who walked out by allowing them to keep their union dues for a month.
"If the goal was to prevent wildcat strikes, I think this penalty has done the opposite," he said. "It's likely going to encourage them."
Losing $1.6 million\ is unlikely to be financially deleterious to AUPE, he said. The board's written decision notes AUPE had a strike fund of $66 million at the time of the walkout.
It's likely that public sector unions reaching impasses with employers will see the decision as part of the cost of doing business — and some might perceive the penalty as a bargain, Barnetson said.
The one-day walkout followed months of tension after AHS informed the union in November 2019 it planned to contract out some work, such as laundry, food and lab services. AHS predicted it would affect around 10,000 workers, but argued they could apply for jobs with the new private contractors.
AHS paused those plans when the COVID-19 pandemic reached Alberta in March 2020. At least one agreement to pause the outsourcing plans expired 11 days before the walkout.
AHS did not answer a question on Monday about how many previously unionized jobs have since been privatized.
Following the walkout, AHS disciplined hundreds of workers for joining the wildcat strike by issuing suspensions and letters of reprimand. In 2021, AUPE said nearly 800 workers had filed grievances about those punishments.
Neither AHS nor AUPE answered questions on Monday about the fate of those grievances, and whether the penalties stuck.
The auxiliary nurses and general support workers inked new collective agreements with AHS in 2022. Those agreements both expire March 31, 2024.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) has ordered Alberta Health Services (AHS) to stop collecting union dues from two Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) bargaining units for a one-month period as sanction for a one-day wildcat strike on Oct. 26, 2020.
In a decision issued July 12 , a three-person ALRB panel imposed the penalty while ruling that the AUPE contravened parts of the Labour Relations Code when approximately 2,200 health-care workers either walked off the job or failed to show up to work in a strike the ALRB deemed to be illegal hours after it began.
The panel acknowledged the action was a “wildcat strike” in that it occurred without formal approval from union leadership, but also ruled that the union didn’t do enough to stop the job action either.
“In short, not only is there no evidence of AUPE taking any steps to bring the strike to an end, but there is evidence indicating the opposite: once the strike was underway, AUPE promoted continued illegal action, and encouraged others to join in that action,” the ruling reads.
It describes how the strike had a “significant” impact on staff, patients, residents, and families, including the postponement of 294 scheduled surgeries in the Edmonton health zone.
The protesters were calling for the province to hire more staff and reverse plans to cut 11,000 jobs, mostly through outsourcing to third-party companies.
The panel stopped short of finding AUPE orchestrated the strike, but noted public communications by the union on its website and social media channels, as well as comments from a union leader to striking workers outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
“The longer the picket line, the shorter the strikes,” a union leader is cited in the ruling as telling striking workers.
“So stay strong, stay united, hang in there, be tough, and stand up for what you really believe in. And, do not be intimidated.”
AHS sought six-month dues suspension
The suspension of dues collection will cost the union an unspecified amount, with the ruling stating that AHS expected to remit roughly $11.5 million in dues to AUPE over a six-month period across all bargaining units.
AHS had been seeking a six-month suspension of dues.
AUPE declined to comment, and instead deferred to one of the lawyers who represented it in the case, Patrick Nugent, who told Postmedia that the union was disappointed with the ruling.
“Even where an illegal strike has happened, there’s no automatic dues suspension that follows. It’s discretionary and the board has previously refused to impose one, even where it’s found that there has been an illegal strike.”
He added that money that would otherwise have been remitted to the union by AHS would now go directly to employees.
“It’s almost perverse that the employees that engaged in the illegal strike get a dues holiday for a month.”
Nugent said AUPE was considering whether it would appeal the decision.
In a statement, AHS said it was pleased with the panel’s ruling.
“The decision reinforces the importance of the health and safety of our patients and the need for all parties to abide by the provisions of our collective agreements and the Alberta Labour Relations Code.”
The tribunal encouraged the two sides to put the dispute behind them and seek to improve relations.
“The parties’ bargaining relationship is ultimately in their hands, and the board urges them to work towards an approach in the future that is more harmonious than divisive, especially given the recent strains brought about by the pandemic.”
An Alberta nurse has had her licence to practice revoked after a professional body found she had sexually abused one of her former patients.
An Alberta nurse has had her licence to practice revoked after a professional body found she had sexually abused one of her former patients.
A tribunal from the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta doled out the penalty in a report confirming allegations Paige Magnusson engaged in a sexual relationship with someone just weeks after treating them at an addiction recovery centre.
"This conduct constitutes some of the most serious misconduct that an LPN [Licensed Practical Nurse] can engage in," reads the November decision from the tribunal.
"Engaging in a sexual relationship with one's patient presents the possibility of significant harm to the patient and undermines the therapeutic relationship."
Magnusson was working at the Thorpe Recovery Centre near Lloydminster, Alta., while the patient was receiving treatment for opioid use disorder for about six weeks in the spring of 2021.
She had completed her nursing training in 2020.
The report says her initials are recorded on his patient file and that she was responsible for administering medications like suboxone. A member of the public complained to the college, alleging that between March and August she instigated a sexual relationship with the individual.
In April of that year, a month after his discharge, the documents say the nurse sent her former patient a Facebook message.
The tribunal says the ensuing communication included sexually explicit messages and photos of Magnusson.
In June, the report says, they shared a hotel room in Edmonton and had intercourse on "multiple occasions."
It also alleges she injected her former patient with an "unknown agent" in preparation for a tattoo appointment that summer.
Magnusson admitted to the allegations during her hearing, the report says.
They were in contact until August of that year, and Magnusson left a voice message for him on the anniversary of his sobriety in December.
Tribunal finds violations of conduct and ethics rules
Professional standards for nurses forbid them from having sexual relationships with patients for a minimum of one year after they last provided medical care for them.
"The hearing tribunal received evidence in which Ms. Magnusson herself stated, 'Pretty sure I should not be reaching out for 1 year to you etc.,'" the decision said.
Violating that timeline is considered sexual abuse by the college. A victim impact statement provided to the tribunal also stated the personal and mental impact the individual felt after the interactions with Magnusson.
The tribunal found her conduct breached rules on patient-nurse relationships, prohibited sexual conduct, sexual relations with former patients and providing nursing services to partners. Magnusson broke at least six different codes of conduct, ethics rules and standards of practice for nurses.
The college told CBC News it does not comment on decisions. The college is responsible for "protecting the public from unethical, unskilled and unsure nursing practice of LPNs under the authority of the Alberta Health Professions Act."
One doctor says people undergoing addictions treatment can be especially vulnerable.
"Because of the stigma, it takes a lot of effort and time for them to open up towards health practitioners," said Monty Ghosh, an addictions treatment specialist and assistant professor at the University of Calgary and University of Alberta.
"We have to really be cautious of how we approach our clients and being aware they might have faced trauma in the past and that whatever we do with the clients could reignite that. And that includes blurring the boundaries between relationships and intimacy."
The tribunal agreed to a joint submission suggesting penalties for Magnusson. Her nursing permit was cancelled and she was ordered to pay 25 per cent of the costs of the investigation and hearing.
The College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta received 148 professional misconduct complaints in 2022. Of those, four centred around sexual abuse or misconduct toward a patient. Magnusson's was the only case of the four that resulted in a licence being cancelled.
A shortage of anesthesiologists is taking a toll on surgery patients in Alberta and sparking concern among physicians.
Doctors in Alberta say a countrywide shortage of anesthesiologists is taking a toll on surgery patients in the province.
According to the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society, Canada has far fewer anesthesiologists for every 100,000 people than other countries, including the United States and Australia.
The organization says that is contributing to surgical delays around the country.
In the central Alberta city of Red Deer, doctors say operating rooms are now regularly shuttered because there aren't any anesthesiologists available.
"Our situation is quite dire," said Dr. Trevor Rudge, who is one of the few left.
"We need 50 per cent more anesthesiologists. We have about half the number we need."
According to Rudge, that means elective surgeries ranging from hysterectomies to hip and knee replacements are being cancelled.
Dr. Trevor Rudge is an anesthesiologist in Red Deer. He says the local hospital has about half the number of anesthesiologists it needs. (Trevor Rudge)
It's a big concern for Dr. Keith Wolstenholme, a Red Deer orthopedic surgeon, who is watching his wait-list grow.
"What it means is less patients getting their surgery in a timely manner," he said.
"Come September, it's two years since we've run full capacity. It's honestly getting a little bit hard to have hope."
Large urban centres also affected, doctors say
Red Deer was hit early — and hard — by the shortage. But larger cities are feeling the pinch now, too, according to doctors.
Dr. Kevin Gregg, an Edmonton anesthesiologist, said COVID-related burnout, an aging workforce and a rocky relationship with the Alberta government are driving physicians away.
"Those people aren't being replaced. I've heard relatively scary numbers about what we're looking at in the fall," said Gregg, who is also the section president for anesthesia with the Alberta Medical Association.
He worries operating room closures could start happening in Edmonton in the coming months.
"You can't create people. It's stressful," said Gregg. "I don't think there's a magic bullet."
Dr. Keith Wolstenholme, a Red Deer orthopedic surgeon, says fewer patients are getting their surgery in a timely manner. (Sam Martin/CBC)
Calgary, while not as hard hit, is also seeing impacts, according to Dr. Craig Pearce, an anesthesiologist at the Peter Lougheed Centre.
"The anesthesia shortage is pervasive. It's all across Canada. It's all across North America," said Pearce.
"We have huge wait-lists and we have empty operating rooms and operating facilities that we could use that we can't."
Recruitment underway, AHS says
Alberta Health Services did not answer questions about operating room closures but said it is working to recruit anesthesiologists around the province.
According to the health authority, 470 anesthesiologists were working for AHS as of July 13, an increase of 20 since the end of March.
In a statement, AHS said it's recruiting for 67 positions, including both permanent and locum positions.
"Some of these positions have already been filled and others are in the offer stage," spokesperson James Wood said in an email.
All this comes at a time when Alberta is trying to reduce its surgical backlog and boost the number of publicly funded procedures performed through contracted private surgical facilities.
AHS said it aims to conduct a total of 310,000 surgeries (in hospitals and chartered facilities) this fiscal year compared with 292,500 last year.
With the increased use of private facilities, Wolstenholme wants to see safeguards in place to protect the hospital system from losing anesthesiologists to these facilities.
"There needs to be some measure to make sure that … the hospital system is still served so that patients, when they come in at their sickest, still have qualified workers to look after them," Wolstenholme said.
AHS said its anesthesiologists and surgeons are sent to private facilities only to do work under publicly funded contracts.
'We have huge wait-lists and we have empty operating rooms,' says Dr. Craig Pearce, an anesthesiologist at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary. (Craig Pearce)
Canada-wide shortage
The Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society has been trying to raise the alarm about the shortage for years.
"I am very concerned about the shortage of anesthesiologists in the country. Despite a near doubling of physician anesthesia providers in the past 20 years, today's demand outstrips our current supply," Dr. Lucie Filteau, the group's president, said in an email.
"Operating room closures (and postponement of surgeries) are happening on a daily basis across the country due to human resource constraints."
Filteau said shortages of other operating room staff and a lack of hospital beds also contribute to the problem.
One key step, according to the group, is the use of anesthesia care teams (ACTs), which have been implemented, to varying degrees, around the country.
Anesthesia care teams
ACTs are designed to allow one anesthesiologist to oversee more than one OR at a time, with the help of specially trained assistants.
A pilot project was launched by AHS last year using this system for cataract surgeries.
"AHS is expanding the anesthesia care team (ACT) model in cases where this model has been shown to be safe, effective and efficient," said Wood, adding the model is now being used for podiatry surgeries in the Calgary zone.
Pearce cautions that expanding the use of ACTs must be done with safety in mind.
"The fact that we are now slowly being diverted and replaced along the way is just further evidence of how severe the situation is," he said.
According to Pearce, there are also efforts to increase anesthesia training spots and to use more family physicians who are specially trained in anesthesia.
I just spent 16 days in Edmonton's Misericordia Hospital. I am very angry about what I went through, and the conditions hospital staff have to work in.
It started with 13 hours in the old emergency. If Danielle Smith, Rachel Notley, or any number of health ministers past and present ever had to experience being hospitalized, maybe they would actually do something to improve conditions.
The Conservatives have been in power for years and have done little to improve our terrible hospital situation. Five years ago, it was proposed that Edmonton would have a new hospital. What's happened since? Smith throws out $300 million for a new hockey arena for the Calgary Flames but leaves our health-care system suffering.
Imagine what improvements $300 million could bring to the Misericordia.
The new Misericordia emergency wing is apparently ready for use but is not open for lack of staffing. Think about how important our hospitals are to our health. It makes you angry.
When we have forest fires, we can find help from all over the world. We need to do the same for our hospitals. Find the doctors, nurses, and staff we need from wherever.
During a summer punctuated by hazy, orange-tinged skies, wildfire smoke is taking a toll on the health of some Calgarians.
During a summer punctuated by bouts of hazy, orange-tinged skies, wildfire smoke is taking a toll on the health of some Calgarians.
Environment and Climate Change Canada's air quality health index shows the risk level had dropped to three, or low, by Tuesday at 11 a.m. The latest special air quality statement, which had been issued Thursday morning, was no longer in effect.
But it's unclear how long the reprieve will last in one of Calgary's smokier summers.
"It has been a pretty historic fire year, across Canada," said Samantha Mauti, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
"Generally, it's been pretty smoky through a lot of Alberta."
According to Mauti, Calgary has already surpassed the number of smoke hours reported for the entire 2022 wildfire season. The city logs smoke hours when the Calgary airport reports a reduction in visibility due to smoke.
As of Monday, Calgary had logged 258 smoke hours. Last year, 123 hours were reported during the entire season, from May to September.
Several other recent years have seen high levels of smoke:
2021 — 426 smoke hours.
2018 — 450 smoke hours.
2017 — 315 smoke hours.
Health Impacts
Dr. Charles Wong, a Calgary ER physician, said he's seen smoke-related complications in people with lung disease in previous summers, but not quite like this.
"I think it's fair to say this year has been significantly worse than I've seen at least in my career," said Wong, who is also the medical director for urgent care centres in the Calgary zone and has worked in emergency medicine in the city for nine years.
"Anecdotally, we are definitely seeing an increased number of visits for pulmonary or lung complications from people who are known to have asthma or COPD, also called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.… These patients are coming in, in higher numbers and with higher severity of illness."
Wong said people with lung disease can get very sick, very quickly.
"For some people, it can be a life-threatening problem."
Older adults, children, pregnant people, those with heart and lung disease and people who work or play sports outside are all at higher risk, according to Alberta Health.
And Wong is concerned about what these unusual smoke levels could mean for everyone in the long run.
"The problem is we don't understand the long-term implications of breathing significant volumes of smoke for hours to days to weeks will be when we get older," he said.
"The increased frequency and longevity and persistence of this problem is worrisome, from my point of view."
According to Wong, vigilance is key.
"I think we've become desensitized over time to these numbers," he said of the air quality health index.
"Speaking for myself and my family, if the number is six or above, we don't go outside. And that definitely entails some uncomfortable decisions and sacrifices."
If you do have to go outdoors when smoke levels are high, Envrionment Canada recommends a well-fitted respirator-style mask.
As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, Environment Canada was forecasting air quality levels to remain low (three) through Wednesday night.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is standing firm in backing its members who are nurses in reaction to a recent request made to the Alberta Labour Relations Board that could change the union that these nurses belong to.
On April 25, 2023, five nurses, known as Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), who work for Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Covenant Health, submitted their request to change their union. If they get their way, it will cause a big shake-up in Alberta’s healthcare system, moving the LPNs from AUPE to another union called the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA).
Susan Slade, who is both an LPN and the Vice-President of AUPE, stressed how important LPNs are in healthcare in Alberta. She warned that if LPNs are forced to change unions, it could make their working conditions worse.
She said, “The recent Labour Board application worries us because, if it’s approved, it would unfairly force LPNs out of AUPE and lead to worse working conditions for these workers, who all deserve better.”
To deal with this situation, the AUPE arranged three phone meetings on July 5 and 6, where AUPE members from all over the province could join in to talk about what this request to the Labour Board could mean for them.
Slade said, “I’m glad to see so many members getting involved, asking questions, and sharing their thoughts on this issue. We knew it was important to talk with our members and share information about this issue.”
AUPE pointed out data showing that LPNs in places with similar bargaining units to Alberta’s tend to get paid more and have more job opportunities.
LPNs who are part of AUPE have seen their wages go up by about 130 per cent over the last 23 years, which is almost 30 per cent more than the wage increases that Registered Nurses (RNs) have had over the same time. The wage difference between LPNs and RNs has shrunk by nearly 25 per cent.
Slade said, “Our main goal is to build our combined strength so that we can go into the next round of bargaining with strong demands that AHS and Covenant Health have to take seriously. LPNs in Alberta deserve more, and that’s what we’re fighting for.”
AUPE is the biggest union in western Canada, with over 95,000 members. Twothirds of these members work in healthcare, and about 11,000 of them are LPNs.
Alberta Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange has been told by the premier to ensure residents get improved access to world-class healthcare.
That includes adding more obstetrics doctors in Lethbridge and other communities in need such as Fort McMurray.
In a letter to her minister, Danielle Smith outlined a wide range of expectations "that Alberta fosters an environment within AHS and the entire health community that welcomes innovation and incentivizes the best patient care within the pillars of the Canada Health Act so that no Albertan will ever have to pay out-of-pocket to see their doctor or receive a needed medical treatment."
Contents of the letter were contained in a media release Tuesday.
"I am thrilled to see the province making Lethbridge obstetrical care a priority, as I'm sure are the many expectant women and families in our city. The additional investment of $10-million into a provincial midwifery strategy is also welcomed news," said mayor Blaine Hyggen in a statement.
"I look forward to continuing to advocate for the needs of residents in our city with the provincial government, and thank Premier Smith and Minister LaGrange for this positive step in improving health care in our community," added Hyggen.
The premier also wants LaGrange to resolve what she calls "the unacceptable lab services delay challenge so that lab service access is timely across all areas of the province" and to continue improving EMS response times, cut emergency room wait times and decrease surgical backlogs.
LaGrange is also being tasked with continuing to implement recommendations from the Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee and the PricewaterhouseCoopers EMS Dispatch review to ensure EMS dispatch "is being conducted in a way that provides the highest levels of service to Albertans in every part of the province, with special consideration for addressing local resources, challenges and concerns."
The letter addresses numerous healthcare concerns including rural access to health professionals. It asks the Health Minister to work with municipalities, doctors, post-secondary institutions and health providers to attract and retain health workers in rural communities.
The premier wants health-care staffing challenges, particularly in rural parts of the province, addressed by LaGrange taking several steps which include improving health workforce planning, evaluating retention policies, leveraging the scope of allied health professionals.
And she wants LaGrange to work with the Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism to streamline immigration and certification processes.
In the letter the premier calls upon LaGrange to invest $6 million to add five more conditions to the Alberta Newborn Screning Program.
The Health Minister is also being called up on to invest about $10 million to develop and implement a provide-wide midwifery strategy and provide a one-time $10 million investment to support womenfocused research, advocacy and care.
And the premier wants LaGrange to work with the Ministry of Technology and Innovation to "explore the feasibility of creating an Alberta health spending account to support improved health outcomes for Albertans."
LaGrange, in a statement, is quoted as saying "health care touches the lives of every Albertan. I look forward to working with our partners in health care delivery towards new and innovative solutions to address the commitments in my mandate letter. I truly believe by working together with our healthcare professionals to find solutions, we can ensure Alberta will have the best health care system in the country and indeed the world."
Friends of Medicare, in its own release, said the letter prioritizes "ideological pet projects" such as the spending accounts.
Executive director Chris Gallaway says the UCP "urgently needs to reverse course on their privatization agenda, because the fact of the matter is that their privatization schemes are only costing us more while worsening Alberta's urgent health care short staffing situation."
He added "a health spending account is nothing but a costly gimmick that doesn't solve any of the issues facing our public health care system when it's very clearly struggling."
"This government is wasting precious time and resources on a project that will benefit no one but the most privileged among us - time and resources we should be devoting to implement the solutions we urgently need to fix our staffing crisis and improve universal health care for all," he said.
"We are in an urgent situation that requires urgent action to deal with the widespread short-staffing, worker burnout, and closures impacting our entire public health care system."
