Earlier this afternoon, the Premier and her health ministers held a press conference themed 'improving access to health care', where they released what the government is calling an Acute Care Action Plan.
"As I tour the province, I consistency hear from Albertans that access to health care is their top issue. A lack of family doctors, closed emergency rooms, long wait times and so on, that’s what Albertans are talking about,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “So, while it was nice to see the government finally acknowledge that access to health care is the issue Albertans are most concerned about solving, what we heard today was a lot of words and a lot of rhetoric, but not much action for something being called an action plan.”
Today’s press conference included recycled promises for more acute care beds, a small increase in the number of psychiatric beds and a plan to do tens of thousands more surgeries through for-profit surgical centres. The government provided no timelines, budget funding, or answers to how these new beds would be staffed.
“What we heard today contained no action on workforce planning, no clear timelines, no associated funding, and a lack of tangible policy changes beyond doubling down on doing even more privatization of surgeries,” said Gallaway. “It's pretty clear that today's announcement of a so-called action plan was really just cover for the government's real priority, their plan to spend even more of our public health care dollars on private surgical contracts - when what we should be seeing is a plan to finally call a public inquiry into the surgical contracts we have already signed.”
This action plan was released as 26 communities across Alberta are currently experiencing temporary service closures due to clinical personnel shortages, for crucial services such as emergency rooms, obstetrics and acute care beds. It was also timed for the Friday afternoon on the eve of a potential nursing care strike that could be announced as early as Monday.
“What we saw today felt more political in nature than a serious plan for improving acute care. The Premier and multiple of her health ministers stood before the media without any representatives from Acute Care Alberta or other agencies there to answer questions or provide further details,” said Gallaway. “Albertans don’t need more political theatre, we need our government to get serious about a workforce plan for health care."
"A shortage of skilled health care professionals to provide care is the biggest issue Albertans are facing when it comes to access and nothing announced today will help solve that,” concluded Gallaway.
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