MLA Neudorf & Health Minister discuss new “goal for healthcare” in Alberta

LNN reached out to the Ministry of Health for further details.

In a statement provided to us by Minister Tyler Shandro, he says they are working on a “range of changes in health care” to serve people better, “especially in places like Lethbridge where there are more seniors than the provincial average”.

He adds that there are several pillars to their approach.

One is to “add capacity faster” through the Affordable Supporting Living Initiative (ASLI). The ASLI is a government-funded capital grant program that gives out money to develop long-term care and affordable supportive living spaces in the province.

Among the groups that were eligible for funding in the last intake included non-profit organizations, Metis settlements, housing management bodies, local housing authorities, faith-based organizations, community groups, municipalities, and private-sector organizations.

A key commitment from the government, led by the United Conservative Party (UCP), is to reduce wait times for surgeries.

Although an exact dollar figure was not provided, the Ministry of Health said in a December news release that they are aiming to provide up to 80,000 more publicly-funded surgeries over the next four years.

“We promised we would reduce surgical wait times, and we’re delivering on that promise. This ambitious plan will mean Alberta will have the best wait-time performance in Canada,” said Shandro. “Our plan puts the needs of patients before ideology, relying on private and public partners to achieve fundamental system improvements.”

A report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information found that, in 2018, only 49% of cataract surgeries in Alberta were done within the benchmark time that was set for that type of procedure. The same was true for 66% of knee replacements, 70% of hip replacements, and 94% of hip fractures.

The final pillar is renegotiating a collective agreement with the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) that “will control costs and support doctors in serving our aging population.”

The AMA issued a statement on January 24th, claiming that Alberta Health Services (AHS) plans to eliminate some of the stipends that are currently paid to physicians across the province.

Although “significant uncertainty remains”, the group alleges that AHS intends to “discontinue 63 programs in which payments are made to physicians.”

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Health did not comment on the extent to which privatization might play in the new model for healthcare, nor if the plan includes layoffs or budget cuts.

Either way, unionized workers in Lethbridge expressed their disapproval of the proposed changes last week as hundreds protested outside of Chinook Regional Hospital.

Finance Minister Travis Toews announced in his first budget last October that they are looking to reduce the overall size of the public sector by 7.7%, which will mainly happen through attrition.

He later commented that the province will ask arbitrators to impose a two percent wage cut for collective bargaining agreements being negotiated between the government and its affiliated unions.

Margie Emes, President of the United Nurses of Alberta Local 120, said at the protest that healthcare appears to be heavily targeted by the UCP’s changes.

“We feel that less nurses is going to impact care and it will not improve access and it will not improve the efficiency of our services. They’re looking to propose privatization and further that in our existing system. That just means that those who are the most marginalized will suffer.”

The Government of Alberta is expected to release its second budget in the spring of 2020, at which time, clearer details on many of these initiatives could be announced.

by David Opinko

MLA Neudorf & Health Minister discuss new “goal for healthcare” in Alberta

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