Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. (Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation)

By Canadian Press

Alberta NDP raising concern about hospital bed closures throughout province

Jul 13, 2021 | 8:40 AM

EDMONTON, AB – Alberta’s Opposition health critic is sounding the alarm on hospital bed closures in the province during the summer due to staffing shortages.

NDP member of the legislature David Shepherd says he estimates that about 12 communities have been affected and as many as 99 beds have been temporarily closed.

He is urging Health Minister Tyler Shandro to make clear why it is happening and what other communities are at risk of bed closures. Earlier , Shandro said the government was anticipating some staff shortages in the summer because of vacations.

He also said bed closures are not related to contract talks in which the government has proposed a three per cent wage cut for nurses.

Heather Smith, president of the United Nurses of Alberta, says the closures are happening primarily in smaller communities in the north, where hospitals have been short-staffed since before the COVID-19 pandemic. She says bed closures at Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute and the Royal Alexandra Hospital, one of the busiest in the province, are not normal.

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Alberta Health Services was not immediately available for comment when asked to confirm the number of beds closed for the summer.

(The Canadian Press)