Dr. John Cowell (left), Health Minister Jason Copping (centre), and Premier Danielle Smith (right) announce healthcare reforms for Alberta, November 17, 2022. (Image: Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

Government of Alberta announces healthcare reforms

Nov 17, 2022 | 3:31 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Alberta’s healthcare system is set to undergo some changes.

Premier Danielle Smith and Health Minister Jason Copping announced a series of reforms on Thursday, November 17, 2022.

Smith says the reforms are greatly needed as the provincial health system has been struggling for a long time.

“Patients are waiting too long across our health system, despite the excellent work of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other front-line staff. We need more urgent action to improve access. Albertans want accountability within AHS and they want to know that a world-class health system and level of care is available when they need it,” says Smith.

The four-point healthcare reform strategy includes improving EMS response times, decreasing emergency room wait times, reducing wait times for surgeries, and developing long-term reforms, in addition to the appointment of a new top official at Alberta Health Services (AHS).

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New Leadership at AHS

Dr. John Cowell has been appointed as the new official administrator of AHS.

He will replace the existing AHS board of directors on a temporary basis. Cowell’s main role will be to implement the healthcare reform strategy.

Copping says the new position created for Cowell will be more effective at driving change than the current board.

“The role provides a dedicated full-time focus to issues instead of a part-time strategic board,” says Copping. “Responses can be immediate and dynamic. I’d like to stress that this is a temporary fix to help drive immediate changes and the board will be restored at the appropriate time.”

Cowell has spent more than 30 years as a clinical professor at the University of Calgary department of health services, and has served as the CEO for the Health Quality Council of Alberta and the President and CEO of the Alberta Worker’s Compensation Board.

He says he is pleased to step out of retirement to come into this important role.

“I am ready to get to work on behalf of Albertans, building a better system to support patients needing care. I look forward to working with the AHS team and taking tangible actions to drive much-needed change,” says Cowell.

EMS Response Times

A media release from the Government of Alberta states that Albertans are waiting far too long for ambulances to arrive.

A portion of the government’s media release states, “Albertans’ concerns are not about the quality of care they receive, but the length of time it takes to receive that care.”

Cowell will look to accomplish four main tasks as part of his efforts to reduce response times for emergency medical services:

• Fast-track ambulance service transfers at emergency rooms.
• Use more appropriate modes of transportation for non-emergency inter-facility transfers.
• Allow EMS dispatchers to transfer less-urgent 911 calls to Health Link.
• Empower paramedics to assess whether or not a patient needs to be transferred to an emergency room by ambulance.

Emergency Room Wait Times

Copping says too many Albertans have experienced long wait times for emergency health services.

“Double digit hours of waiting, frankly, is not acceptable,” says Copping.

Initiatives that aim to reduce ER wait times include:

• Hiring more health professionals to assist with on-site patient care and management.
• Transferring more patients from hospital beds into more appropriate care settings such as home care, long-term care, and continuing care facilities.

Surgical Wait Times

The province says more than 68,000 Albertans are currently on wait lists for surgeries.

While Cowell acknowledges that this is a reduction from the 81,000 who were on wait lists at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he says it is important to continue to get that number down.

He has been tasked with reducing surgical wait lists by increasing the number of surgeries at underutilized hospitals, mainly in rural areas, and at chartered surgical facilities.

Long-Term Reforms

The Government of Alberta says the healthcare system needs both short and long-term solutions.

Cowell has been tasked with ensuring that more fundamental changes within the publicly-funded health system are implemented and will be in place for generations to come.

He will work on the following initiatives:

• Restore decision-making to the local level and local health professionals.
• Incentivize regional innovation to provide more medical services.
• Attract substantially more healthcare professionals to Alberta.

Cowell will report to Albertans within his first 90 days as the AHS official administrator on the progress that has been made so far in the AHS reform plan.

The full news conference on the announcements of health care reforms can be found in the video below from the Government of Alberta.

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