As the father of a nurse, I have tremendous respect for the job our front line healthcare workers do on a daily basis. Here in Alberta, our doctors, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and others have a tremendous track record of exemplary performance providing compassionate care. Despite this good work, it is becoming clear that an administrative bureaucracy – as top heavy as it is dense - is hindering our healthcare system.
According to a report published by the Fraser Institute on Oct. 28, Albertans are paying more than ever for healthcare despite record wait times. The report, entitled Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2013, outlines a massive increase in Alberta wait times over 20 years. These wait times continue to grow unabated despite $17 billion in annual health spending. For example, Albertans are currently waiting an astonishing 128 weeks for cornea transplants.
The findings of this report match up with other data recently made public.
Our Official Opposition caucus recently filed a Freedom of Information request, which revealed that emergency room wait times in Red Deer have increased dramatically. In 2005, before the government’s push for centralization, 61 per cent of patients at the Red Deer Hospital were admitted within eight hours. In 2012, just 43 per cent were admitted within eight hours.
So far in 2013 it has sunk even lower, to 39 per cent.
Over the past several years, I have frequently heard concerns expressed by many Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills residents regarding wait times. Clearly, these people are not alone in their concerns. The question is, “What do we do about it?”
The current government’s policy seems to be: Increase spending, Tinker with pilot projects, and ignore the facts as wait times grow ever longer. I, for one, do not see this as a particularly compassionate approach; it ignores the clear and pressing needs of today’s patients.
Our Official Opposition has a proposal to cut wait times and ensure those in need receive the care they rightly deserve. It is called the Wildrose Patient Wait Times Guarantee. Under this plan, if our health system is not able to provide care within the specific period of time set by the Canadian Wait Time Alliance, Alberta Health Insurance will pay to have procedures performed outside of our province.
In the long-term, I believe wait times will continue to grow until the provincial government addresses the root problem: Alberta Health Services’ unelected, unaccountable superboard. Administrative inefficiency is endemic to the sort of centrally controlled, Soviet era healthcare system our PC government has built. However, in the interest of today’s patients, we cannot wait for the government to admit its mistakes and reverse the centralization of healthcare. We must ensure those suffering on long waiting lists receive care as quickly as possible.
Compassion for our fellow citizens demands nothing less.
