Don Braid: Doctors say Alberta health system is collapsing, as UCP faces big pay demands from public sector

Alberta doctors have scary arguments to back their demands for quick action on health care. The latest is the case of a man who died while waiting in an emergency room.

Another would-be patient, waiting nearby, reported the person was “unresponsive.” He proved to be beyond help.

This was reported by Dr. Paul Parks, former president of the Alberta Medical Association, and Dr. Shelley Duggan, who replaces him.

Doctors attended a “representative forum” in Calgary on the weekend. They spoke for every corner of our complex health system.

At a news conference Monday, Parks said, “The physicians that I talked to, of the 155 at the forum, all said they are aware of patients having very bad outcomes and patients dying because of the worsening health-care system.”

The government accuses him of hyperbole but Parks no longer cares. “I’m not going to mince my words anymore,” he said.

Ex-presidents of the AMA usually fade into the background. These two have agreed to work together as a vocal team.

Parks is an ER doctor in Medicine Hat. Duggan is a critical-care specialist working in Edmonton ICUs. They see the system at its most urgent points.

Parks said — and this is really shocking — patients are often sent home from the ICU as soon as they’re stabilized because wards are too full for the usual post-ICU care. That’s new and a sign “the system is just collapsing.”

Duggan spoke of her own fears.

“I will tell you that I have never seen in all my years our acute-care system in the state that it is today. It’s worse than things were at the height of the pandemic and it’s going down, and I’m in fear for what’s going to happen as respiratory virus season hits us.

“We are deeply, sincerely afraid that the health-care system in Alberta is ready to collapse past the point of repair anytime soon, and because we must advocate for our patients our patience has come to an end.”

That’s the AMA catchphrase — losing patience on behalf of patients — but they don’t need to be clever about this. The facts are devastating enough.

The AMA surveyed family doctors recently and found that only 13 per cent are taking new patients.

Fifty-eight per cent of family physicians are considering leaving their practices, including 15 per cent in the remainder of this year and 2025.

The old system of paying doctors for each visit with a patient simply doesn’t work any longer.

And there’s the flashpoint. For many months, the UCP has agreed that a new physician comprehensive care model is ready to roll out. In fact, it’s supposed to be implemented by the end of this month.

Everybody, including the government, agrees this is essential to stop the rapid decline in size and numbers of family practices.

But the UCP keeps delaying implementation. Duggan now fears that the new system won’t happen in this budget year.

On Monday, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange’s office said in a statement: “Our government will continue to work with the AMA to finalize the key details of this model as soon as possible.

“Alberta’s government has committed an additional $257 million to stabilize the delivery of primary care, with $157 million allocated for this year alone.”

The statement also says the UCP has asked physicians “to work with us to identify opportunities to stabilize these growing expenditures.”

The pay pressure on government is building.

In Ontario, an arbitrator has awarded doctors a 10 per cent one-year funding increase. The United Nurses of Alberta demanded a 25 per cent single-year increase at the beginning of negotiations.

The nurses are now in “informal mediation” with the government. UNA president Heather Smith hints darkly of job action if there’s no resolution.

The UCP also faces contract talks with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, health science workers and post-secondaries.

The doctors suspect that their deal is stalled because the UCP doesn’t want a public precedent that might raise the demands elsewhere.

“I think they’re worried about the first one to drop,” says David Harrigan, the nurses’ chief negotiator.

Many patients have a lot more than that to worry about; for some, their very lives.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald

X: @DonBraid

This column has been edited to correct the impression that ICU patients are discharged before being stabilized..