Province provides health care engagement update
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Province of Alberta announced, March 21, an update on its progress for a refocused health care system through engagement with persons across the province.
Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange explained more than 2,500 people have participated in in-person engagement sessions to date, with an additional 18,000 people having provided feedback through online tools. Another 10,000 people are reported to have participated in virtual town halls.
The announcement from the province also included a commitment to host 22 more in-person public engagement sessions.
“Our goal is to build a stronger health care system informed by Albertans with real stories and real experiences. These engagement sessions have highlighted the importance of ensuring the new health care system is informed by front-line health care experts, as they have the most knowledge of the current system and the challenges and gaps that exist,” said LaGrange. “With Albertans’ help, we will build a refocused health care system that better supports the well-being of front-line workers and prioritizes the needs of patients.”
The province notes the engagement sessions are opportunities for residents to share their perspectives on how to address health care challenges faced in their communities.
Don Sharpe, a 40-year veteran paramedic registered in Alberta, expressed concerns regarding Alberta Health Services’ practices regarding the use of rural ambulances, and a lack of contracts to third party sources which would provide more vehicles to aid existing fleets.
“(AHS have) now filled this Request for Proposal (RFP) that they announced a year ago, and they have hired Medavie West … Medavie is a good company ¬– they have good staff, they are all registered paramedics, they have great equipment, they have good leadership. The only problem is what AHS has done is half a job,” he said. “They have hired a company who is going to supply ambulances to move non-emergent patients in the urban centres in Calgary and Edmonton, and it is not going to help any of the rural centres.”
In 2023, AHS, through ground interfacility transfers, moved 7,811 non-emergent patients from 11 different facilities in communities surrounding Calgary. A total of 1,090 of these transfers were from Strathmore District Health Services.
These numbers were sourced from a FOIP request of AHS which also inquired about numbers of times third party and alternate transport methods were utilized instead of rural ambulances.
AHS did not release the requested numbers regarding alternate transport methods in the FOIP document.
Ongoing concerns surround instances when rural communities are left without their ambulances, as those vehicles are either transporting patients to facilities in other municipalities, or are not being recalled due to responding to emergent calls outside of their native regions.
“Every time you roll the dice and use an emergency ambulance to move a non-urgent patient, you risk the lives of people in your community,” said Sharpe.
Another grievance with AHS in the realm of paramedic providers regards the previous contract with Aaron Paramedical, which was cancelled Feb. 1, prior to securing a replacement to maintain transfer capacities.
The Province of Alberta is aiming to wrap up engagement sessions by mid-April. According to a release distributed by the province, more opportunities will follow at currently unspecified times to address concerns and provide feedback in regards to the AHS restructuring.