The Alberta NDP is calling out UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith for recent comments made during a Facebook Live about housing long term care patients in hotels and motels..During the August 12 interview, Smith responded to a question about hospital capacity by claiming a large percentage of hospital beds were filled with people awaiting long term care placement.. Danielle Smith interviewDanielle Smith interview .According to the NDP, Smith then suggested in the video patients could be placed in a "hotel or motel.". “It's something like 60% of the beds are filled with people who are awaiting long term placement and I have to figure there’s got to be a more comfortable place for them to go. I was thinking maybe a hotel would be a better environment," Smith said.."Smith continued her answer by stating that there is excess capacity in some continuing-care facilities which could also be used by seniors in hospital beds," CTV News reported..“It is shocking to hear someone campaigning to be the next premier openly muse about forcing ailing seniors to live in hotels while waiting for more suitable spaces in long-term care facilities," said Alberta NDP Health Critic David Shepherd..“It does fit a troubling pattern of horrible health care developments that have occurred under the UCP. Parking lot medicine in Red Deer with ambulances lined up outside a hospital. Edmonton Hospitals that were forced to resort to treating patients in hallways because of a lack of staff and rooms, and now Danielle Smith’s Motel Medicine," Shepherd said..According to the Alberta NDP, "Danielle Smith and every single UCP leadership candidate needs to publicly commit to never resorting to hotel or motel medicine.”."Long term care beds require a registered nurse to be on hand 24-hours a day. These beds require equipment and supplies that could be needed to assist someone with significant medical challenges," the Alberta NDP stated..“It is insulting to patients, their families and healthcare workers to have the potential next premier of this province think a long term care room is interchangeable with a motel room," said Lori Sigurdson, Alberta NDP seniors critic..“Albertans are looking for real action to ensure parking lot and hallway medicine never happen again, something that neither the current nor future premier seem interested in. This reinforces that when it comes to public healthcare, the UCP cannot be trusted.".The Western Standard reached out to Smith's campaign for comment. A reply was not received by press time.
