Alberta NDP unveils health care plan, pledges shorter wait times and family doctor access

EDMONTON — The Alberta NDP has unveiled the first details of its proposed health care plan, promising to reduce wait times, expand access to primary care and overhaul how the province's public health system is managed.The party released its “Future of Health Care” plan Thursday, following two years of consultations led by Calgary-Varsity MLA Luanne Metz, a neurologist and chair of the project.The NDP says that, if elected, it would deliver its health care commitments within three years.Among the party's promises are shorter emergency department wait times, an ambulance response when Albertans call 911 and a 30% reduction in surgical, diagnostic and specialist wait times.The plan also calls for every Albertan to have access to a family doctor or primary care provider and for the province to establish one Ministry of Health..NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi blamed the UCP government for what he described as a deterioration of Alberta's health care system over the past seven years.“We don’t need to tell Albertans that over the last seven years, the UCP government has broken health care,” said Nenshi. “They see it and experience it every day when they try to see a doctor, go to the emergency room, call an ambulance, or try to get surgery.”Nenshi said the NDP's goal is to maintain a publicly delivered health care system capable of providing timely care across the province.“The Alberta NDP believes in a future where every Albertan can get the public care they need, when they need it,” he said..The party says its plan would focus on rebuilding trust in the health system, strengthening Alberta's health care workforce and integrating services across the province.The NDP says this would include greater transparency and accountability, upholding the Canada Health Act and launching a public inquiry into what the party calls “CorruptCare.”The plan also promises to recruit, train and retain more health care professionals while ending what the NDP describes as the UCP government's “destructive privatization agenda.”Metz said the proposed changes will take time after years of what she characterized as cuts and fragmentation within Alberta's health system.“Delivering on these commitments will not happen overnight,” Metz said. “Years of UCP cuts, chaos, confusion, and cruelty have left Alberta's health care system more fragmented, less accountable, and harder to access.”The party says additional policy commitments will be unveiled in the coming months as part of the Future of Health Care plan.

Alberta NDP unveils health care plan, pledges shorter wait times and family doctor access

Related Stories

Alberta NDP Calgary-Shaw candidate says residents deserve a representative who will fight for them

MARRIOTT: Option 2 is Alberta’s only real leverage — and the Establishment is terrified

Alberta NDP call on Smith to fire cabinet minister over new identification card program

UCP maintains lead over NDP in Alberta as Smith tops Nenshi for preferred premier