Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association President Dr. Mona Gill and neonatologist Dr. Amber Reichert said vulnerable babies are at risk because of the healthcare crisis. Gill and Reichert said the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in Alberta are in crisis. A safe capacity for NICUs is 80% to 85% occupancy to allow for emergencies. “However, the Edmonton units have been frequently working at 95% to 102% capacity (30% of the time in the first three months of 2024); practically, this puts babies at risk,” said Gill and Reichert in a Tuesday letter to Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange and Alberta Health Services (AHS) President and CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos..Because of the healthcare crisis, they said nurses in Edmonton are caring for too many babies at one time and this results in frail, underweight ones being unable to eat on time. Additionally, they pointed out the semi-private layout of most NICUs does not allow parents to stay with their babies. While capacity and workforce are the main drivers for the healthcare crisis, they acknowledged there are other drivers in the neonatal section. Studies have suggested 20 to 30 beds were needed in 2016. Seven years have passed and there have been no bed increases. In 2022 and 2023, briefing notes were submitted to Alberta Health sounding the alarm about beds, staffing, transport teams and pediatrics and neonatology teams. They alleged these briefing notes have been ignored. They said the intent to add six new beds in Edmonton has resulted in net zero new beds. The Sturgeon Community Hospital has six beds open to address the critical need, but because ongoing funding could not be secured, some were closed at other sites when they were facing capacity issues. When it comes to healthcare providers giving overnight coverage in hospitals, they called it “an issue across the zone and we feel that AHS and Covenant Health need to be held accountable for the crisis.” They said the pay and working conditions for clinical assistants is not competitive in comparison with other provinces, work restrictions have been imposed on these providers without consultation and mechanisms to attract and recruit have been a failure. Lack of funding for nurse practitioners is another concern. Temporary band-aid shifts are made for them instead of creating and filling long-term positions. Gill and Reichert concluded by saying these babies “have nowhere else to be cared for and we believe the situation has become so critical that deaths of infants may follow soon.” Without sufficient healthcare teams, they said NICU beds cannot be used and service disruption is likely. “Economically, closing beds would result in huge costs of transferring these babies to other hospitals or even other provinces if enough supports are available,” they said. “We are asking that meaningful attention be paid to the province’s littlest patients.” LaGrange confirmed she received the letter about capacity within NICUs and has asked Alberta Health and AHS to look into this. “I want to reassure families that my department has confirmed there continues to be space within the NICU,” said LaGrange. “And should capacity become limited we will take any action needed to care for these young infants.”.LaGrange said this reaffirms the need to expand capacity within the system, including by building a standalone Stollery Children’s Hospital and building on NICU capacity across Alberta. Her priority is to ensure babies and their families are looked after. The Alberta government said in February Budget 2024 will continue to prioritize the delivery of high-quality, reliable healthcare, with funding for the planning of the Stollery, attracting family physicians to rural areas and adding more mental health and addiction facilities. READ MORE: ALBERTA BUDGET 2024: Increased spending aims at improving the healthcare system“In Budget 2024, Alberta’s government is continuing to prioritize the delivery of high-quality, reliable health services across the province,” said LaGrange. “This year’s record investment of $26.2 billion in healthcare will help us continue toward our goals of improving primary healthcare, adding capacity, reducing wait times, growing the workforce and advancing the Healthcare Action Plan.”
Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association President Dr. Mona Gill and neonatologist Dr. Amber Reichert said vulnerable babies are at risk because of the healthcare crisis. Gill and Reichert said the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in Alberta are in crisis. A safe capacity for NICUs is 80% to 85% occupancy to allow for emergencies. “However, the Edmonton units have been frequently working at 95% to 102% capacity (30% of the time in the first three months of 2024); practically, this puts babies at risk,” said Gill and Reichert in a Tuesday letter to Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange and Alberta Health Services (AHS) President and CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos..Because of the healthcare crisis, they said nurses in Edmonton are caring for too many babies at one time and this results in frail, underweight ones being unable to eat on time. Additionally, they pointed out the semi-private layout of most NICUs does not allow parents to stay with their babies. While capacity and workforce are the main drivers for the healthcare crisis, they acknowledged there are other drivers in the neonatal section. Studies have suggested 20 to 30 beds were needed in 2016. Seven years have passed and there have been no bed increases. In 2022 and 2023, briefing notes were submitted to Alberta Health sounding the alarm about beds, staffing, transport teams and pediatrics and neonatology teams. They alleged these briefing notes have been ignored. They said the intent to add six new beds in Edmonton has resulted in net zero new beds. The Sturgeon Community Hospital has six beds open to address the critical need, but because ongoing funding could not be secured, some were closed at other sites when they were facing capacity issues. When it comes to healthcare providers giving overnight coverage in hospitals, they called it “an issue across the zone and we feel that AHS and Covenant Health need to be held accountable for the crisis.” They said the pay and working conditions for clinical assistants is not competitive in comparison with other provinces, work restrictions have been imposed on these providers without consultation and mechanisms to attract and recruit have been a failure. Lack of funding for nurse practitioners is another concern. Temporary band-aid shifts are made for them instead of creating and filling long-term positions. Gill and Reichert concluded by saying these babies “have nowhere else to be cared for and we believe the situation has become so critical that deaths of infants may follow soon.” Without sufficient healthcare teams, they said NICU beds cannot be used and service disruption is likely. “Economically, closing beds would result in huge costs of transferring these babies to other hospitals or even other provinces if enough supports are available,” they said. “We are asking that meaningful attention be paid to the province’s littlest patients.” LaGrange confirmed she received the letter about capacity within NICUs and has asked Alberta Health and AHS to look into this. “I want to reassure families that my department has confirmed there continues to be space within the NICU,” said LaGrange. “And should capacity become limited we will take any action needed to care for these young infants.”.LaGrange said this reaffirms the need to expand capacity within the system, including by building a standalone Stollery Children’s Hospital and building on NICU capacity across Alberta. Her priority is to ensure babies and their families are looked after. The Alberta government said in February Budget 2024 will continue to prioritize the delivery of high-quality, reliable healthcare, with funding for the planning of the Stollery, attracting family physicians to rural areas and adding more mental health and addiction facilities. READ MORE: ALBERTA BUDGET 2024: Increased spending aims at improving the healthcare system“In Budget 2024, Alberta’s government is continuing to prioritize the delivery of high-quality, reliable health services across the province,” said LaGrange. “This year’s record investment of $26.2 billion in healthcare will help us continue toward our goals of improving primary healthcare, adding capacity, reducing wait times, growing the workforce and advancing the Healthcare Action Plan.”
