Premier Jason Kenney announced on Wednesday that expanding contracts with chartered surgical facilities in central and southern Alberta will reduce wait times and deliver about 2,600 more surgeries closer to home..According to Kenney, as part of the Alberta Surgical Initiative, Alberta Health Services (AHS) aims to schedule an additional 1,350 surgeries in the central zone and about 1,250 more procedures in the south zone, ranging from hip and knee to general surgeries, by inviting chartered surgical facilities to submit proposals..“Albertans are waiting too long for hip and knee replacements and other types of surgeries. That’s why we are moving forward with our plan to deliver more surgeries for Albertans closer to their home and within the clinically appropriate period," Kenney said.."Alberta’s government remains committed to expanding health-care system capacity and making sure Albertans get much better value for their health-care dollars.”.According to the premier, these procedures are expected to boost publicly funded surgeries in central zone communities such as Red Deer and in communities in the south zone like Lethbridge and Medicine Hat by 5%..Kenney said the government's decision to move more orthopedic and other general surgeries into chartered surgical facilities also frees up operating room space in hospitals to provide more complex surgeries..“Adding more surgery capacity in central Alberta and communities south of Calgary means more Albertans can get their hip and knee replacements and other types of surgeries sooner and live a better life with less pain and limitations," Minister of Health Jason Copping said.."We are funding more surgeries at chartered surgical facilities and hospitals to fulfil our promise to bring down wait times to the waiting period recommended by medical experts.”.According to the Alberta government, Alberta Health and AHS have been increasing surgical capacity in hospitals and the number of surgeries at chartered surgical facilities as part of the Alberta Surgical Initiative.."Main operating room surgical suite hours have been increased at hospitals, which is steadily reducing the surgical wait-list," the UCP government stated.."Budget 2022 provides $133 million over three years to expand and build new operating rooms in hospitals across the province, including in Calgary, Edmonton, Edson, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Rocky Mountain House.".The surgical wait-list currently sits at 8% above pre-pandemic levels. The surgical wait-list for adults is about 73,750, compared with about 68,000 in February 2020, before the pandemic..Through requests for proposals issued last year for chartered surgical facilities in Calgary and Edmonton, the Alberta government said AHS is targeting about 30,000 ophthalmology surgeries in these facilities this fiscal year. In addition, AHS is targeting about 6,000 orthopedic surgeries in chartered surgical facilities per year, and contracts are being finalized..Chartered surgical facilities have been offering publicly funded surgeries to Albertans since the 1990s. Prior to launching the Alberta Surgical Initiative in 2019, about 39,000 procedures were performed at chartered surgical facilities which accounted for 13% of surgeries in Alberta..In 2021-22, about 55,000 surgeries were performed in these facilities, or 20% of surgeries..The NDP responded to the announcement by Kenney..“Albertans can not trust the UCP with their healthcare," NDP leader Rachel Notley said..“Right now, dozens of hospitals are partially closed across the province. We’ve seen 14-hour waits at the Red Deer emergency room and patients sprawled out on the floor of the Misericordia waiting rooms because there is no doctor to see them. There are also serious shortages in our ambulance system and doctors’ offices.".“The UCP’s mismanagement of healthcare led to this crisis. Privatizing health care will make the situation worse by taking scarce resources and staff away from our struggling public system," Notley said.
