Standing outside Red Deer Hospital, David Shepherd, NDP critic for health, demanded answers from the UCP about how they will address what the NDP is calling a "health crisis" in Red Deer and central Alberta. .According to the NDP, on Friday all general surgeries at the Red Deer Regional Hospital were diverted to other locations for an indefinite period of time. .“Red Deer is Alberta’s third largest city and its hospital serves hundreds of thousands in central Alberta," NDP Health critic David Shepherd said. “It must be able to do essential health services including providing surgeries. This is a complete failure of leadership from the UCP government and the two UCP MLAs who represent Red Deer.".The diversion of surgeries follows an incident of 14 ambulances being forced to wait outside Red Deer Hospital because there was no capacity in the Emergency Department, leaving care to be provided in the parking lot. This includes having to move seven surgeries..“I'm going to put this into perspective: roughly 250 surgeries per week are performed in Red Deer; we had to move seven (patients),” Health Minister Jason Copping told the legislature during question period on Monday..The Red Deer Regional Hospital is currently facing added pressure with bed closures and space reductions in hospitals in Hanna, Drumheller, Three Hills, Sundre, Rocky Mountain House and Rimbey..“Enough is enough. The people of Red Deer deserve better than this. Parking lot medicine and telling surgery patients to take the highway is unacceptable. The UCP has to tell us today what the plan is to restore stability in healthcare in Red Deer and central Alberta,” said Shepherd. .The NDP said UCP MLAs are more concerned about their internal conflicts and fending off nomination challenges than with providing Albertans the care they deserve.."The only times that Jason Kenney stops by Red Deer now is if it is a stop for his leadership vote," Shepherd said. “The people of Red Deer deserve representatives and a government which will value their healthcare. Alberta’s NDP will hold the UCP to account on their health failures. And rather than dismantle public healthcare and throw it into further chaos, an NDP government would restore stability and support the expansion of public healthcare.”.Arthur Green is a Western Standard contributor.agreen@westernstandard.news.Follow on Twitter @artcgreen
