About 84% of Albertans said wait times in emergency departments are long, according to a poll from the Alberta Medical Association (AMA). .“What patients have told us with this survey bears out what the Section of Emergency Medicine and other physician leaders have been saying: Lack of access to integrated primary care in the community, upstream of the ED, is contributing significantly to patient loads in the ED,” said AMA president Vesta Michelle Warren in a Friday letter. .The poll said 8% of Albertans were unsure if wait times were long. It said 7% of respondents viewed wait times as about right, and 1% said they were short. .The number of patients who believe emergency room wait times are very long has gone up by 16% since 2016. .About 71% of respondents said timeliness in Alberta’s emergency rooms has declined in the last four years. There were 14% who said timeliness has stayed the same, 10% were unsure, and 5% claimed it improved. .The poll said 49% of Albertans think the quality of care in emergency departments has worsened in the last four years. It suggested 32% of Albertans believe it has stayed the same, 12% were unsure, and 5% said it improved. .The AMA said perceptions of quality are correlated to timeliness. People who are most experiencing longer waits at their last trip to an emergency department provided lower ratings. .Positive ratings tended to decline with age and were more common among wealthier people and those with chronic conditions. .While most patients understood how patients were evaluated and cared for in emergency rooms, the AMA said there is a substantial minority who do not. .The poll said about 57% of respondents noted patients are “always seen in order of medical priority, regardless of arrival time.” Meanwhile, 38% believe “patients with critical medical priorities are seen first, then first-come, first-served” and 1% think care is based on arrival time. .Warren said these findings show Alberta needs to expand its healthcare system. .“A strong primary care system reduces the burden on emergency medicine and improves the interaction between primary care and secondary/acute care,” she said. .“Every Albertan deserves a medical home of their own in an integrated health neighborhood.”.Sitting on waiting lists for surgery and medical procedures lost Canadians almost $4.1 billion in income and productivity in 2021, according to a study done by the Fraser Institute in April. .READ MORE: Medical wait times cost Canadian patients almost $4.1 billion in lost wages in 2021.Data suggested an estimated 1.4 million patients waited for medical treatment last year. Each patient lost an estimated average $2,848 because of lost wages and reduced productivity during working hours..“However, while we are constantly reminded of the consequences of COVID-19, less discussed are the consequences of unreasonable waits for surgery which can range from physical pain and psychological distress for some, to permanent disability and death for others,” said Fraser Institute health policy studies director and study co-author Bacchus Barua. .The Alberta government started to allow more procedures in non-hospital surgical facilities to attempt to reduce wait times in 2019. .READ MORE: AHS to allow private facilities to do more surgeries to cut wait times.Former Alberta health minister Tyler Shandro said this move will see 80,000 more publicly-funded surgeries in four years. .“Our plan puts the needs of patients before ideology, relying on private and public partners to achieve fundamental system improvements,” said Shandro. .The poll was conducted by the AMA online with a random sample between June 14 and 24. It has a margin of error of +/- 1.5%, 19 times out of 20.
