A doctor banned from practising in the province says Alberta Health Services only have themselves to blame for the current COVID-19 crisis..Dr. Daniel Nagase, terminated for treating Alberta COVID-19 patients with Ivermectin, made the comments in a chat with Chris Scott, the owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror. Scott has made headlines the past year in his battle with the province over COVID-19 restrictions..Scott sat down with Nagase on Tuesday after the two traveled to an undisclosed rural Alberta location and met with communities to discuss “what they could do if they had problems that AHS was no longer serving their community.”.Nagase, who worked in rural Alberta hospitals for more than half a decade, said he witnessed AHS cutting hospital services and beds year after year. He says over two decades under AHS, there has become a “severe bed shortage.”.“Seeing the escalation of beds cut in rural hospitals, that’s the reason for the bed shortage. Beds are cut. And if you cut enough beds in rural areas, then the patients eventually have to get sent to urban areas,” said Nagase..Nagase and Scott also discussed the issue of AHS interfering with doctors’ rights to treat their patients as they see fit based on their medical judgement and doctor-patient relationship..“Never before in western medical history have doctors been prevented and banned from prescribing a medication for something the medication wasn’t initially created to treat,” said Nagase..“But now, thanks to AHS and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA), you don’t have that choice as a patient.”.Nagase has been banned by AHS from practising in Alberta since treating patients with Ivermectin, an anti-parasite medication used in humans and animals that has not been approved for the treatment of COVID-19..The café owner had a lengthy legal battle with Alberta Heath Services over accusations Scott was in violation of public health orders while operating his café..He was arrested in May and has faced subsequent legal challenges since..Dr. Nagase addressed a Vancouver audience on October 1 for the anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials and shared his experience being relieved of duty in a Rimbey, Alberta hospital in September..The video of his speech quickly went viral in the days following and was shared here on the Western Standard..Officials with AHS disputed Nagase’s claims..“There have been no significant reductions in acute care beds in Alberta,” AHS said in a statement..“In fact, the number of acute care beds in Alberta has increased over the past seven years..“Between March 31, 2014 and March 31, 2021, the number of acute care beds in Alberta increased by 2.4%, from 8,311 to 8,513..“In addition, AHS has never reduced the number of baseline ICU beds in Alberta, either before the pandemic, or during the pandemic..“AHS has a baseline of 173 general adult ICU beds, which are appropriate for patients with COVID-19. During the fourth wave, AHS has added 203 surge ICU beds, bringing the total to 376 general adult ICU spaces.”.That is easily the highest number of general adult ICU beds that we have ever had..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
A doctor banned from practising in the province says Alberta Health Services only have themselves to blame for the current COVID-19 crisis..Dr. Daniel Nagase, terminated for treating Alberta COVID-19 patients with Ivermectin, made the comments in a chat with Chris Scott, the owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror. Scott has made headlines the past year in his battle with the province over COVID-19 restrictions..Scott sat down with Nagase on Tuesday after the two traveled to an undisclosed rural Alberta location and met with communities to discuss “what they could do if they had problems that AHS was no longer serving their community.”.Nagase, who worked in rural Alberta hospitals for more than half a decade, said he witnessed AHS cutting hospital services and beds year after year. He says over two decades under AHS, there has become a “severe bed shortage.”.“Seeing the escalation of beds cut in rural hospitals, that’s the reason for the bed shortage. Beds are cut. And if you cut enough beds in rural areas, then the patients eventually have to get sent to urban areas,” said Nagase..Nagase and Scott also discussed the issue of AHS interfering with doctors’ rights to treat their patients as they see fit based on their medical judgement and doctor-patient relationship..“Never before in western medical history have doctors been prevented and banned from prescribing a medication for something the medication wasn’t initially created to treat,” said Nagase..“But now, thanks to AHS and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA), you don’t have that choice as a patient.”.Nagase has been banned by AHS from practising in Alberta since treating patients with Ivermectin, an anti-parasite medication used in humans and animals that has not been approved for the treatment of COVID-19..The café owner had a lengthy legal battle with Alberta Heath Services over accusations Scott was in violation of public health orders while operating his café..He was arrested in May and has faced subsequent legal challenges since..Dr. Nagase addressed a Vancouver audience on October 1 for the anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials and shared his experience being relieved of duty in a Rimbey, Alberta hospital in September..The video of his speech quickly went viral in the days following and was shared here on the Western Standard..Officials with AHS disputed Nagase’s claims..“There have been no significant reductions in acute care beds in Alberta,” AHS said in a statement..“In fact, the number of acute care beds in Alberta has increased over the past seven years..“Between March 31, 2014 and March 31, 2021, the number of acute care beds in Alberta increased by 2.4%, from 8,311 to 8,513..“In addition, AHS has never reduced the number of baseline ICU beds in Alberta, either before the pandemic, or during the pandemic..“AHS has a baseline of 173 general adult ICU beds, which are appropriate for patients with COVID-19. During the fourth wave, AHS has added 203 surge ICU beds, bringing the total to 376 general adult ICU spaces.”.That is easily the highest number of general adult ICU beds that we have ever had..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
