Not to worry all you sick, worried and waiting ones — ‘We’ll be right there.’.So promises the Alberta NDP in its campaign slogan..Leader Rachel Notley, astutely tuned in to the fears and frustrations of countless Albertans, is campaigning heavily on fixing health care with “bold reforms” leading up to the May 29 provincial election..‘We’ll be right there’ is going to take time. All Notley needs is “10 years” to get it sorted out..Last fall at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta convention, Notley vowed to restore “stability’ to health care in Alberta. The NDP have been hammering on this message ever since..No, no, don’t even think about the surgical wait times that skyrocketed — despite escalating billions in health care spending when Notley was premier from 2015-19..This time she’s got a plan. For sure, what Notley couldn’t achieve in four years, she can get done in a decade..The plan is full of wishful thinking, but short on specifics on how the promises will be delivered..French King Henry IV wished for a “chicken in every Sunday pot.” To say Notley wishes for a well-staffed health clinic on every corner isn’t all that much of an exaggeration..She wants to make sure one million more Albertans who “need a family doctor, get a family doctor.”.No, the plan doesn’t say where those doctors will come from or offer any ideas on how to lure them to Alberta and keep them. Going by the accepted standard of 70 doctors per 100,000 patients, 700 more doctors would be needed to meet Notley’s one million target..Fret not. That’s unimportant. The NDP’s plan will “transform family medicine” with an “innovative plan” to create Family Health Teams — a host of medical professionals including nurses, therapists, pharmacists, social workers, etc. — to support doctors..“Our commitment to integrated team-based care delivered in Family Health Clinics will mean within 10 years, up to one million more Albertans will have access to a doctor within a day or two as part of family health clinics,” says the NDP website..The NDP promises the plan means “less waiting.”.Like last time? Let’s look at waiting times Albertan’s suffered under the Notley regime..According to Alberta Health Services data, from 2014-18 wait times for heart surgery jumped by 50%, hip replacement and cataract surgery waits both increased by 30%; and knee surgeries by 23%..How long did patients have to wait?.In 2014-15 the wait for coronary artery bypass was 14.9 weeks. By 2017-18 it was 22.2 weeks..In that time frame hip replacement surgery waits increased from 28.7 weeks to 36.7 weeks; cataract surgery waits increased from 29.9 weeks to 38.4 weeks; and knee replacement surgery waits increased from 33 weeks to 40.7 weeks..However, hip fracture and breast cancer wait times were reduced..But in 2018, 49% of Albertans received cataract surgery within the recommended four-month time frame, compared with 70% Canada-wide..Meanwhile, nearly $23 billion was budgeted for health in 2019-20, up from $19.6 billion in 2015. The NDP spent the billions without any significant improvement in health care..Health spending did not suffer during the 2015-16 recession Notley faced..By 2017 Alberta ranked second highest in health care spending at $7,329 per person, compared with the national average of $6,839, according to a Canadian Institute for Health Information report..Then, while campaigning for the 2019 provincial election, Notley promised to spend an extra $90 million a year to reduce the surgery and emergency wait times she didn’t fix with billions..Jason Kenney’s UCP won the 2019 election, partly due to a promise to alleviate surgery wait times and fund surgeries in hospitals..Then the pandemic hit. Alberta, like every other province, made no progress in health care delivery or reform..Although the pandemic can’t be blamed for all of Alberta’s health care woes, its impact cannot be underestimated..Danielle Smith was sworn in as premier last October. That’s not a lot of time to address a hurting health care system..Although some headway was made under the previous UCP regime, Smith hasn’t been wringing her hands wondering what, oh what, to do, then doing nothing..That doesn’t stop the NDP, hot on the campaign trail, from taking swipes at her..Are they justified? You be the judge..As of December 2022, there were 11,407 physicians in Alberta, up from 10,674 in 2018. Still, some urban, rural, and remote areas are undeserved..The UCP identified physician retention and recruitment as a priority. Budget 2023 allotted $158 million towards increasing the number of Alberta’s health care professionals. Another $200 million will be invested in expanding post-secondary health care programs to train more professionals. That includes $72 million to create 3,400 new seats in post-secondary health care programs, and $113 million to add residency training spaces for newly graduated doctors, focusing on rural areas and specialist fields..Budget 2023 increased health care spending to $24.5 billion, up $1 billion over last year..Budget 2023 provides $236.7 million over three years to expand surgical capacity. That includes $120 million in new funding to upgrade and add operating rooms in 15 communities..Efforts to lessen surgery wait time include ramping up surgeries in unused operating rooms, increasing the use of chartered surgical facilities, and streamlining triage and referrals to ensure those who need surgeries most will get them..Meanwhile, surgeries are being completed at an average of 109% of pre-pandemic surgical volumes..The adult surgery wait list as of this month stands at 68,052, compared with 68,000 in February 2020..In the 2022 fiscal year, AHS completed 272,600 surgeries. Another 290,000 surgeries are anticipated for the fiscal year..Hip and knee surgeries have seen a modest improvement. As of January 2023, 49% of hip replacements were completed within the recommended wait time, an 11% improvement. Knee surgery replacement stood at 39%, a 9% improvement..But access to publicly-funded hip and knee replacement surgery will increase by 6,000..As of March 6, there were 20,930 cancer surgeries compared with 18,760 by this time in the 2018-19 fiscal year. Currently, only 63% are completed within recommended wait times..In 2021-22, cancer surgery numbers increased to 22,500 from 20,000, a 12.5% increase over pre-COVID levels..Half the patients needing radiation therapy are now treated within 10 days, and 90% within 34 days, meeting the 28-day benchmark 98% of the time..As of January 2023, 53% of cataract surgeries were completed within the recommended wait time, a 3.5% improvement — and at the lowest level since 2015..There has been a 23% decrease in CT scan wait times, and a 19% decrease in MRI wait times over pre-pandemic levels..“The 2023 budget allocates $105 million over three years for the Rural Health Facilities Revitalization Program,” said Alberta Health spokesman Scott Johnston..“This includes $75 million in additional funding for capital projects in rural Alberta. To date, about $65 million has been committed to 22 projects across the province, including emergency department renovations, upgrades to EMS stations and new dialysis spaces.”.The NDP hollering that health is in crisis isn’t without merit..Many Albertans still face unacceptable wait times even for simple procedures..One reader called to say she waited three hours last week to get simple blood test at the lab in a packed Calgary clinic. She has been on a wait list for a colonoscopy for six years, despite suffering colitis and other serious health issues..But the NDP claims the UCP is doing nothing to fix the broken health system is disingenuous..And extraordinarily hypocritical considering what they didn’t get done with billions while in charge for four long years..But just vote them in one more time and they’ll get it all fixed in a decade..Word is that King Henry IV didn’t manage to get a chicken in every pot.
