Alberta promises record funding for doctors as front line physicians question impact

Kathy Le has the details after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a historic investment which aims to give a boost to the province’s health care system.

CALGARY -- Alberta’s government is promising a record investment in physicians in its upcoming budget, a move that comes as the province’s health-care system continues to face significant strain.

If passed, the budget to be tabled this week would allocate $7.7 billion for doctors next year, a 22 per cent increase compared to the previous budget. Of that, $7.3 billion would go toward physician services, with the remainder earmarked for recruitment and training.

Premier Danielle Smith said the funding reflects rapid population growth.

“Our population grew by almost 600,000 in the last five years alone,” she said in a press conference in Edmonton.

“We’ve been increasing the number of doctors to keep up. At the end of last year, the number of physicians registered in the province was a record high.”

There are more than 13,000 physicians registered in Alberta. However, health-care critics say that figure does not necessarily reflect how many are actively practicing or where shortages persist.

“I looked at their patient finder tool they launched last week. You look at Lethbridge or Beaumont or Leduc or Devon or other communities, there’s still zero doctors taking patients in those communities,” said Chris Gallaway, Friends of Medicare executive director.

Long wait times and poor outcomes

On the front lines, some emergency room doctors say patients continue to face long waits and poor outcomes.

“Patients are still suffering and having very bad outcomes, waiting in our waiting rooms, in our hallways, in our hospitals,” said Dr. Paul Parks, an emergency physician.

Dr. Raj Sherman, also an emergency room doctor, said the government’s plan lacks key details.

“It doesn’t address those issues of demoralized staff and patient flow issues,” Sherman said.

“My question is where is the money going to come from and where’s it going to go?”

The funding announcement follows calls from physicians to declare a health-care crisis last month after the death of a 44-year-old man who waited eight hours in an Edmonton emergency room in late December.

The province has since promised to hire a triage doctor by Feb. 1, but that position has yet to be filled.

“I really worry that this is just a song and dance with government just announcing old numbers that aren’t going to have any impact,” Parks said.

The provincial budget is set to be tabled Thursday.