Premier Jim Prentice says a 90-day examination of rural health care now underway should help identify areas where improvements can be made.
Central Alberta Wildrose MLAs Kerry Towle and Bruce Rowe counter that the undertaking is little more than a political move and something that is not needed in light of other recently completed reviews.
On Sept. 23, Prentice was in Olds to announce that a multi-stakeholder panel headed by Tory MLA Richard Starke will review the delivery of health care in rural and remote areas.
The panel will initially focus on communities with populations of 1,250 or less, followed by communities with populations between 1,250 and 2,500, and then for communities over 2,500 populations. The panel will report back to the minister of health by year-end.
The panel will focus on a number of specific areas, including access to health care, specialist services, the use of existing facilities, community engagement, recruitment and retention of health personnel, and the link between health services and economic development.
The panel will not hold any public hearings as part of its mandate.
“What we need is action, not another review,” said Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Wildrose MLA Towle, who is her party's human services and seniors critic. “Quite frankly I think this is another media availability about nothing. It is a little bit interesting that the premier now thinks that we need to do another review. In 2010 there was a rural action plan developed and in 2012 it was updated.
“We don't need another review. Albertans have already been through this process. It is pretty clear what Alberta needs and that's more rural physicians, more primary care investment and more resources going to our front-line services and our communities.
“We have not seen any local decision making come down from the premier's office. It is still the premier's office making the decisions. What we are hearing are the optics of local decision making with no real option for local decision making, and that is not a change.”
Asked if she believes the review's findings will eventually be shelved, she said, “I certainly hope not, but what I'm hearing in this panel review is he (Prentice) already said no public hearings. So with no public hearings, you are not going to hear from the public, the very users of the system.”
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Wildrose MLA Rowe echoed Towle's comments.
“One thing that does concern me is it is a very short time frame to fix a very big problem,” said Rowe. “Ninety days is a really tight timeline. If they are not going to have public hearings and public input, what are they going to gain at the end of 90 days to fix what it has taken them 15 years to basically lose control of.”
Both Towle and Rowe attended the premier's Sept. 23 news conference at the Olds Hospital and Care Centre.
In announcing the panel's creation, Premier Prentice said he expects the review to come up with “practical” recommendations to improve rural health care.
“I want to stress that this is not about closing rural hospitals,” said Prentice. “This is about service, this is about people and the quality of service rural Albertans are receiving. It is about ensuring that we have a system that delivers to our front-line workers the assistance that they need, the resources they need to continue to provide top quality service to rural Albertans.
“We need to see practical and tangible solutions that can be implemented without delay and we need to see action to improve the way that rural Albertans are served by our health-care service.
“I've learned that many rural communities face daunting challenges, and particularly when it comes to health care, challenges such as recruiting and retaining health-care professionals and front-line workers, having to travel long distances for care, and the need to coordinate services and facilities amongst neighbouring communities.”
Asked if the panel's findings will be acted upon, he replied, “We are not the kind of people who accumulate studies on shelves.”
Health Minister Stephen Mandel, who was also present in Olds for the Sept. 23 announcement, said he expects the panel to provide specific recommendations to the government.
“We really need to listen, to be throughout Alberta, to listen to their concerns,” said Mandel. “We need to ensure that health care is patient-focused and efficient and effective. We look forward to working with people throughout rural Alberta. We need to listen to these communities.”
Sundre resident Gerald Ingeveld is the chair of the David Thompson Health Advisory Council, as well as the chair of the provincial body of health advisory councils.
“Rural health is an issue that is near and dear to may heart and to the hearts of many Albertans,” said Ingeveld. “I've heard from many Albertans who want to preserve their way of life and also have the ability to take care of their health-care needs of themselves and their families.”
He said he hopes the review will lead to useful recommendations that the government will take to heart.
“This is a great opportunity,” said Ingeveld.
New Democrat health critic David Eggen said the review “shows that the PCs are failing to deliver on health care for Albertans.”
“This government has been in power for 43 years – are they seriously trying to tell us that they don't have a plan to fix the declining quality of health care that people in rural Alberta receive?” said Eggen.
“We don't need another study to tell us that this government's consistent failure to invest wisely in public health care is creating problems for Albertans across the province. Inadequate access to long-term care, not enough family doctors, closures of health-care facilities, and the PCs' broken promise on family care clinics, are all problems created by this government. These issues won't be solved with cynical announcements that are designed to make Prentice look like he's saving the day, while in reality the government continually fails to take action.”
Besides MLA Starke, the panel membership also includes Bonnie Sansregret, a Consort-area resident, Dr. Allan Garbutt, a rural physician from the Crowsnest area, and Shannon Spenceley, the president of the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta.
The panel's recommendations will not be binding on the government.
