Home / Health / Alberta Hospitals in Crisis: Doctors Demand Emergency Declaration
Alberta Hospitals in Crisis: Doctors Demand Emergency Declaration
9 Jan
Summary
- Physicians urge Alberta government to declare a health emergency due to hospital crisis.
- Patients are dying in waiting rooms as emergency rooms are critically unsafe.
- Government states emergency declaration is misguided and not evidence-based.
Physicians across Alberta are urgently calling for the provincial government to declare a state of emergency amidst a severe crisis in the healthcare system. Doctors report that patients are dying in emergency room waiting areas, and conditions have become critically unsafe due to extreme overcrowding and extended wait times, with some individuals waiting over 72 hours for admission. This plea comes after a recent incident where a man died after an eight-hour wait.
The physicians advocate for centralized authority and rapid mobilization of resources to address the dire situation. They believe a formal declaration would enable expedited funding, emergency staffing, and efficient patient and bed transfers. However, experts note that such a measure offers only a temporary solution and does not resolve the underlying structural issues within the healthcare system, such as insufficient beds or staff.
Alberta's Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services has rejected the call for a state of emergency, asserting that the system is already employing all available resources and that such a declaration would be misguided. The ministry stated that comparisons to the pandemic emergency are unfounded and highlighted ongoing efforts to improve emergency care, including plans for new acute care beds and measures to enhance patient flow in Edmonton hospitals.
