Duckett shovels out jibberish to Albertans

Superboard plans to cut wait times

Skepticism greets CEO's speech due to health budget constraints

By Jodie Sinnema, Edmonton JournalAugust 26, 2009 1:13 PMComments (12)


EDMONTON - Patients who need hospital beds after heading to emergency for care should see their waiting times cut in half in the next three years, says the boss of Alberta's health superboard.
"It can be done, but only if we move quickly and decisively," Stephen Duckett, CEO of Alberta Health Services, told the Rotary Club of Calgary on Tuesday, according to his speaking notes. "We cannot and should not be intimidated by the size of the challenge."
On the same day Premier Ed Stelmach talked about a $6.9-billion projected provincial deficit that critics say will inevitably cut into the health system, Duckett said waiting time targets for emergency visits and surgery will be published in the next few weeks. Current waiting times -- some of which Duckett described as unacceptable --will also be released in a quarterly report.
Alberta's wait-list registry, launched in 2003 to allow patients to compare waiting times between the old health regions for different procedures, such as hip replacements, has been out of commission since earlier this year. The recorded waiting times were inaccurate, a spokesman for Alberta Health and Wellness said.
Patients who have had elective or cancer surgery postponed at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, or those experiencing burgeoning waits for MRIs at the Grey Nuns and Misericordia hospitals, all because of budget restrictions, haven't been able to find out how those waiting times compare.
Last November, Edmonton hospital patients had to wait 22 to 28 hours from the time they walked in to emergency doors to the time they were transferred out of the ER to a proper bed.
Dave Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, questioned how the province will reduce waiting times when the health region already faces an expected $1.1-billion deficit.
"Anything short of a magic act couldn't reduce actual wait times without increasing capacity throughout the acute-care system," Eggen said.
Commenting on Duckett's speech, Eggen said: "I don't know what he has in mind, but let's not pretend you can do it without building your actual capacity."
In his speech, Duckett said nurses will help bring down those waiting times by offering "discharge counselling" to patients after they've been treated by a doctor. They could arrange home-care assistance or a prescription, Duckett said.
Nurses could also help determine if the patient doesn't even need care in emergency, he said.
Waiting times will also be brought down over the winter months by implementing a free vaccination campaign against the H1N1 flu virus, Duckett said.
But he said while there may be a shift in the balance of hospital beds to community-based care--for example, the closure of mental health beds at Alberta Hospital Edmonton in favour of community-based programs-- patients will always come first, he said.
"No hospital spaces will be closed unless and until community-based beds and services are in place. Full stop. Period."
Stelmach echoed Duckett's remarks. He said the decision to abandon plans to renovate two old buildings at Alberta Hospital and replace closed beds with beds in the community reflect what people in the mental-health community want.
"In all honesty, let's start putting the patient first," Stelmach said. "I think many people would sooner live in a community-based (facility) as opposed to being institutionalized."
Eggen said that explanation doesn't work.
"Closing those beds is not a policy innovation, it's a cut," Eggen said. "Mr. Stelmach should refrain from being doctor, pretending his cuts are in the best interest to patients when he's talking about closing beds and putting people into the community."
Eggen said Duckett needs to stand up for public health.
"The temptation is very strong to cut and Mr. Duckett will get instructions to cut from the Alberta government. He needs to be ready for that and he needs to stand firm."
Stelmach wouldn't speculate how the projected deficit could affect upcoming contract negotiations with the nurses'union, but said nurses are a vital part of health delivery.
But Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman questioned how the province could negotiate an hourly fee for doctors who are to be part of the flu pandemic plan. The fee for an overnight shift could be $518 an hour.
"Where is that pot of money where they're able to pull that kind of money from?" Blakeman asked.
"I think what we're going to hear down the road is 'Sorry, we spent so much money on H1N1 that we're going to have to cut even more of your health services, and your deficit is going to be even higher in health care.' "
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