Rose makes private push for health care 4 By Dave Dormer ,Calgary Sun
Hospitals in Alberta should be run as private, not-for-profit facilities, members of the Wildrose Alliance decided Saturday during a policy session.
“We think our members, as long as they don’t have to pay out of pocket for medically necessary treatment, they don’t care who owns the facility, that’s what came out today,” said leader Danielle Smith. Under the Wildrose Alliance framework, public funding would follow the patient but allow them to choose where they want to receive treatment.
But the idea didn’t sit well with Friends of Medicare head David Eggen.
“I don’t know why they’re so set on private delivery, we know it’s more expensive, doesn’t achieve better health outcomes and is a lot less transparent.”
Another high-profile policy resolution voted on Saturday saw members call for the abolition of the Human Rights Commission.
Instead, the Human Rights Act would be enforced by the provincial court system.
“The only thing that will change is instead of adjudicating human rights complaints in front of a tribunal of bureaucrats, they’re going to be adjudicated in a court ...” said Airdrie-Chestermere MLA Rob Anderson.
That move was applauded by Sun News Network host Ezra Levant, who spent $100,000 defending himself against a human rights complaint after publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in the now defunct Western Standard magazine.
That complaint was later withdrawn, leaving Levant out of pocket with no recourse.
“The Alberta Human Rights commission is almost 40 years old and not only is it obsolete, it’s become a kind of Frankenstein monster, it’s actually destroying our human rights.”
Dave.Dormer@sunmedia.ca
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Marc-Andre Gagnon
Why Our Prescription Drugs Are Too Expensive and What We Can Do About ItPosted: 06/20/11 07:50 AM ET
The current system for buying prescription drugs in Canada is a hybrid system of multiple public and private drug plans that is totally dysfunctional, for many reasons.
The diversity of drug plans means that Canadians are covered for their drugs according to which province they live, or work, but not necessarily according to their medical needs.
Canadians with inadequate coverage, mostly self-employed or unemployed workers, are often unable to benefit from optimal treatments. More than three million Canadians admitted that they had not filled a prescription in the last year because they could not afford to do so.
Another reason why the system is broken is that Canadians pay way too much for their drugs. Canada is the world's second-most expensive country for detail prices of prescription drugs. Canada also has the fastest rising drug costs among OECD countries: more than 10 per cent per year. Countries with universal pharmacare, like France, United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand, pay less for their drugs, and their costs increase at a much lower rate.
The main reason prescription drugs are so expensive in Canada is because of private insurers. Only in the United States is a greater proportion of prescription drug costs paid for by private insurers. This private coverage is totally inefficient, and the administration fees are much higher for private than for public plans (eight per cent as compared to two per cent).
Insurance companies are normally paid on the basis of a percentage of spending, so they have no incentive to reduce costs. For example, private plans normally do not discriminate among drugs, and gladly agree to reimburse new drugs that are more expensive than existing cheaper and better drugs. According to the independent medical journal Prescrire, of the 104 new drugs introduced in 2009, only three offered a minor therapeutic advance, 95 offered nothing new to improve health outcomes. In addition, the reviewers conclude that 19 of these new drugs should not have been marketed because they posed a potential danger to health. The decision to prescribe a new drug is often the result of drug companies' promotional campaigns and not of evidence-based medicine. Drug companies spend up to $61,000 per physician in order to influence their prescribing habits.
Unlike private insurers, public plans have the ability and obligation to ensure that a patient will get some bang for the buck. British Columbia is the best example of how to go about doing so. In this province, the Therapeutics Initiative, which began as an academic project, pro-actively produces clinical guidelines and encourages a culture of evidence-based medicine among physicians. Because of this, not only do British Columbians have the best therapeutic choices and the best health outcomes in Canada, they also pay on average 8.2 per cent less per capita for their drugs.
Simply by eliminating the waste inherent in private insurance and by improving therapeutic choices, the implementation of universal Pharmacare could save Canadians $2.9 billion per year (around 12 per cent of total costs).
Another major reason why our drugs are so expensive is that we have industrial policies that artificially inflate the prices of brand-name drugs. Canada is always aiming to be the world's fourth-most expensive country for its brand-name drugs as a way to support its pharmaceutical sector.
It is true that the pharmaceutical sector is responsible for around 50,000 jobs (direct and indirect) in Canada and that each job is paid an average of
$80,000 a year. This means that Canadians benefit from around $4 billion in spin-offs from this sector. The problem is that these policies are very costly and inequitable. Since the pharmaceutical industry is located almost entirely in Quebec, Ontario and B.C., it makes no sense for example that Nova Scotians should also pay artificially inflated prices to support this sector.
No government should when the total costs of these industrial policies are higher than total spin-offs that Canadians receive from this sector. By implementing universal Pharmacare and also eliminating these policies, we could save $10.7 billion per year (around 43 per cent of total costs). From an economist's point of view, this is nonsense. There are definitely better ways to invest this money, for example by improving health care and by publicly funding medical research.
Marc-André Gagnon is an assistant professor with the school of public policy and administration, Carleton University. He is also a an expert advisor with EvidenceNetwork.ca, a comprehensive and non-partisan online resource designed to help journalists covering health policy issues in http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/marcandre-gagnon/prescription-drug-costs_b_877024.html
Why Our Prescription Drugs Are Too Expensive and What We Can Do About ItPosted: 06/20/11 07:50 AM ET
The current system for buying prescription drugs in Canada is a hybrid system of multiple public and private drug plans that is totally dysfunctional, for many reasons.
The diversity of drug plans means that Canadians are covered for their drugs according to which province they live, or work, but not necessarily according to their medical needs.
Canadians with inadequate coverage, mostly self-employed or unemployed workers, are often unable to benefit from optimal treatments. More than three million Canadians admitted that they had not filled a prescription in the last year because they could not afford to do so.
Another reason why the system is broken is that Canadians pay way too much for their drugs. Canada is the world's second-most expensive country for detail prices of prescription drugs. Canada also has the fastest rising drug costs among OECD countries: more than 10 per cent per year. Countries with universal pharmacare, like France, United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand, pay less for their drugs, and their costs increase at a much lower rate.
The main reason prescription drugs are so expensive in Canada is because of private insurers. Only in the United States is a greater proportion of prescription drug costs paid for by private insurers. This private coverage is totally inefficient, and the administration fees are much higher for private than for public plans (eight per cent as compared to two per cent).
Insurance companies are normally paid on the basis of a percentage of spending, so they have no incentive to reduce costs. For example, private plans normally do not discriminate among drugs, and gladly agree to reimburse new drugs that are more expensive than existing cheaper and better drugs. According to the independent medical journal Prescrire, of the 104 new drugs introduced in 2009, only three offered a minor therapeutic advance, 95 offered nothing new to improve health outcomes. In addition, the reviewers conclude that 19 of these new drugs should not have been marketed because they posed a potential danger to health. The decision to prescribe a new drug is often the result of drug companies' promotional campaigns and not of evidence-based medicine. Drug companies spend up to $61,000 per physician in order to influence their prescribing habits.
Unlike private insurers, public plans have the ability and obligation to ensure that a patient will get some bang for the buck. British Columbia is the best example of how to go about doing so. In this province, the Therapeutics Initiative, which began as an academic project, pro-actively produces clinical guidelines and encourages a culture of evidence-based medicine among physicians. Because of this, not only do British Columbians have the best therapeutic choices and the best health outcomes in Canada, they also pay on average 8.2 per cent less per capita for their drugs.
Simply by eliminating the waste inherent in private insurance and by improving therapeutic choices, the implementation of universal Pharmacare could save Canadians $2.9 billion per year (around 12 per cent of total costs).
Another major reason why our drugs are so expensive is that we have industrial policies that artificially inflate the prices of brand-name drugs. Canada is always aiming to be the world's fourth-most expensive country for its brand-name drugs as a way to support its pharmaceutical sector.
It is true that the pharmaceutical sector is responsible for around 50,000 jobs (direct and indirect) in Canada and that each job is paid an average of
$80,000 a year. This means that Canadians benefit from around $4 billion in spin-offs from this sector. The problem is that these policies are very costly and inequitable. Since the pharmaceutical industry is located almost entirely in Quebec, Ontario and B.C., it makes no sense for example that Nova Scotians should also pay artificially inflated prices to support this sector.
No government should when the total costs of these industrial policies are higher than total spin-offs that Canadians receive from this sector. By implementing universal Pharmacare and also eliminating these policies, we could save $10.7 billion per year (around 43 per cent of total costs). From an economist's point of view, this is nonsense. There are definitely better ways to invest this money, for example by improving health care and by publicly funding medical research.
Marc-André Gagnon is an assistant professor with the school of public policy and administration, Carleton University. He is also a an expert advisor with EvidenceNetwork.ca, a comprehensive and non-partisan online resource designed to help journalists covering health policy issues in http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/marcandre-gagnon/prescription-drug-costs_b_877024.html
Monday, June 13, 2011
Concerns raised over long-term careBy ERIC PLUMMER Herald-Tribune staff
Posted 3 days ago
Concerns have arisen around changes to seniors care in Grande Prairie with the relocation of residents from the QEII's Mackenzie Place to the new Points West Living complex in the city's west end.
By December, 116 long-term care residents will be transferred from Mackenzie Place to the privately-owned Points West Living facility, as well as the new Grande Prairie Care Centre, set to open at the end of this year.
Since opening in May to serve seniors as well as mental health, dementia and palliative care patients, Points West has taken in 51 residents from Mackenzie Place.
Paula Anderson is a Grande Prairie resident and vice-president of the provincial lobbying group, Friends of Medicare. She said a close friend's husband suffers from dementia, and is among the Mackenzie Place residents who have already been moved.
Anderson spoke of her concerns to media at a Friends of Medicare appearance at the QEII Thursday.
"With patients in this situation, moving them is an upheaval in their lives, and we know that a lot of the people who have been transferred and moved from one facility to another don't do well – it can shorten life expectancy," she said.
"What I'm hearing is that there's a lot of minimum wage people being hired over at Points West. What kind of training do they bring to it compared to trained nursing staff that are very well versed in dementia patients and long-term care patients?"
"We're seeing a disturbing trend across the province of moving patients out of public long-term care facilities and into private centres," added Friends of Medicare director David Eggen of Edmonton.
"In the midst of doing that, we fear that we are losing economic efficiency for our health care."
Mary Dahr works as a technologist in the QEII's microbiology lab, and has seen concern among the Mackenzie Place staff over the transition.
"They're not only concerned for their livelihood, but they're concerned for the patients there," she said. "The families of the patients at Mackenzie Place were told that 90% of the caregivers from Mackenzie Place would be at the new facility, and that in fact is not happening."
But the province's health provider states that the move is an improvement to seniors care in Grande Prairie.
"Alberta Health Services are working to increase choices for seniors and others across the province," said Deb Guerette of AHS communications in Grande Prairie, adding that Points West Living has already taken in 32 local seniors who were previously without long-term care.
"In Grande Prairie, when the two new facilities open, there will be 91 new spaces for supportive living and continuing care residents that we have not had before. It also creates a much more modern and homelike environment for residents."
Guerette admits that Mackenzie Place staff will lose their jobs with the transition, but said that the new facilities will offer opportunity for them.
"Staff have the option of seeking a new position within AHS, or with working with one of the facility partners," she said.
"We have hired qualified staff from Grande Prairie, including staff from Mackenzie Place, and continue to look for more staff including from Mackenzie Place," said Doug Mills, manager of company that runs Points West, Connecting Care. "They are at similar wages and their seniority was recognized."
Friends of Medicare members expressed concern Thursday that the privately-run Points West Living will not uphold the same standards as the hospital's long-term care centre, but Alberta Health is assuring the public that services will not degenerate and that the fees Mackenzie Place resident's families pay will not increase.
"The private partners operate under the same standards and have for some 50 years in Alberta," Guerette said. "Whether the provider is public or voluntary or private they're all required to comply with the same standards."
Posted 3 days ago
Concerns have arisen around changes to seniors care in Grande Prairie with the relocation of residents from the QEII's Mackenzie Place to the new Points West Living complex in the city's west end.
By December, 116 long-term care residents will be transferred from Mackenzie Place to the privately-owned Points West Living facility, as well as the new Grande Prairie Care Centre, set to open at the end of this year.
Since opening in May to serve seniors as well as mental health, dementia and palliative care patients, Points West has taken in 51 residents from Mackenzie Place.
Paula Anderson is a Grande Prairie resident and vice-president of the provincial lobbying group, Friends of Medicare. She said a close friend's husband suffers from dementia, and is among the Mackenzie Place residents who have already been moved.
Anderson spoke of her concerns to media at a Friends of Medicare appearance at the QEII Thursday.
"With patients in this situation, moving them is an upheaval in their lives, and we know that a lot of the people who have been transferred and moved from one facility to another don't do well – it can shorten life expectancy," she said.
"What I'm hearing is that there's a lot of minimum wage people being hired over at Points West. What kind of training do they bring to it compared to trained nursing staff that are very well versed in dementia patients and long-term care patients?"
"We're seeing a disturbing trend across the province of moving patients out of public long-term care facilities and into private centres," added Friends of Medicare director David Eggen of Edmonton.
"In the midst of doing that, we fear that we are losing economic efficiency for our health care."
Mary Dahr works as a technologist in the QEII's microbiology lab, and has seen concern among the Mackenzie Place staff over the transition.
"They're not only concerned for their livelihood, but they're concerned for the patients there," she said. "The families of the patients at Mackenzie Place were told that 90% of the caregivers from Mackenzie Place would be at the new facility, and that in fact is not happening."
But the province's health provider states that the move is an improvement to seniors care in Grande Prairie.
"Alberta Health Services are working to increase choices for seniors and others across the province," said Deb Guerette of AHS communications in Grande Prairie, adding that Points West Living has already taken in 32 local seniors who were previously without long-term care.
"In Grande Prairie, when the two new facilities open, there will be 91 new spaces for supportive living and continuing care residents that we have not had before. It also creates a much more modern and homelike environment for residents."
Guerette admits that Mackenzie Place staff will lose their jobs with the transition, but said that the new facilities will offer opportunity for them.
"Staff have the option of seeking a new position within AHS, or with working with one of the facility partners," she said.
"We have hired qualified staff from Grande Prairie, including staff from Mackenzie Place, and continue to look for more staff including from Mackenzie Place," said Doug Mills, manager of company that runs Points West, Connecting Care. "They are at similar wages and their seniority was recognized."
Friends of Medicare members expressed concern Thursday that the privately-run Points West Living will not uphold the same standards as the hospital's long-term care centre, but Alberta Health is assuring the public that services will not degenerate and that the fees Mackenzie Place resident's families pay will not increase.
"The private partners operate under the same standards and have for some 50 years in Alberta," Guerette said. "Whether the provider is public or voluntary or private they're all required to comply with the same standards."
Friday, June 10, 2011
Don Braid's Column
Well, we sure know who Ed Stelmach doesn't want to follow him as PC leader: former Justice Minister Alison Redford, who called Tuesday for a judicial inquiry into health care.
In a remarkable salvo, the premier tried to cast Redford out of the PC fold into the pit of opposition hell, for daring to disagree with his obdurate refusal to call that inquiry.
"She's taking the same position as Raj Sherman, who's now -I don't know what he is now, an Independent? -and I believe David Eggen who is also an NDP candidate (and) is asking for the same."
So there you are -a Tory who disagrees with Ed is lower than Brian Mason's shoelaces. She's as bad as Doc Sherman -former PC, Independent MLA, and Liberal leadership candidate -who swears he's seen specific cases of VIPs being rushed into wards for preferential medical care.
Eggen, of course, is the executive director of the Friends of Medicare who will run as a New Democrat in Edmonton-Calder, the riding he held for the party from 2004-08.
Far from being offended, Eggen was delighted by the plug from Stelmach; and his analysis of why it happened might be very close to the mark.
"I know Stephen Duckett has touched a nerve with these allegations," Eggen said. "The head of Alberta Health Services came in and realized people were abusing the health system.
"He tried to correct the problem, and now it's coming back to bite the Conservatives. I'd say Ed's squirming for sure."
Duckett alleged that some CEOs of former health regions had "go-to guys" to deal with MLAs requests for, ahem, "waiting list adjustments."
That prompted Redford to revise her earlier view that the study by the Health Quality Council is good enough.
She now feels a full judicial inquiry is essential because "if Albertans can't have confidence in the system at this core level, it's going to be very difficult to improve health care in any other way.
"So let's just call the inquiry. We'll get to the truth and move on. It's just too serious an allegation for a public system."
I asked Redford the question faced Tuesday by many Tory MLAs: Have you ever seen, or engaged in, cases of quick care for the mighty?
"There are none that I'm aware of," Redford said, "but that shouldn't be the test anyway. . . . We've got to get to the bottom of whether or not this is true."
It won't be easy. Nobody's naming names, not even Sherman and Dr. Paul Parks, who also cited specific cases. Dr. John Cowell, head of the Health Quality Council, noted that he didn't get any calls with details Tuesday.
But this VIP influence system, if it existed, is sure to be a closed loop. In every case, the "fix" would include a powerful patron (MLA at least), a VIP patient, and a compliant medical person who greases the gurney.
How likely would any of those people be to talk voluntarily? Not very.
But a public inquiry, unlike the Health Quality Council probe, would have power to compel testimony.
Sherman and Parks could be made to reveal names.
The people they named could be called to the stand -under oath.
Nobody knows those rules better than Redford, the lawyer-justice minister appointed by Stelmach right after winning her first election.
Now he uses his waning influence to paint her as a castaway. Do other leadership candidates have the nerve to join her in the lifeboat?
Don Braid's column appears regularly in the Herald dbraid@CalgaryHerald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
R
In a remarkable salvo, the premier tried to cast Redford out of the PC fold into the pit of opposition hell, for daring to disagree with his obdurate refusal to call that inquiry.
"She's taking the same position as Raj Sherman, who's now -I don't know what he is now, an Independent? -and I believe David Eggen who is also an NDP candidate (and) is asking for the same."
So there you are -a Tory who disagrees with Ed is lower than Brian Mason's shoelaces. She's as bad as Doc Sherman -former PC, Independent MLA, and Liberal leadership candidate -who swears he's seen specific cases of VIPs being rushed into wards for preferential medical care.
Eggen, of course, is the executive director of the Friends of Medicare who will run as a New Democrat in Edmonton-Calder, the riding he held for the party from 2004-08.
Far from being offended, Eggen was delighted by the plug from Stelmach; and his analysis of why it happened might be very close to the mark.
"I know Stephen Duckett has touched a nerve with these allegations," Eggen said. "The head of Alberta Health Services came in and realized people were abusing the health system.
"He tried to correct the problem, and now it's coming back to bite the Conservatives. I'd say Ed's squirming for sure."
Duckett alleged that some CEOs of former health regions had "go-to guys" to deal with MLAs requests for, ahem, "waiting list adjustments."
That prompted Redford to revise her earlier view that the study by the Health Quality Council is good enough.
She now feels a full judicial inquiry is essential because "if Albertans can't have confidence in the system at this core level, it's going to be very difficult to improve health care in any other way.
"So let's just call the inquiry. We'll get to the truth and move on. It's just too serious an allegation for a public system."
I asked Redford the question faced Tuesday by many Tory MLAs: Have you ever seen, or engaged in, cases of quick care for the mighty?
"There are none that I'm aware of," Redford said, "but that shouldn't be the test anyway. . . . We've got to get to the bottom of whether or not this is true."
It won't be easy. Nobody's naming names, not even Sherman and Dr. Paul Parks, who also cited specific cases. Dr. John Cowell, head of the Health Quality Council, noted that he didn't get any calls with details Tuesday.
But this VIP influence system, if it existed, is sure to be a closed loop. In every case, the "fix" would include a powerful patron (MLA at least), a VIP patient, and a compliant medical person who greases the gurney.
How likely would any of those people be to talk voluntarily? Not very.
But a public inquiry, unlike the Health Quality Council probe, would have power to compel testimony.
Sherman and Parks could be made to reveal names.
The people they named could be called to the stand -under oath.
Nobody knows those rules better than Redford, the lawyer-justice minister appointed by Stelmach right after winning her first election.
Now he uses his waning influence to paint her as a castaway. Do other leadership candidates have the nerve to join her in the lifeboat?
Don Braid's column appears regularly in the Herald dbraid@CalgaryHerald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
R
Calgary Herald
Jumping the health queue
Well-connected elites must wait like everyone else
Calgary Herald June 8, 2011
Stephen Duckett says it happens, Gene Zwozdesky denies it, and that's why we need a public inquiry into health care in Alberta.
An open inquiry with legal rules of evidence and protection for witnesses is the only way to get to the bottom of the deepening well of accusations and denials about patients dying on waiting lists, intimidation of doctors by government officials and, now, allegations by Duckett that politicians, their friends and well-connected people got preferential access to healthcare services.
Queue jumping is illegal, according to the lobby group Friends of Medicare, which is calling on police and federal health authorities to investigate.
Duckett, the fired former head of Alberta Health Services, made the accusation at a recent speech in Toronto. Zwozdesky, the health minister, issued the expected denial, calling it an unsubstantiated "he-said-she-said" situation.
But it's not just Duckett alleging that well-connected VIPs got special treatment. Dr. Paul Parks, the current president of the Alberta Medical Association's emergency medicine section, said prompt attention for privileged individuals was a regular occurrence at the emergency department of University Hospital in Edmonton between 2005 and 2008. Although critically ill patients were attended to first, the VIPs "definitely got care before others," Parks said.
Parks said it was also common for senior physicians to come in to attend to those with connections. "It was incredible, but I'd have heads of departments coming to me on weekend evenings saying there was a special patient they were there to see."
The situation was so bad that Duckett issued a memo in June 2009 to AHS vicepresidents that any requests for preferential treatment be brought to his attention.
The memo said it was not uncommon for privileged individuals to get expedited care, including politicians, bureaucrats, philanthropists who had donated to AHS or its foundations, AHS board directors and executives, as well as those who are "prominent in local or provincial society or business."
If politicians, including an unnamed top-ranking Conservative, engaged in queue jumping, it is not acceptable and possibly illegal. Special treatment for politicians is especially rancid. It can only result in a disconnect between the real world and those making public policy. The best incentive to fixing a bad situation is for politicians to be a part of it.
Duckett says he discontinued the practice when he became head of the AHS, the so-called superboard that replaced regional health authorities.
Queue jumping undermines the accessibility provisions of the Canada Health Act. If it did occur, and if it is occurring still, these are serious allegations that are, to quote Friends of Medicare president David Eggen, "simply appalling."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Well-connected elites must wait like everyone else
Calgary Herald June 8, 2011
Stephen Duckett says it happens, Gene Zwozdesky denies it, and that's why we need a public inquiry into health care in Alberta.
An open inquiry with legal rules of evidence and protection for witnesses is the only way to get to the bottom of the deepening well of accusations and denials about patients dying on waiting lists, intimidation of doctors by government officials and, now, allegations by Duckett that politicians, their friends and well-connected people got preferential access to healthcare services.
Queue jumping is illegal, according to the lobby group Friends of Medicare, which is calling on police and federal health authorities to investigate.
Duckett, the fired former head of Alberta Health Services, made the accusation at a recent speech in Toronto. Zwozdesky, the health minister, issued the expected denial, calling it an unsubstantiated "he-said-she-said" situation.
But it's not just Duckett alleging that well-connected VIPs got special treatment. Dr. Paul Parks, the current president of the Alberta Medical Association's emergency medicine section, said prompt attention for privileged individuals was a regular occurrence at the emergency department of University Hospital in Edmonton between 2005 and 2008. Although critically ill patients were attended to first, the VIPs "definitely got care before others," Parks said.
Parks said it was also common for senior physicians to come in to attend to those with connections. "It was incredible, but I'd have heads of departments coming to me on weekend evenings saying there was a special patient they were there to see."
The situation was so bad that Duckett issued a memo in June 2009 to AHS vicepresidents that any requests for preferential treatment be brought to his attention.
The memo said it was not uncommon for privileged individuals to get expedited care, including politicians, bureaucrats, philanthropists who had donated to AHS or its foundations, AHS board directors and executives, as well as those who are "prominent in local or provincial society or business."
If politicians, including an unnamed top-ranking Conservative, engaged in queue jumping, it is not acceptable and possibly illegal. Special treatment for politicians is especially rancid. It can only result in a disconnect between the real world and those making public policy. The best incentive to fixing a bad situation is for politicians to be a part of it.
Duckett says he discontinued the practice when he became head of the AHS, the so-called superboard that replaced regional health authorities.
Queue jumping undermines the accessibility provisions of the Canada Health Act. If it did occur, and if it is occurring still, these are serious allegations that are, to quote Friends of Medicare president David Eggen, "simply appalling."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Edmonton Sun
1ShareThe Mounties want to talk to Stephen Duckett.
They get a letter Wednesday from Brian Mason, leader of the NDP and an Edmonton MLA who pulls no punches.
Mason asks for a police investigation into allegations bigwigs, including politicians, bureaucrats and those prominent in society and business, used their pull to jump the queue to get medical care.
Mason believes queue jumping by an MLA or through an MLA is a breach of public trust and that’s against the Criminal Code. You can get up to five years in the joint.
The RCMP are trying to determine if there are grounds to go further.
Sgt. Patrick Webb says they’ve got to talk to Mason now and “for certain” speak to Duckett, currently a professor at the University of Alberta.
Webb says they need “to go to the person who made the comments in the first place.”
And Webb assures this columnist the cops aren’t taking this matter lightly.
“If there is any basis to the allegations, we’ll take it further,” he says.
“If there isn’t, there may be other avenues.”
Duckett is, of course, the ousted one-time boss of Alberta Health Services.
The man who made us look at cookie eating in a whole new way reveals in a recent speech how he was told “some of my predecessor CEOs had designated go-to guys for discreet waiting list adjustments on request from MLAs, a practice I discontinued.”
Let’s repeat that. MLAs asking known go-to fixers to push them or their pals up medical waiting lists.
Then we see a memo from ‘09 where Duckett tells health care senior execs any requests for “preferential or expedited care” be sent to him. So obviously there were such requests.
An attached page explains what shouldn’t need explaining.
Providing preferential treatment is queue jumping. It “delays or otherwise adversely affects the care of other persons awaiting or requiring care.” It implies individuals aren’t entitled to equal treatment.
It creates a “conflict of interest” and an “ethical dilemma.” No kidding.
A public health care outfit can’t support or defend it.
After that memo, the Calgary Flames scored their H1N1 shots and two people from Alberta Health Services walked the plank for what a Health Quality Council of Alberta report said “was their role in what was perceived as a facilitation of queue jumping by the Calgary Flames.”
But, lo and behold, the health council probe was “not able to learn any of the facts pertaining to the firing.”
Alberta Health Services circled the wagons and no one involved was forced to testify.
Speaking of circling the wagons, the provincial Tories do the usual denials, then shoot the messenger, then, if necessary, do the minimum to get critics off their back.
Forty years in power and you get banana republic-style government. They do what they please.
Of course, if you dare to utter a word of opposition you are cast as a dung disturber.
Alison Redford, the former Tory justice minister and now running for leader of that party, wants a judicial inquiry into the queue jumping charges. It ain’t happening and in his comments Exiting Ed tosses her in with Raj Sherman.
Dr. Raj was the emergency room doc who served as right-hand man to the health minister. He got booted from the Tory fold for making waves and then found himself accused of being a little nuts.
Redford is also lumped in with David Eggen who is an NDP candidate and big-time supporter of medicare. Ed mercifully stops short of calling Eggen a godless socialist.
Oh well. It’s very interesting Duckett’s recent remarks hit many marks on the Tory dartboard.
He says there was “little bureaucratic oversight” of the health regions and Calgary and Edmonton regions were “very politically connected and powerful.”
“End runs to politicians on budget matters were the order of the day.”
Lots of the public’s cash was spent on public relations B.S. as in “spin, the Orwellian game of assuring the population they had the best health system in Canada if not the world.”
In reality, compared to other provinces, Alberta spends more per head on health without providing quicker access or better results. By the way, in the last decade, Duckett confirms performance in emergency departments has tanked.
We also have a government 40 years in the saddle with over-investment in rural areas to keep it that way.
Mason is happy he didn’t get the bum’s rush. He says the thought of some well-connected sort using political muscle to cut in line makes his blood boil.
At times, he has to shake his head.
“This would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.”
rick.bell@sunmedia.ca
They get a letter Wednesday from Brian Mason, leader of the NDP and an Edmonton MLA who pulls no punches.
Mason asks for a police investigation into allegations bigwigs, including politicians, bureaucrats and those prominent in society and business, used their pull to jump the queue to get medical care.
Mason believes queue jumping by an MLA or through an MLA is a breach of public trust and that’s against the Criminal Code. You can get up to five years in the joint.
The RCMP are trying to determine if there are grounds to go further.
Sgt. Patrick Webb says they’ve got to talk to Mason now and “for certain” speak to Duckett, currently a professor at the University of Alberta.
Webb says they need “to go to the person who made the comments in the first place.”
And Webb assures this columnist the cops aren’t taking this matter lightly.
“If there is any basis to the allegations, we’ll take it further,” he says.
“If there isn’t, there may be other avenues.”
Duckett is, of course, the ousted one-time boss of Alberta Health Services.
The man who made us look at cookie eating in a whole new way reveals in a recent speech how he was told “some of my predecessor CEOs had designated go-to guys for discreet waiting list adjustments on request from MLAs, a practice I discontinued.”
Let’s repeat that. MLAs asking known go-to fixers to push them or their pals up medical waiting lists.
Then we see a memo from ‘09 where Duckett tells health care senior execs any requests for “preferential or expedited care” be sent to him. So obviously there were such requests.
An attached page explains what shouldn’t need explaining.
Providing preferential treatment is queue jumping. It “delays or otherwise adversely affects the care of other persons awaiting or requiring care.” It implies individuals aren’t entitled to equal treatment.
It creates a “conflict of interest” and an “ethical dilemma.” No kidding.
A public health care outfit can’t support or defend it.
After that memo, the Calgary Flames scored their H1N1 shots and two people from Alberta Health Services walked the plank for what a Health Quality Council of Alberta report said “was their role in what was perceived as a facilitation of queue jumping by the Calgary Flames.”
But, lo and behold, the health council probe was “not able to learn any of the facts pertaining to the firing.”
Alberta Health Services circled the wagons and no one involved was forced to testify.
Speaking of circling the wagons, the provincial Tories do the usual denials, then shoot the messenger, then, if necessary, do the minimum to get critics off their back.
Forty years in power and you get banana republic-style government. They do what they please.
Of course, if you dare to utter a word of opposition you are cast as a dung disturber.
Alison Redford, the former Tory justice minister and now running for leader of that party, wants a judicial inquiry into the queue jumping charges. It ain’t happening and in his comments Exiting Ed tosses her in with Raj Sherman.
Dr. Raj was the emergency room doc who served as right-hand man to the health minister. He got booted from the Tory fold for making waves and then found himself accused of being a little nuts.
Redford is also lumped in with David Eggen who is an NDP candidate and big-time supporter of medicare. Ed mercifully stops short of calling Eggen a godless socialist.
Oh well. It’s very interesting Duckett’s recent remarks hit many marks on the Tory dartboard.
He says there was “little bureaucratic oversight” of the health regions and Calgary and Edmonton regions were “very politically connected and powerful.”
“End runs to politicians on budget matters were the order of the day.”
Lots of the public’s cash was spent on public relations B.S. as in “spin, the Orwellian game of assuring the population they had the best health system in Canada if not the world.”
In reality, compared to other provinces, Alberta spends more per head on health without providing quicker access or better results. By the way, in the last decade, Duckett confirms performance in emergency departments has tanked.
We also have a government 40 years in the saddle with over-investment in rural areas to keep it that way.
Mason is happy he didn’t get the bum’s rush. He says the thought of some well-connected sort using political muscle to cut in line makes his blood boil.
At times, he has to shake his head.
“This would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.”
rick.bell@sunmedia.ca
Grande Prairie
Friends Of Medicare Hold Rally at Q-E-2 Hospital
June 9, 2011
Executive Director of Friends of Medicare David Eggen is looking for answers to why McKenzie Place at the Q-E-2 is closing down.
Eggen was part of a small rally outside of the hospital this afternoon.
He says he spoke with patients, their families, and workers at the public facility to find out more about the closure.
Eggen isn't a fan of the government's decision to close the facility and move the beds to the privately run Points West Care Centre.
Eggen will be part of the Join Together Alberta meeting tonight at the Quality Inn which aims to go over the McKenzie Place closure and what it may mean.
The meeting is set to start at 7 o'clock.
June 9, 2011
Executive Director of Friends of Medicare David Eggen is looking for answers to why McKenzie Place at the Q-E-2 is closing down.
Eggen was part of a small rally outside of the hospital this afternoon.
He says he spoke with patients, their families, and workers at the public facility to find out more about the closure.
Eggen isn't a fan of the government's decision to close the facility and move the beds to the privately run Points West Care Centre.
Eggen will be part of the Join Together Alberta meeting tonight at the Quality Inn which aims to go over the McKenzie Place closure and what it may mean.
The meeting is set to start at 7 o'clock.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
CTV Calgary
Pressure mounts for Provincial Government Health Inquiry
Allegations that politically connected people used to jump to the front of health care queues has prompted response from Alberta politicians.
Updated: Wed Jun. 08 2011 18:02:43
ctvcalgary.ca
Allegations that politically connected people used to jump to the front of health care queues has prompted response from Alberta politicians.
Opposition politicians said a higher authority now needs to look into this.
On Tuesday, the premier said there was no need for a public inquiry and that the health quality council is designed to look into these sorts of issues.
Brian Mason, leader of the NDP, says this is an extremely serious situation.
Queue jumping could have been, literally, a matter of life and death for people who are already on lengthy waiting lists who may have had their procedures further delayed as a result of these allegations.
Regardless of the politics, the RCMP says they will look at this complaint the same as they do with all complaints and determine if there should be a further investigation.
The Friends of Medicare group also filed a complaint of their own today.
They've written the federal minister of health saying queue jumping could be a violation of the Canada Health Act and the government needs to investigate.
Pressure mounts for Provincial Government Health Inquiry
Allegations that politically connected people used to jump to the front of health care queues has prompted response from Alberta politicians.
Updated: Wed Jun. 08 2011 18:02:43
ctvcalgary.ca
Allegations that politically connected people used to jump to the front of health care queues has prompted response from Alberta politicians.
Opposition politicians said a higher authority now needs to look into this.
On Tuesday, the premier said there was no need for a public inquiry and that the health quality council is designed to look into these sorts of issues.
Brian Mason, leader of the NDP, says this is an extremely serious situation.
Queue jumping could have been, literally, a matter of life and death for people who are already on lengthy waiting lists who may have had their procedures further delayed as a result of these allegations.
Regardless of the politics, the RCMP says they will look at this complaint the same as they do with all complaints and determine if there should be a further investigation.
The Friends of Medicare group also filed a complaint of their own today.
They've written the federal minister of health saying queue jumping could be a violation of the Canada Health Act and the government needs to investigate.
Braid: Stelmach strikes at leadership hopeful Alison Redford
By Don Braid, Calgary Herald June 8, 2011
Comment 27 StoryPhotos ( 1 )
Calgary MLA Alison Redford announced she will be running for leadership of the Alberta Conservatives. Alison had an informal question session at the Alberta Art Gallery in Edmonton, Alta. February 16, 2011.Photograph by: Brian J. Gavriloff, Edmonton JournalWell, we sure know who Ed Stelmach doesn't want to follow him as PC leader: former Justice Minister Alison Redford, who called Tuesday for a judicial inquiry into health care.
In a remarkable salvo, the premier tried to cast Redford out of the PC fold into the pit of opposition hell, for daring to disagree with his obdurate refusal to call that inquiry.
"She's taking the same position as Raj Sherman, who's now -I don't know what he is now, an Independent? -and I believe David Eggen who is also an NDP candidate (and) is asking for the same."
So there you are -a Tory who disagrees with Ed is lower than Brian Mason's shoelaces. She's as bad as Doc Sherman -former PC, Independent MLA, and Liberal leadership candidate -who swears he's seen specific cases of VIPs being rushed into wards for preferential medical care.
Eggen, of course, is the executive director of the Friends of Medicare who will run as a New Democrat in Edmonton-Calder, the riding he held for the party from 2004-08.
Far from being offended, Eggen was delighted by the plug from Stelmach; and his analysis of why it happened might be very close to the mark.
"I know Stephen Duckett has touched a nerve with these allegations," Eggen said. "The head of Alberta Health Services came in and realized people were abusing the health system.
"He tried to correct the problem, and now it's coming back to bite the Conservatives. I'd say Ed's squirming for sure."
Duckett alleged that some CEOs of former health regions had "go-to guys" to deal with MLAs requests for, ahem, "waiting list adjustments."
That prompted Redford to revise her earlier view that the study by the Health Quality Council is good enough.
She now feels a full judicial inquiry is essential because "if Albertans can't have confidence in the system at this core level, it's going to be very difficult to improve health care in any other way.
"So let's just call the inquiry. We'll get to the truth and move on. It's just too serious an allegation for a public system."
I asked Redford the question faced Tuesday by many Tory MLAs: Have you ever seen, or engaged in, cases of quick care for the mighty?
"There are none that I'm aware of," Redford said, "but that shouldn't be the test anyway. . . . We've got to get to the bottom of whether or not this is true."
It won't be easy. Nobody's naming names, not even Sherman and Dr. Paul Parks, who also cited specific cases. Dr. John Cowell, head of the Health Quality Council, noted that he didn't get any calls with details Tuesday.
But this VIP influence system, if it existed, is sure to be a closed loop. In every case, the "fix" would include a powerful patron (MLA at least), a VIP patient, and a compliant medical person who greases the gurney.
How likely would any of those people be to talk voluntarily? Not very.
But a public inquiry, unlike the Health Quality Council probe, would have power to compel testimony.
Sherman and Parks could be made to reveal names.
The people they named could be called to the stand -under oath.
Nobody knows those rules better than Redford, the lawyer-justice minister appointed by Stelmach right after winning her first election.
Now he uses his waning influence to paint her as a castaway. Do other leadership candidates have the nerve to join her in the lifeboat?
Don Braid's column appears regularly in the Herald dbraid@CalgaryHerald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
By Don Braid, Calgary Herald June 8, 2011
Comment 27 StoryPhotos ( 1 )
Calgary MLA Alison Redford announced she will be running for leadership of the Alberta Conservatives. Alison had an informal question session at the Alberta Art Gallery in Edmonton, Alta. February 16, 2011.Photograph by: Brian J. Gavriloff, Edmonton JournalWell, we sure know who Ed Stelmach doesn't want to follow him as PC leader: former Justice Minister Alison Redford, who called Tuesday for a judicial inquiry into health care.
In a remarkable salvo, the premier tried to cast Redford out of the PC fold into the pit of opposition hell, for daring to disagree with his obdurate refusal to call that inquiry.
"She's taking the same position as Raj Sherman, who's now -I don't know what he is now, an Independent? -and I believe David Eggen who is also an NDP candidate (and) is asking for the same."
So there you are -a Tory who disagrees with Ed is lower than Brian Mason's shoelaces. She's as bad as Doc Sherman -former PC, Independent MLA, and Liberal leadership candidate -who swears he's seen specific cases of VIPs being rushed into wards for preferential medical care.
Eggen, of course, is the executive director of the Friends of Medicare who will run as a New Democrat in Edmonton-Calder, the riding he held for the party from 2004-08.
Far from being offended, Eggen was delighted by the plug from Stelmach; and his analysis of why it happened might be very close to the mark.
"I know Stephen Duckett has touched a nerve with these allegations," Eggen said. "The head of Alberta Health Services came in and realized people were abusing the health system.
"He tried to correct the problem, and now it's coming back to bite the Conservatives. I'd say Ed's squirming for sure."
Duckett alleged that some CEOs of former health regions had "go-to guys" to deal with MLAs requests for, ahem, "waiting list adjustments."
That prompted Redford to revise her earlier view that the study by the Health Quality Council is good enough.
She now feels a full judicial inquiry is essential because "if Albertans can't have confidence in the system at this core level, it's going to be very difficult to improve health care in any other way.
"So let's just call the inquiry. We'll get to the truth and move on. It's just too serious an allegation for a public system."
I asked Redford the question faced Tuesday by many Tory MLAs: Have you ever seen, or engaged in, cases of quick care for the mighty?
"There are none that I'm aware of," Redford said, "but that shouldn't be the test anyway. . . . We've got to get to the bottom of whether or not this is true."
It won't be easy. Nobody's naming names, not even Sherman and Dr. Paul Parks, who also cited specific cases. Dr. John Cowell, head of the Health Quality Council, noted that he didn't get any calls with details Tuesday.
But this VIP influence system, if it existed, is sure to be a closed loop. In every case, the "fix" would include a powerful patron (MLA at least), a VIP patient, and a compliant medical person who greases the gurney.
How likely would any of those people be to talk voluntarily? Not very.
But a public inquiry, unlike the Health Quality Council probe, would have power to compel testimony.
Sherman and Parks could be made to reveal names.
The people they named could be called to the stand -under oath.
Nobody knows those rules better than Redford, the lawyer-justice minister appointed by Stelmach right after winning her first election.
Now he uses his waning influence to paint her as a castaway. Do other leadership candidates have the nerve to join her in the lifeboat?
Don Braid's column appears regularly in the Herald dbraid@CalgaryHerald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Jumping the health queue
Well-connected elites must wait like everyone else
Calgary Herald June 8, 2011
Stephen Duckett says it happens, Gene Zwozdesky denies it, and that's why we need a public inquiry into health care in Alberta.
An open inquiry with legal rules of evidence and protection for witnesses is the only way to get to the bottom of the deepening well of accusations and denials about patients dying on waiting lists, intimidation of doctors by government officials and, now, allegations by Duckett that politicians, their friends and well-connected people got preferential access to healthcare services.
Queue jumping is illegal, according to the lobby group Friends of Medicare, which is calling on police and federal health authorities to investigate.
Duckett, the fired former head of Alberta Health Services, made the accusation at a recent speech in Toronto. Zwozdesky, the health minister, issued the expected denial, calling it an unsubstantiated "he-said-she-said" situation.
But it's not just Duckett alleging that well-connected VIPs got special treatment. Dr. Paul Parks, the current president of the Alberta Medical Association's emergency medicine section, said prompt attention for privileged individuals was a regular occurrence at the emergency department of University Hospital in Edmonton between 2005 and 2008. Although critically ill patients were attended to first, the VIPs "definitely got care before others," Parks said.
Parks said it was also common for senior physicians to come in to attend to those with connections. "It was incredible, but I'd have heads of departments coming to me on weekend evenings saying there was a special patient they were there to see."
The situation was so bad that Duckett issued a memo in June 2009 to AHS vicepresidents that any requests for preferential treatment be brought to his attention.
The memo said it was not uncommon for privileged individuals to get expedited care, including politicians, bureaucrats, philanthropists who had donated to AHS or its foundations, AHS board directors and executives, as well as those who are "prominent in local or provincial society or business."
If politicians, including an unnamed top-ranking Conservative, engaged in queue jumping, it is not acceptable and possibly illegal. Special treatment for politicians is especially rancid. It can only result in a disconnect between the real world and those making public policy. The best incentive to fixing a bad situation is for politicians to be a part of it.
Duckett says he discontinued the practice when he became head of the AHS, the so-called superboard that replaced regional health authorities.
Queue jumping undermines the accessibility provisions of the Canada Health Act. If it did occur, and if it is occurring still, these are serious allegations that are, to quote Friends of Medicare president David Eggen, "simply appalling."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Well-connected elites must wait like everyone else
Calgary Herald June 8, 2011
Stephen Duckett says it happens, Gene Zwozdesky denies it, and that's why we need a public inquiry into health care in Alberta.
An open inquiry with legal rules of evidence and protection for witnesses is the only way to get to the bottom of the deepening well of accusations and denials about patients dying on waiting lists, intimidation of doctors by government officials and, now, allegations by Duckett that politicians, their friends and well-connected people got preferential access to healthcare services.
Queue jumping is illegal, according to the lobby group Friends of Medicare, which is calling on police and federal health authorities to investigate.
Duckett, the fired former head of Alberta Health Services, made the accusation at a recent speech in Toronto. Zwozdesky, the health minister, issued the expected denial, calling it an unsubstantiated "he-said-she-said" situation.
But it's not just Duckett alleging that well-connected VIPs got special treatment. Dr. Paul Parks, the current president of the Alberta Medical Association's emergency medicine section, said prompt attention for privileged individuals was a regular occurrence at the emergency department of University Hospital in Edmonton between 2005 and 2008. Although critically ill patients were attended to first, the VIPs "definitely got care before others," Parks said.
Parks said it was also common for senior physicians to come in to attend to those with connections. "It was incredible, but I'd have heads of departments coming to me on weekend evenings saying there was a special patient they were there to see."
The situation was so bad that Duckett issued a memo in June 2009 to AHS vicepresidents that any requests for preferential treatment be brought to his attention.
The memo said it was not uncommon for privileged individuals to get expedited care, including politicians, bureaucrats, philanthropists who had donated to AHS or its foundations, AHS board directors and executives, as well as those who are "prominent in local or provincial society or business."
If politicians, including an unnamed top-ranking Conservative, engaged in queue jumping, it is not acceptable and possibly illegal. Special treatment for politicians is especially rancid. It can only result in a disconnect between the real world and those making public policy. The best incentive to fixing a bad situation is for politicians to be a part of it.
Duckett says he discontinued the practice when he became head of the AHS, the so-called superboard that replaced regional health authorities.
Queue jumping undermines the accessibility provisions of the Canada Health Act. If it did occur, and if it is occurring still, these are serious allegations that are, to quote Friends of Medicare president David Eggen, "simply appalling."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
ctvedmonton.ca
The former boss of Alberta Health Services is alleging MLAs helped patients jump the queue. Stephen Duckett made the comments while speaking at the University of Toronto in May, but failed to mention names or provide evidence, leaving many wanting more information.
Duckett says he was told that MLAs had go-to-guys in the system who could slide people up to the top of the list for treatment.
"I'm told my predecessor had designated go-to-guys for discreet waiting room adjustments at the request of MLAs. It's a practice I discontinued," he said.
The health minister dismisses the allegations.
"Something that someone may have told somebody somewhere in the past doesn't hold much steam in my opinion," said Gene Zwozdesky.
But now the NDP is renewing its calls for a public inquiry.
"To have privileged access that allow only conservative MLAs to jump the queue is completely wrong. And I believe Albertans will find it unacceptable," said NDP Leader Brian Mason.
Friends of Medicare is also weighing in saying queue jumping is also illegal.
"This goes against our sense of fairness, probably against federal and provincial law and criminal law," said Friends of Medicare executive director David Eggen.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is not contacting Duckett for more clarification. Alberta Health Services told CTV News Duckett was referring to a system before AHS was created.
Zwozdesky also says he won't be making any calls adding accusations such as this frequently go nowhere.
But Friends of Medicare wants the federal health minister to investigate saying if the allegations are true, it is a contravention of the Canada Health Act and possibly is criminal in nature as a breach of trust.
With files from Serena Mah
The former boss of Alberta Health Services is alleging MLAs helped patients jump the queue. Stephen Duckett made the comments while speaking at the University of Toronto in May, but failed to mention names or provide evidence, leaving many wanting more information.
Duckett says he was told that MLAs had go-to-guys in the system who could slide people up to the top of the list for treatment.
"I'm told my predecessor had designated go-to-guys for discreet waiting room adjustments at the request of MLAs. It's a practice I discontinued," he said.
The health minister dismisses the allegations.
"Something that someone may have told somebody somewhere in the past doesn't hold much steam in my opinion," said Gene Zwozdesky.
But now the NDP is renewing its calls for a public inquiry.
"To have privileged access that allow only conservative MLAs to jump the queue is completely wrong. And I believe Albertans will find it unacceptable," said NDP Leader Brian Mason.
Friends of Medicare is also weighing in saying queue jumping is also illegal.
"This goes against our sense of fairness, probably against federal and provincial law and criminal law," said Friends of Medicare executive director David Eggen.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is not contacting Duckett for more clarification. Alberta Health Services told CTV News Duckett was referring to a system before AHS was created.
Zwozdesky also says he won't be making any calls adding accusations such as this frequently go nowhere.
But Friends of Medicare wants the federal health minister to investigate saying if the allegations are true, it is a contravention of the Canada Health Act and possibly is criminal in nature as a breach of trust.
With files from Serena Mah
No hospital wait for 'buddies' of Alta. politicians: doctor
CBC News Posted: Jun 7, 2011 2:08 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 7, 2011 4:37 PM ET Read 50 comments50 Back to accessibility links
Duckett alerted health VPs about queue-jumping: memo
'Go-to guys' helped queue jumpers: former health boss
End of Supporting Story ContentBack to accessibility links Beginning of Story ContentIf a well-known person showed up in an emergency room, a hospital executive would request they were 'looked after,' said Alberta MLA Dr. Raj Sherman. CBC
An emergency room doctor says "buddies" of Alberta politicians received preferential medical treatment while other patients were left waiting.
Dr. Raj Sherman said Tuesday he personally experienced requests from hospital executives for certain patients to get preferential treatment.
"It was a practice that was common, that we regularly saw on the front lines. Where certain members of society got in the back door while others had to wait," he said. "Certain people got to jump the queue regularly."
Sherman is a former Alberta Progressive Conservative MLA who is now an indpendent MLA.
CBC News first reported Monday that former Alberta Health Services president Stephen Duckett claimed in a recent speech he put an end to "go-to guys" who would adjust waiting lists at the request of MLAs.
On Monday night, Alberta Health Services (AHS) released a 2009 memo from Duckett to health officials that condemned the practice.
Unfair to waiting patients, says doctor
Sherman says he can't talk about specific cases, but no one in critical condition was ever denied treatment because a queue jumper was getting medical help.
A government-relations person used to report directly to the head of Capital Health, the now defunct Edmonton-area health region, Sherman said.
"The good thing about that is if constituents had difficulty accessing the system, they would get looked after. But the unfair thing about that, was all the MLAs' buddies, that's how they got in."
The practice became "much more difficult" once the regional health authorities were dissolved to create the Alberta Health Service's superboard, he said.
David Eggen, who speaks for the lobby group Friends of Medicare, said the allegations are very serious and illegal. He is calling on police and federal health officials to investigate.
"In the eyes of most Albertans, especially someone who was behind that other person in the queue, I mean it's simply appalling," he said.
Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason, Alberta Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith and Liberal leader David Swann are all calling for a public inquiry into the issue.
Memo details queue jumping
The 2009 memo from Duckett was forwarded to senior vice-presidents and presidents in charge of all the province's hospitals, the zone vice-presidents, the cancer corridor vice-president and a chief of staff for the AHS board.
An attached policy document, prepared by senior physician executive D.W. Megran, defines "prominent individuals" as politicians and other government officials, philanthropists who have donated to AHS or its foundations, AHS board directors and executives as well as those who are "prominent in local or provincial society or business."
"Providing preferential and/or expedited care based on societal status or personal relationship to health care executive or officials [creates] a conflict-of-interest for the organization and an ethical dilemma for the health-care executive or official receiving a request to do so," the memo states.
"This type of treatment "represents 'queue-jumping,' a practice that a public health-care organization cannot defend or support."
The memo says the practice creates delays for those who need care and "implies that not all individuals in society are considered 'equal' or are entitled to equal treatment."
Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky hasn't commented on the issue since the release of the memo, but said earlier Monday he hadn't see any "proof to any of these kinds of allegations."
Anyone with proof should take it to the Health Quality Council of Alberta, which studies health care in the province.
Duckett, a former senior health executive from Australia, was the president and CEO of Alberta Health Services for nearly two years, but was fired. He now teaches at the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.
CBC News Posted: Jun 7, 2011 2:08 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 7, 2011 4:37 PM ET Read 50 comments50 Back to accessibility links
Duckett alerted health VPs about queue-jumping: memo
'Go-to guys' helped queue jumpers: former health boss
End of Supporting Story ContentBack to accessibility links Beginning of Story ContentIf a well-known person showed up in an emergency room, a hospital executive would request they were 'looked after,' said Alberta MLA Dr. Raj Sherman. CBC
An emergency room doctor says "buddies" of Alberta politicians received preferential medical treatment while other patients were left waiting.
Dr. Raj Sherman said Tuesday he personally experienced requests from hospital executives for certain patients to get preferential treatment.
"It was a practice that was common, that we regularly saw on the front lines. Where certain members of society got in the back door while others had to wait," he said. "Certain people got to jump the queue regularly."
Sherman is a former Alberta Progressive Conservative MLA who is now an indpendent MLA.
CBC News first reported Monday that former Alberta Health Services president Stephen Duckett claimed in a recent speech he put an end to "go-to guys" who would adjust waiting lists at the request of MLAs.
On Monday night, Alberta Health Services (AHS) released a 2009 memo from Duckett to health officials that condemned the practice.
Unfair to waiting patients, says doctor
Sherman says he can't talk about specific cases, but no one in critical condition was ever denied treatment because a queue jumper was getting medical help.
A government-relations person used to report directly to the head of Capital Health, the now defunct Edmonton-area health region, Sherman said.
"The good thing about that is if constituents had difficulty accessing the system, they would get looked after. But the unfair thing about that, was all the MLAs' buddies, that's how they got in."
The practice became "much more difficult" once the regional health authorities were dissolved to create the Alberta Health Service's superboard, he said.
David Eggen, who speaks for the lobby group Friends of Medicare, said the allegations are very serious and illegal. He is calling on police and federal health officials to investigate.
"In the eyes of most Albertans, especially someone who was behind that other person in the queue, I mean it's simply appalling," he said.
Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason, Alberta Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith and Liberal leader David Swann are all calling for a public inquiry into the issue.
Memo details queue jumping
The 2009 memo from Duckett was forwarded to senior vice-presidents and presidents in charge of all the province's hospitals, the zone vice-presidents, the cancer corridor vice-president and a chief of staff for the AHS board.
An attached policy document, prepared by senior physician executive D.W. Megran, defines "prominent individuals" as politicians and other government officials, philanthropists who have donated to AHS or its foundations, AHS board directors and executives as well as those who are "prominent in local or provincial society or business."
"Providing preferential and/or expedited care based on societal status or personal relationship to health care executive or officials [creates] a conflict-of-interest for the organization and an ethical dilemma for the health-care executive or official receiving a request to do so," the memo states.
"This type of treatment "represents 'queue-jumping,' a practice that a public health-care organization cannot defend or support."
The memo says the practice creates delays for those who need care and "implies that not all individuals in society are considered 'equal' or are entitled to equal treatment."
Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky hasn't commented on the issue since the release of the memo, but said earlier Monday he hadn't see any "proof to any of these kinds of allegations."
Anyone with proof should take it to the Health Quality Council of Alberta, which studies health care in the province.
Duckett, a former senior health executive from Australia, was the president and CEO of Alberta Health Services for nearly two years, but was fired. He now teaches at the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.
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