Alberta health officials, hospitals minister to address capacity issues

Alberta health officials are to deliver an update on hospitals Thursday as hundreds of doctors demand system-wide fixes to overcrowding.

Hospital Services Minister Matt Jones and senior health leaders are also slated to discuss the death last month of a man waiting for care in an Edmonton emergency department.

The Alberta Medical Association, which represents physicians, is calling for changes to better manage hospital patient loads.

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E.R. doctors say Alberta hospitals in crisis even before call for state of emergency

Also this week, more than 300 emergency room and internal medicine physicians urged restored integration and co-ordination across a system that has seen a massive restructuring.

Acute Care Alberta (ACA) says it is co-ordinating a provincewide response to create capacity and free up resources.

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That includes dedicating 336 beds specifically for a challenging respiratory virus season and opening designated surge spaces to manage increased demand.

Acute Care Alberta is one of a group of new provincial governing agencies created by Premier Danielle Smith’s government to replace Alberta Health Services, which was dismantled as the provincial health authority and relegated to being a hospital services provider.

AHS is now splintered off into four different agencies — Acute Care Alberta (hospitals, surgeries), Primary Care Alberta (day-to-day health), Recovery Alberta (mental health/addiction), and Assisted Living Alberta (long-term care/support).

— More to come…

— With a file from Karen Bartko, Global News

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