Alberta doctors send letter asking government to delay health-care restructuring

“We’re doing all that we can to maintain the trust of Albertans and taking care of them,” explains Dr. John Gudgeon with Horizon Family Medicine in Red Deer, one of the over 800 doctors who signed onto the letter. “We’re staffing the frontline, we’re trying our best to deliver skilled and timely compassionate care to all Albertans during their time of need both physically, as well as the huge emotional and psychological stress impact this is having upon them.”

The government’s “harmful actions” will destabilize an already stressed health-care system, the doctors’ letter adds.

“We are essential responders that cannot be replaced,” says the letter. “Our crisis training will serve Albertans during this pandemic.”

“We don’t think it’s a good time to be introducing new variables targeting drastic changes to the whole system, just as we need it to be predictable and something that we can navigate appropriately,” added Gudgeon, noting support for their concerns is coming in from well beyond Alberta’s borders.

“There are many doctors from other regions of the country, from Ontario, from B.C., from Saskatchewan, and even from other countries. So not only is the national response to this huge, but also the international response. This speaks volumes to the fact that this is not one small pocket of doctors speaking, but this is all of Alberta physicians speaking.”

With the number of COVID-19 cases in the province still expected to spike in the coming weeks, Gudgeon suggests now is the time to have all hands on deck.

“We don’t want to be playing politics in this province right now. We want that to be brought to a halt or a pause so that we can focus all our energy as best as we can upon this,” he exclaims.

Gudgeon says he’s heard of at least 400 clinics in Alberta that have already laid off some of their staff, with that number likely to grow if the province’s proposed changes go through. He says his clinic has already laid-off eight front-end staff, leaving them at a 50 per cent operation rate.

“These are all taking away from that frontline response that we need,” he points out. “This is taking hands away from the deck, this is taking minds away from the effort, and this is the exact time that we need all hands on deck.”

Gudgeon feels the government’s planned changes put the very future of medical clinics in Alberta in jeopardy.

“We’re hoping that anyone who feels strongly about this, to take their voice to their MLA, either through a letter or some other virtual means because we can’t really advise people to go to offices right now.”

In spite of everything, Gudgeon says he wants the people of Red Deer and Alberta to know that doctors will continue to fight the proposed changes and provide the best health care they can.

“Albertans have their trust in us to deliver quality and timely healthcare and we’re doing our best to live up to that trust. We’re going to do this compassionately, we’re going to do this understanding and honouring that Albertans are individuals and need the custom approach. We’re going to do everything that we can to maintain the stability that they need, so that their system continues to be there, because in the end, we all need hope for the future and we’re trying to do what we can to continue to develop and safeguard that hope.”

(With file from The Canadian Press)

by rdnewsNOW staff

Alberta doctors send letter asking government to delay health-care restructuring

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