Alberta Minister of Health, Jason Copping. (Government of Alberta)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

50 New ICU Beds

Province announces expanded health capacity to move Alberta forward

Mar 2, 2022 | 3:23 PM

Alberta’s government has announced more access to critical care beds thanks to a $300-million investment over three years to expand health-care capacity.

The UCP says they are adding up to 50 permanent, fully staffed intensive care unit (ICU) beds this year alone thanks to a $100-million investment in Budget 2022, an almost 30 per cent increase over current capacity. These beds are expected to expand Alberta’s health-care capacity in order to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed, a major concern during previous waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of my top priorities as Minister of Health is to build capacity in Alberta’s health system,” said Jason Copping, Minister of Health, on Wednesday. “While AHS was able to add surge capacity when needed during the pandemic, this is not a sustainable or prudent way to plan for the future. Adding up to 50 ICU beds this year alone, plus other ongoing efforts, will give Albertans better access to the health care they need.”

Officials say the new ICU beds will be distributed in all AHS zones across the province, with location details currently being developed. AHS will provide the government with a plan on where the beds are needed and how they will become fully operational.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, AHS has been able to quickly increase hospital and ICU capacity to meet demand,” noted Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO, Alberta Health Services.

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This is a testament to our incredible health-care workers and a system that is nimble, fluid, and able to evolve to meet the challenge of an ever-changing virus. These additional beds and staffing resources will help us continue to provide the excellent and timely care that all Albertans deserve.”

A Sustainability and Resiliency Action Plan, created to ensure the health system can respond quickly and proactively to future waves of the pandemic or other health emergencies, recommends 21 capacity building actions, with surgical recovery and ICU and acute care baseline capacity the immediate priorities, say government officials. The plan incorporates leading practice and lessons learned from other Canadian and international health systems.

AHS will now formalize a new baseline ICU bed capacity plan that includes detailed reporting mechanisms, appropriate workforce planning, ramp-up strategies and redeployment plans so front-line staff are able to support other parts of the health system when ICUs are not facing pressures.

A surgical recovery plan that builds on the Alberta Surgical Initiative is expected soon.

Quick facts

• Prior to COVID-19, Alberta maintained 173 adult general ICU beds in hospitals across the province.
• The new ICU beds are expected to come on stream in the coming months.
• EY was contracted to review details of how Alberta’s health system responded to capacity issues during the pandemic, and to compare the practices and lessons learned from other health systems across Canada and around the world. The subsequent Sustainability and Resiliency Action Plan includes recommendations to ensure the health system has the appropriate capacity to respond to potential future waves of COVID-19 and other health situations.
• The 21 recommended actions in the plan have been developed across six workstreams: workforce; acute, critical care and surgery; primary and community care; governance and decision-making; public health; modelling.
• A comprehensive review of Alberta’s pandemic response is planned.

NDP Critic for Health, David Shepherd, issued the following statement in response to the government’s comments on ICU capacity:

“Thanks to the UCP’s mismanagement of healthcare, Alberta hospitals can’t staff the beds they already have. There are 25 communities in Alberta where there are hospital beds closed and services cut right now due the UCP’s healthcare staffing crisis.

“The UCP went to war with doctors, nurses, and frontline healthcare workers in the midst of a global pandemic. Any announcement or plan by the UCP to increase staffing in health care is incompatible with their ongoing layoff of 11,000 frontline health care workers. Albertans cannot trust the UCP with their healthcare.”