Rallies across Alberta deplore UCP’s direction towards privatization

D.J. McMillan, board member with the Health Sciences Association of Alberta’s (HSAA) central district, says what’s happening is the erosion and commodification of the health care system.

“We’re at the point where access to health care is becoming an issue, especially in rural Alberta. We’re seeing it with labs being privatized, people aren’t able to get bloodwork done in some rural towns, and even here in Red Deer, bloodwork is sent to Calgary or Edmonton. Meantime, surgeries are being postponed or diverted, and with EMS, the workload is increased because of all the transferring of patients out of the area to the big cities for services they should be able to get here,” McMillan remarked.

“If we continue down the slope of privatization, it’ll only get worse. We need to properly fund our public health care system and make sure universal access for all Albertans is occurring.”

The HSAA represents about 29,000 health care workers across Alberta, with about 3,000 in Alberta Health Services’ Central Zone.

McMillan stressed that these workers are feeling the exhaustion, big-time right now.

“We’re seeing with COVID, the opioid crisis, and with privatization, that health care workers are burnt out. They’re struggling to keep this system afloat, but they also do still come to work, because they love this industry. They want to make sure their and our families are looked after. They enjoy the career, but are being pushed to the brink of failure.”

Dr. Kym Jim, who was not at the Saturday rally, is the spokesperson for the Society for Healthcare Expansion for Central Alberta (SHECA). Jim spoke to rdnewsNOW earlier this week about ongoing pressures on hospital staff, and how workers are not able to maintain proper work/life balance.

He said doctors already know various service disruptions are coming over the summer at Red Deer Regional Hospital.

“The biggest concerns we have are for patient care, because what’s very distressing in all this is we know we aren’t servicing the population the way we should or could,” he said. “What is really needed is a taskforce to come up with support services for physicians in Red Deer, which doctors in Calgary and Edmonton already have.”

Jim asks the question: “What happens when people are looking for jobs, and they see they could take a job where they’ll be on call once every 15 nights, versus a job in Red Deer where it’s once every five nights? Imagine the job you’ll pick. That’s the difficulty we’re in with our recruitment.”

NDP MLA Lori Sigurdson spoke at a rally for public health in Red Deer on May 14, 2022. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

AHS didn’t deny Jim’s claim that future disruptions are definitely coming, but emphasized they are a last resort.

“Efforts include ongoing recruitment and retention for not only physicians and staff, but increasing the available support from professionals like Clinical Assistants and Physician Assistants,” AHS said in series of answers to questions from rdnewsNOW.

“Working short-staffed is not ideal for anyone. We have, and will continue to, work to minimize the impact of such challenges to ensure patient care is uninterrupted and that our staff have safe and healthy working conditions. AHS has tremendous gratitude and appreciation for the incredible efforts physicians and staff have and continue to make in their dedication to patients, and to each other.”

AHS confirms they are recruiting currently for three General Surgery Clinical Assistant positions, with interviews this week, plus three Clinical Assistants for Anesthesia, Cardiology and General Internal Medicine physicians, with additional physicians being sought for the Emergency Department.

“Our message is that health care is vital to communities like Red Deer. We represent people working jobs that aren’t the highest-paying. Some are making just over minimum wage, and the Kenney government, meantime, is looking at privatizing roles in many of those disciplines,” says Jason Heistad, executive secretary-treasurer, Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).

“As for being heard, there’s a lot more we can do working with the public, but no, I don’t think this government has heard people. We saw what can happen when people speak up with the diabetes matter this week. It comes down to the economics of what public services provide to communities. These workers have gone to work, provided great service to the public during a global pandemic, and the government has ignored the importance of their roles. It’s just ideology and it’s unfortunate. There is an election coming up.”

The AUPE represents about 6,000 workers in Central Zone.

Edmonton-Riverview MLA Lori Sigurdson, the NDP’s former seniors and housing minister, attended the rally in Red Deer.

“We just want the UCP to play nice with health care. The UCP has been attacking professionals since they were elected. They tore up the contract with doctors, have threatened to cut wages of health care workers, and people are disillusioned,” said Sigurdson.

“For people here, it’s important they email or phone their MLAs, especially the two UCP MLAs here in Red Deer, and tell them about their concerns for public health care.”

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Rallies across Alberta deplore UCP’s direction towards privatization

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