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By rdnewsNOW Staff

Health, Mental Health & Addiction and more

Alberta Premier sends mandate letters to ministers; reactions shared

Nov 17, 2022 | 4:01 PM

The Government of Alberta says that Premier Danielle Smith has delivered a final set of mandate letters directing government ministers to prioritize access to health care and skilled labour.

Officials say the letters sent to the ministers of Health, Mental Health and Addiction, Indigenous Relations, Infrastructure, Advanced Education, and Skilled Trades and Professions outline actions the Alberta government plans to take to improve access to health care and mental health services, promote careers in the skilled trades, continue building strong relationships with Indigenous Peoples and deliver on key infrastructure projects.

“Alberta has the best front-line health workers in the world, but the challenges facing our health-care system mean Albertans aren’t getting the care they need when and where they need it. That changes now. From recruiting more front-line staff to improving emergency services and clearing surgical backlogs, our government will work to ensure Albertans in all communities receive the prompt and efficient health care they expect and deserve,” said Smith.

The province says actions outlined in the letters include:

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• Improving the delivery of health care by improving emergency medical services response times, decreasing surgical wait times and addressing staffing shortages
• Further developing Alberta’s recovery-oriented system of care for mental health and addiction and expanding access for young people struggling with severe mental illness
• Advocating and championing the skilled trades and professions and working to increase spaces in high-demand programs at Alberta’s colleges and universities
• Continuing to strengthen relationships between the provincial government and Indigenous Peoples in Alberta to work toward reconciliation

“Highly trained health-care workers and access to skilled labour is essential to Albertans’ well-being and to our ability to build our economy today and for the future. That is why I have directed our ministers to focus on expanding education in medical programs and other high-demand areas, and to actively promote careers in the skilled trades. By focusing on these areas, we can train and attract top-tier talent to our health system and our workforce, and build on our growing economic momentum,” she said.

The province states each minister has now received their mandate letter that also touches upon the four key areas that she says are most important to Albertans: addressing the affordability crisis, advocating for Alberta’s interests, continuing to grow and diversify the economy, and health care.

Alberta’s NDP Health Critic David Shepherd responded that he believes the Premier, health minister and new interim Chief Medical Officer of Health should focus on supporting families through the “immediate crisis in children’s health care.”

“Danielle Smith’s intent to upend our public healthcare system is simply a plan to create more chaos and hardship for all Albertans, while doing nothing to address the serious crisis we are seeing at every level of the system,” he said. “Frontline healthcare staff are exhausted and demoralized after years of this government’s incompetence and attacks, and all the Premier has to offer is more disruption and disrespect.”

“They don’t need more chaos – they need more care,” he said.

Non-governmental organization Friends of Medicare believes the letter prioritizes “ideological pet projects”, such as the health spending accounts. They also claim the letter suggests the restructuring of Alberta Health Services is the solution to current health care challenges. However, they say the most urgent public health issues, such as the rise in respiratory illnesses and ongoing staffing crisis, are not being addressed.

“Throwing Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services into disarray with more firing and restructuring is not what our public health care system needs right now,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “After years of immense pressure, patients and workers need stability, proactive steps to reduce the number of children and families who are sick, and a credible workforce plan to retain, recruit and train the health care workers to provide the care Albertans urgently need.”

The organization also claims language used in the letter such as “innovation” and “modernization” are coded and signal privatization in health care, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and surgical services.

“We are in an urgent situation that requires urgent action to deal with the widespread short-staffing, worker burnout, and closures impacting our entire public health care system,” said Gallaway. “We need to put an end to this government’s failed privatization agenda which is only adding complexity to the system, and worsening the dire staffing situation facing our public health care.”

Regarding the mandate letter to the new Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Friends of Medicare believe the government’s focus on the ‘Recovery Oriented System of Care’ doesn’t solve the ongoing drug poisoning crisis.

“The government’s ideological push for a recovery-only approach to this crisis is continuing to fail us. Albertans are continuing to die in alarming numbers, yet we know that each of these overdose deaths were avoidable with proper community supports,” said Gallaway. “In the face of such tragedy, it has become all the more urgent that Alberta must act decisively to save lives, by supporting evidence-based harm reduction efforts like supervised consumption services, safe supply and by moving forward with decriminalization.”

Lastly, they deem the mandate letter to the new Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services doesn’t address the issues facing seniors or the seniors care system.

“All Albertans should expect to experience a high quality of life at any age, yet our continuing care system has failed to meet the needs of seniors for decades, and this has only been exacerbated by the pandemic,” said Gallaway. “We cannot continue this disregard for seniors in our province. We have the solutions, we need the government to listen and act now. Alberta seniors deserve better.”

“Albertans are witnessing firsthand the urgency of the issues facing our public health care system, and are looking for leadership to protect patients, health care workers, and our public health care system. Unfortunately, from these mandate letters, it doesn’t look like we’re going to see the action we need from this government,” said Gallaway. “Albertans should be very concerned about the direction that Premier Smith is taking Alberta when it comes to our vital public health care system.”