Health Minister LaGrange receives long list of objectives from Premier Smith

“Everyone is in agreement when I speak to health care professionals, whether its the colleges and associations, or professionals in general, that we need structural changes. The status quo isn’t always meeting the needs that are out there, so I’ll be engaging and digging into what possibilities there are for changing the structure,” LaGrange told rdnewsNOW Tuesday, asked about potential changes to Alberta Health Services (AHS).

“The objective is to make the health care system the most efficient and effective out there. When we look at what we’re spending on health care, we want to make sure it’s sustainable and that we’re providing quality health care to every Albertan. We want to make sure we have the best health care system in all of Canada, if not all the world; that’s my one ultimate goal.”

LaGrange acknowledges the critical need for more family physicians in Alberta, but also across the country and internationally.

One contributing factor provincially is the strained relationship between the government and health care professionals. Many health care workers have exited Alberta over the last few years because of said relationship, while others have retired.

LaGrange’s numbers show a net additional 200 physicians in Alberta since last year, with 3,000 new nurses registering in the province over a recent eight-week span, she claims.

“This is extremely good news,” she says of the numbers she shared. “We’ve seen some positive steps forward [with health care workers], in that we were able to negotiate agreements. I want to see that good work continue, and I’m very focused on collaborating with all of our health care partners.”

The minister adds, “I really want our physicians, nurses and other health care professionals to know they are valued and that I genuinely want our relationship to be a positive one which continues to improve.”

Of the 200 doctor addition, LaGrange says 150 are family doctors; and 20 of the 200 are in Red Deer.

Last February, rdnewsNOW reported there were zero doctors in Red Deer accepting new patients.

As of July 18, 2023, the Primary Care Network lists just three accepting new patients.

“This is one focus of the Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPHCS) initiative,” she says of recruiting family doctors, particularly to rural areas. She notes there are recommendations they are working to implement which will help this cause. “The stronger our primary care system is, the more early intervention we have, there will be less strain on our acute care system. There are a lot of moving parts, and we want to make sure we are getting it right. We are taking our time to develop those recommendations.”

The MAPHCS is mentioned twice in the mandate letter, once in relation to, “assessing alternative models of care and leveraging all health care professionals,” and in terms of ensuring “recovery capital” — geared at folks experiencing mental illness and addiction — is a guiding policy in that initiative.

As for Red Deer, the $1.8 billion hospital expansion project remains not just very important for central Albertans, but to LaGrange, she reaffirmed.

“We’ve met with the Society for Hospital Expansion (SHECA), and the last time the premier was in Red Deer, she met with their representatives and other officials. We know we need the expansion to go forward in a timely fashion, and that’s the message I’ve given to my officials, as well as those in infrastructure and AHS,” she says.

Meantime, SHECA has asked, or perhaps demanded, there be a more direct way for central Albertans to receive transparent updates.

LaGrange, who’s of course the MLA for Red Deer-North, says discussions are happening to determine how best to go about informing the public on a regular basis.

“It’s very important we have a transparent method to share with everybody in central Alberta how progression is going. It’s critical and top of mind for me, and I’m going to make sure that everything that can be done in a timely fashion is done so. We will have a transparent public-facing information stream out as quicky as possible,” she vows.

“We also know we need a strong transition plan, because of course the hospital will continue to function as we build additional towers and make improvements, some of which is already ongoing.”

Reaction to the release of LaGrange’s mandate letter came from Opposition NDP Health Critic David Shepherd, who began by saying Tuesday that the mandate letter is welcome, but overdue, noting the UCP was sworn in several weeks ago.

“[That’s] six weeks where we’ve seen and heard almost nothing from this premier and her health minister as to how they intend to address the ongoing crisis in our health care system,” said Shepherd. “Six weeks in which someone who went to book an appointment in Calgary for basic blood work would still be waiting today to get in; six weeks in which a lot of Albertans who don’t have a family doctor would’ve been forced to go to the ER, and six weeks in which when they got there, they may have faced waits of 10 hours or more.”

He says the letter offers no solutions or concrete steps, nor does it directly mention Red Deer hospital expansion, or infrastructure projects in south Edmonton and north Calgary.

“We need to see the minister step up to provide specific updates on direct actions they are taking now to meet this crisis,” said Shepherd, mentioning their election campaign proposal for Family Health Teams. “For our part, we are going to continue to fight for real solutions, real tangible actions that can be taken today to benefit families.”

Meantime, a statement from the executive director of Alberta non-profit Friends of Medicare, says the mandate letter, “prioritizes ideological pet projects,” such as health spending accounts, and pushes AHS restructuring.

The organization also says it continues to push the UCP’s privatization agenda.

“Throwing Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services into disarray with talk of restructuring is not what our public health care system needs right now,” says Chris Galloway. “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. We need a credible workforce plan to first retain the skilled workers we have right now, and then recruit and train the health care workers needed to provide the care Albertans need and deserve.”

MLAs are scheduled to reconvene for the next legislative session on October 30.

UPDATE: Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan sworn-in after return from Africa trip

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Health Minister LaGrange receives long list of objectives from Premier Smith

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