Western Standard - UCP MLA calls AHS ‘bloated’ and ‘underperforming’

00:00:00.800 Hello everyone, MLA Pete Guthrie here. I'd like to take the time to share some thoughts on the

00:00:07.300 state of Alberta's healthcare system. Obviously, this is a huge topic of conversation for everybody

00:00:14.560 and you don't have to be an expert to see the problems developing. These thoughts are my

00:00:21.580 personal opinion and ones that I've been wrestling with for months, especially as I talk to more and

00:00:28.220 more of my constituents. And as one might expect, there's been a broad range of opinion, even within

00:00:35.620 my own caucus. We are now closing in on two years dealing with COVID. And over this time, we went

00:00:44.300 from zero data, no vaccine, and really no visible plan on how to deal with the situation, to now

00:00:51.740 having data from all over the world, experiential evidence, and a vaccine. Yet, we seem to be in a

00:00:59.140 circular loop. Even at a 90% inoculation rate in those 12 and older, we struggle with capacity and

00:01:06.640 AHS seems to recite the same recycled ideas, including masking, passports, and other various

00:01:12.840 restrictions. If you recall, back in September, I questioned the use of vaccine passports as they 0.91

00:01:19.280 are divisive and possibly ineffective in stopping transmission. And I also questioned the waning

00:01:26.080 efficacy of these vaccines. Data from around the world was showing reduced efficacy over time,

00:01:31.700 and yet I don't feel that our health leaders adjusted to this evidence. Since this pandemic

00:01:38.400 started, Alberta has not developed any protocols to treat COVID symptoms. Even now, the current

00:01:45.780 recommendation is to wait and see if your health improves, and if not, head to the hospital if

00:01:51.540 symptoms get severe. In fact, a great deal of effort has gone into deterring patient treatments,

00:02:00.260 those that may help boost one's immune system and fight the virus. AHS and the College of Physicians

00:02:07.620 have penalized, suspended, and even revoked licenses of those Alberta doctors trying to find a treatment,

00:02:16.180 including antiviral medications that may help a patient avoid sickness.

00:02:23.380 This is a very unusual response because doctors require every means at their disposal to treat their

00:02:29.620 patients. So limiting their tools is counterproductive. It would seem to me that if we had a focus on early

00:02:37.380 treatment, the health system would reduce incoming traffic, which would have a positive impact on

00:02:44.420 capacity limitations. This seems logical to me anyway. Our government has piled billions of additional

00:02:52.260 dollars into the healthcare system. AHS hired more doctors and nurses, yet healthcare capacity declined,

00:02:59.620 and surgical wait times increased immensely, with outright cancellations to boot. It has since improved,

00:03:06.980 but as of last September, we had a decline in functional capacity, that which considers labor, of over 50%

00:03:14.900 for bids in general, and a 40% decrease in ICU capacity. But this is prior to the imposition of the

00:03:22.500 recent mandatory vaccination policy. But furthermore, with greater than $12 billion in new investment,

00:03:29.060 AHS is a laggard in R&D. The apparent policy seems to be deny, deny, deny, until research from around the

00:03:36.500 world becomes mainstream and one cannot deny any longer, then accept. Needless to say, AHS has not adapted

00:03:44.740 well. Prior to COVID, many boasted about Canada having one of the greatest healthcare systems in the world.

00:03:52.180 But when put through a stress test, even with a virus that has a very high survival rate,

00:03:58.900 it has not held up to expectations. When looking at other jurisdictions south of the border, for instance,

00:04:06.020 we observe significantly higher ICU capacity, in the order of two, three, or four times hours on a per

00:04:11.860 capita basis. And in a report by the Fraser Institute, Canada ranked second behind Switzerland

00:04:18.340 as the most expensive universal healthcare system in the world, but among the bottom on performance.

00:04:26.180 This, in my view, reinforces the need for reform. And I'm, you know, not being critical here of

00:04:33.860 frontline workers who have chosen these admirable professors. You know, they work in a stressful

00:04:39.460 environment and they do a job that most cannot do, and I'm thankful for their dedication. In fact,

00:04:45.380 I've had contact with many healthcare workers, pre-COVID and now, and they too express considerable

00:04:51.540 frustration dealing with a stifling system. They talk about a bureaucracy that is resistant to change,

00:04:58.500 countless managers and supervisors, to the point where they're not always certain who does what,

00:05:04.340 and what their roles and responsibilities are. And it's the the frontline workers that we should look to for

00:05:10.980 suggestions on implementing and making improvements to a failing system. Yet, many tell me they are not heard,

00:05:20.100 their ideas not given proper consideration, and at times they are criticized for attempting to have debate or

00:05:27.460 challenge certain policies. And with that point, I can commiserate. To be open, pre-COVID, immediately

00:05:36.820 after we were elected, myself, as well as other MLAs, felt that changes within the upper management of AHS

00:05:44.740 should have occurred. We felt that AHS was a bloated, underperforming entity that required

00:05:52.100 transformation. And culture cannot be changed under the same ingrained management structure. And with

00:06:00.580 the uninspiring performance of AHS over the last two years, right or wrong, that sentiment still holds

00:06:07.540 with me. In my opinion, we should immediately begin looking for high-caliber candidates from outside of AHS.

00:06:16.100 We require new and fresh conversations. Some will say this has been tried before at AHS and it was

00:06:23.860 unsuccessful. They say the system is too big to change or that the timing is not right. Well, I disagree

00:06:31.460 wholeheartedly. One does not leave a struggling system to continue struggling because it is too big to change.

00:06:38.660 We have a responsibility to do our best. At the very least, we should be bringing in outside professional 1.00

00:06:47.460 consultants to provide a new perspective at AHS and equip government with a second opinion.

00:06:54.740 We are in turbulent times and governments across the country and around the world to varying degrees

00:07:02.740 implemented unpopular policies to maintain healthcare capacity in the name of the well-being of their

00:07:09.460 citizens. Why could we not have activated private options instead of cancelling surgeries,

00:07:16.820 which left some doctors idle? Many of the larger hospitals in the province were handling COVID,

00:07:22.820 but there were operating rooms in other regions that were completely underutilized.

00:07:26.900 And could we not have put out an RFP, provided physicians with the necessary operating space

00:07:34.820 and used public dollars to pay for those privately conducted procedures?

00:07:39.860 You know, there are those that might say that this strategy would be in conflict of the Canada Health

00:07:46.420 Act and that the Trudeau government would not support it. But in times such as these,

00:07:53.460 why would any Prime Minister, let alone this one, try to stop life-saving procedures because of who might

00:08:00.100 perform the operation? It is important that we have faith and trust in our institutions, faith in our

00:08:07.860 medical system, faith in our government to do the right thing when it is necessary to do so. To satisfy that

00:08:15.620 trust, changes are sometimes necessary. We must endeavor to generate confidence, not fear.

00:08:24.340 This is a difficult topic, but we all have a part to play in getting it right. So please share your

00:08:30.420 thoughts and ideas on what we could do to improve services at AHS or to improve our response. I would

00:08:36.980 like to hear your opinions. If you want to provide some feedback direct to my office, please feel free to

00:08:43.620 send it to airdrie.cochran at assembly.ab.ca. Thank you for listening.

Western Standard - January 18, 2022

UCP MLA calls AHS ‘bloated’ and ‘underperforming’

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