Friends of Medicare

USA insurance casts their eye on Alberta

2009-11-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

American healthcare reform could hurt Canada
Aaron Burnett 2009-11-08 20:09

American democrats are hailing it as a historic moment for their nation.

The U.S. House of Representatives has narrowly passed a trillion-dollar bill aimed at overhauling the American healthcare system.

The legislation now goes to the Senate.

However, the historic vote to pass a public health care bill in the United States may lead to more private insurance in Canada.

That warning comes today from the Friends of Medicare.

Executive Director David Eggen tells 660News private insurers in the United States are going to be trying to make up for lost business, by looking north.

Eggen adds, that as American insurers begin more aggressively marketing to provincial governments, especially Alberta, it may be more tempting to de-list certain services, leading to more out of pocket health expenses for the average person.

Banner Headline in Red Deer Today!

2009-11-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

Red Deer Advocate
Protesters seize day

By Laura Tester - Red Deer Advocate

Published: November 09, 2009 6:19 AM
Updated: November 09, 2009 9:59 AM

1 Comment More than 600 protesters marched along city streets Saturday to show their disdain for Progressive Conservative health-care cutbacks in what could be Red Deer’s largest anti-government rally ever.

Throngs of people climbed off chartered buses from Calgary and Edmonton in order to attend the Stop the Cuts! rally organized by Public Interest Alberta, Friends of Medicare and other lobby groups.

Organizers believe the protest was the biggest ever in the city.

The province aims to reduce health care costs overall by three per cent and as part of that has called on some nurses and other professionals to take early retirement. Several hundred hospital beds will close in Calgary and Edmonton.

David Eggen, executive director for Friends of Medicare, said their main purpose was to target the 1,200-some delegates attending the two-day Progressive Conservative annual general meeting at the Capri Centre, rather than the party leadership.

“We know there’s a lot of anger,” said Eggen. “We see that from the polls and we see that from the attempts to cut health care and education.”

According to one recent poll, the party’s popularity has dipped to a 16-year low while the upstart right-wing party Wildrose Alliance is gaining ground.

“I am sure that the size of the rally won’t be lost on Mr. (Ed) Stelmach and the whole cabinet,” Eggen said.

The boisterous group chanted “no more cuts!” and banged on pails as they marched towards the hotel. Some carried signs with messages of “Defend Medicare” and “Bye, bye Ed” while members from some of Alberta’s largest unions waved flags.

Traffic was halted for about 10 minutes as the marchers crossed Gaetz Avenue to their destination. Some drivers beeped horns as a sign of solidarity. Several Mounties and security personnel watched while the group paraded peacefully around the hotel parking lot.

Despite their best intentions, the protesters’ pleas were not heard inside the hall where Tory members gave one of two standing ovations to Premier Ed Stelmach on Saturday. He received 77.4 per cent support from party faithful to continue as leader.

Stelmach said later the government will remain a “strong supporter of public health.”

“The ministry of health will not see a reduction in funding,” Stelmach said. “They didn’t see a reduction last year and they won’t this coming year. There will be an increase in that department because our senior population is increasing, we have more people moving into the province, we’re doing more in terms of various surgeries.”

Money must also be set aside for widespread health issues like flu pandemics so there are enough resources to treat sick people, Stelmach added.

Guy Smith, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, called Stelmach “a decent man” after meeting him for the first time on Friday.

“The trouble is, he’s got people in his party who are pushing policies that are damaging to Albertans,” Smith said.

Stelmach’s vow to rein in government spending has Smith concerned.

“We haven’t seen an increase in spending in public services,” said Smith, who represents about 76,000 health care, government and municipal workers. “We didn’t get the kind of increases in staff resources even during the good times.”

Chris Leclerc, 18, of Red Deer, protested because he wants “adequate health care for all.”

“You have to try and figure out ways to make it better, and stop screwing up things,” Leclerc said.

Albertans have been outraged over the Calgary Flames getting H1N1 flu shots ahead of others and the province’s general handling of H1N1 vaccination clinics.

“If people are upset about the Calgary Flames, there are people who are jumping the queue all the time,” said Gail Desmoulins of Calgary. “People who have money can jump the queue to get an MRI or CAT scan ahead of those who can’t afford to.”

ltester@reddeeradvocate.com

Calgary Sun

2009-11-09T18:36:00.001-07:00

Although tough economic times are forcing all provincial ministries to tighten next year's budgets, the health department will in fact receive an increase in cash, according to Premier Ed Stelmach.

The premier made the comments Saturday night after Friends of Medicare protested recent cuts to the health-care system outside the Tory party's annual general meeting in Red Deer.

"The ministry of health will not see a reduction in funding," said Stelmach.

"It may not be the 10-12 percent that we normally see, but there will be an increase in that department because our seniors' population is increasing and of course we have more people moving into the province."

Friends of Medicare executive director David Eggen is doubtful Stelmach will follow through on his commitment.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Eggen said yesterday.

"They've been saying that they need to cut and then they say they need to invest, and cut and invest -- let's see which one they pick.

"All evidence points to the fact that they have been choosing the cut door -- if they want to choose the invest door now, that's great."

Eggen added the government's annual 10-12% boosts to the health care budget have been "pretty flat" over the last two decades in relation to the population and the once-booming economy.

TARINA.WHITE@SUNMEDIA.CA

front page! good work friends

2009-11-08T15:30:00.001-07:00

Flu fiasco spurs 700 to protest health cuts

Nurses, senior groups, students gather at Friends of Medicare rally

By Archie Mclean, Edmonton JournalNovember 8, 2009Comments (8)
StoryPhotos ( 1 )

Several hundred protesters organized by the Friends of Medicare protested outside the Alberta Progressive Conservative annual meeting and convention at the Capri Centre in Red Deer on Saturday, November 7, 2009.Photograph by: Calgary Herald, edmontonjournal.comAs Progressive Conservative delegates tucked into lunch Saturday at their convention, about 700 people gathered outside to protest government cuts and hospital bed closures.

They waved banners, blew whistles and chanted, "No more cuts."

For them, the strong show of confidence by party members for Stelmach was beside the point.

"It was a message to the delegates that Albertans don't want to see Klein-style cuts in 2009," said David Eggen, the head of Friends of Medicare, who helped organize the protest.

Many of the protesters were union members from the United Nurses of Alberta and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.

Eggen said the high turnout was spurred in part by the government's response to the H1N1 pandemic.

"People saw that as a test of the superboard, and it failed," Eggen said.

The coalition that organized the rally included seniors groups, advocates of the disabled, students and more. They came from as far away as Medicine Hat, Eggen said.

Jay Smith arrived from Edmonton to rail against what he said is privatization of health care in the province.

"I dislike the sharks in society, those who are predators," he said, motioning to the hotel hosting the convention.

The protesters marched around the outside of the hotel grounds before crossing the road and dissipating.

amclean@thejournal.canwest.com

2009-11-08T15:27:00.001-07:00

Hundreds protest outside Tory AGM

5:20PM
EDMONTON/630 CHED
11/7/2009

Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the hotel in Red Deer, where Progressive Conservative delegates are voting on Premier Ed Stelmach's leadership.

The protest, organized by the group Friends of Medicare, is aimed at hospital bed closures and other government cuts to health care.

David Eggen with Friends of Medicare says they can make a difference. "We believe that the exercising of our democratic right to speak out does have an effect on policy in the province of Alberta. And Albertans are smart too, they know that their services are in jeopardy, they know how to stand up for themselves."

Eggen adds around 1,100 people took part in today's protest.

Inside the hotel, 1,300 Tories were eating lunch and listening to the premier answer questions.

Stelmach faces a mandatory leadership review vote the Tories hold after every general election and the results will be announced this evening.

Although some Tory veterans have been calling for a change in leadership, Stelmach is expected get a fairly strong endorsement from the delegates. (cp,blb)

2009-11-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Follow the quotes...

2009-11-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

Time province gets swine flu story straight

Government's mixed messages of past week put most vulnerable at risk

By opening the swine flu vaccination to everyone last week, the government inadvertently undermined the program so that now, at least temporarily, it's open to no one.

The government likes to say it's a victim of its own success, that 400,000 Albertans were immunized the first six days. The fact is, the government is a victim of its own muddled communications and mixed messaging.

Getting 400,000 people inoculated is an impressive feat, but it would be much more impressive if all of those vaccinated were in the highrisk groups and did not include average, healthy Albertans frightened into jumping the queue, so to speak, while pregnant women and toddlers waited at the back of the line.

The government insists it did not issue any mixed messages. No?You decide.

Here is Health Minister Ron Liepert early last week: "I urge all Albertans to go out and get immunized."

And here is Premier Ed Stelmach: "We're not asking only those highrisk groups to get the vaccine first. It's open to all."

The government couldn't be more clear; it was telling all Albertans that, not only are the doors open to all, all should open the doors.

But here's Liepert again, later in the week: "The message isn't any different today than it was four days ago. We would encourage those who are not at high risk to be patient and wait, those who are at high risk, please go and get your vaccination. Nothing has changed."

Here he is last Friday, admitting health officials should have targeted more of the high-risk groups: "In hindsight, that's probably something we should have done is have specialized clinics."

Here he is on Monday talking to reporters: "There is no mixed message coming from us."

And here he is on Monday in the legislative assembly talking about what he said last week: "I announced at that time that our efforts would focus on high-risk groups first, but I also said that we would not turn anyone away, and Albertans heard that message."

Which message did they hear? That we should focus on high-risk groups? Or that vaccination clinics were open to everyone? That's not a mixed message?

The problem with treating everyone equally in a swine flu pandemic is that this strain of swine flu doesn't appear to be particularly democratic. It doesn't treat everyone the same. It doesn't target the usual flu victims-- the elderly--but instead goes after those who usually weather the flu --the young and healthy.

One of those was a 13-year-old Ontario boy, Evan Frustaglio, who died just a few days after contracting the disease and who, in the words of his father, has become the face of the H1N1 virus. It was Evan's heartbreaking and shocking death, and an announcement by health officials that they were running out of vaccine, that helped trigger a national stampede to the vaccination clinics --and triggered grumbling from coast to coast about long lineups and closed clinics.

In that way, Alberta is not alone. No government in Canada is going to escape criticism, no matter its political stripe.

In Alberta, we have the opposition Liberals attacking the governing Conservatives.

In Ontario, it's the other way around: "Only in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario would prisoners be moved to the front of the line while pregnant women and children wait in the rain for hours," said the leader of Ontario's Conservative opposition, Tim Hudak.

Some frustrated Torontonians waiting in line have shouted slogans such as, "This is not a third-world country."

The federal government is, predictably, under attack from opposition critics, but the country's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, may have inadvertently put the "panic" into pandemic by telling all Canadians that getting a flu shot is a civic duty: "Being immunized is important, not only for protection of ourselves, but for those around us--because, if I'm not sick, I can't make anybody else sick...I will be immunized, because the last thing I want in the world is to cause anybody else to be sick, let alone to be severely ill or to die."

That's sort of what the Alberta government was telling people last week, even while it also tried to focus on high-risk groups.

For all their talk of last week's "success," members of the Alberta government realize they have a public relations problem. You don't close vaccination clinics in the midst of a pandemic without upsetting the people those clinics are supposed to inoculate.

That's why Premier Stelmach cancelled an appearance on Monday morning to open the Calgary Ring Road and instead huddled in his office with Liepert and the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health Andre Corriveau.

It's some consolation that virtually every other province is in the same miserable boat.

No jurisdiction has figured out how to make the system run smoothly.

Alberta wasn't the only province giving its citizens a mixed message.

Today, the government will have a new message, one aimed at encouraging high-risk Albertans to get a vaccination, while bluntly telling the rest of us to wait.

Let's hope the message is that clear and unmuddled.

gthomson@thejournal.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Friends of Medicare Agrees with the Calgary Herald!

2009-11-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

Calgary Herald
Health minister must resign
Editorial

Calgary HeraldNovember 3, 2009

Health Minister Ron Liepert must resign his cabinet post. He has lost the confidence of Albertans with his botched handling of the H1N1 vaccine program. The buck ultimately stops with Liepert, who sent Albertans grievously mixed messages, and deflected the blame for the long lineups and this week's clinic closures, while backtracking and flip-flopping on policy statements. He even pointed an accusing finger at the media for chronicling the confusion he is ultimately responsible for.
In a column published in Monday's Herald, Liepert claimed poor planning was not responsible for the chaos, but it is obvious that it was. Liepert claims vaccine availability was the real culprit--yet, that doesn't appear to have figured into the province's plans when it received 400,000 doses to kick off the program. Liepert said it was always a priority that high-risk people would get the shots first, but the message given Albertans was that nobody would be turned away, so naturally thousands of healthy people showed up to get their shots. If vaccine availability was the driving force behind the government's rollout plans, then the messages should have been tailored to reflect that.
Dr. Andre Corriveau, chief medical officer of health, said Monday that vaccinations were never targeted for the entire population, which contradicts what Premier Ed Stelmach said last week. Corriveau was appointed by the provincial government and directly reports to Liepert. That should be enough to make Albertans question how much of the buck-passing is political, but in the end, Liepert must take ultimate responsibility for the chaos. Stelmach should request Liepert's imminent departure. It would be the first demonstration of leadership shown since the vaccine fiasco unfolded. A new vaccination plan targeting high-risk people only, with strict enforcement, is to be unveiled Tuesday. Liepert's resignation deserves to be unveiled along with it.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

2009-11-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

2009-11-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

Clinics closed
Will reopen soon with new plan to target vaccine at high-risk groups

By ALYSSA NOEL, SHAWN LOGAN, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 1st November 2009, 5:03am

The province has shut down all H1N1 vaccine clinics for at least a day in the wake of shortages across the country, health officials announced yesterday.

The clinics are expected to reopen tomorrow or early Tuesday with a strict screening process in place to weed out those who aren't in the high-risk group, said Dr. Gerry Predy, medical officer of health for the province.

"We're asking people to be calm. There will be more vaccine. There will be enough for everyone who wants it," he said.

CLINICS OVERWHELMED

Initially, clinics were scheduled to run until Nov. 13. It's not clear how long they will now remain open.

Yesterday's surprise announcement came hours after the Edmonton area's seven clinics were overwhelmed with long lineups, forcing them to stop accepting new patients by 12:30 p.m.

There were no details available yesterday on how people will be screened at clinics.

Predy said officials will be working throughout the weekend, looking at provinces that have had screening in place, in order to come up with a plan.

When clinics opened last Monday, Predy told reporters that officials were asking only high-risk people to get the shot but didn't do any screening because it would eat up too much time, snarling long lines even further.

At-risk groups include pregnant women, children six months to less than five years old, people under 65 with chronic health problems, people living in remote communities and health-care workers.

"In retrospect, we still think it was the right thing to do given the information we had," Predy said.

More than 300,000 Albertans have been vaccinated in just a week with a supply of more than 600,000 doses, he added.

But with an expected reduced shipment coming this week, the province decided to revamp its approach.

"We still have enough vaccine to carry through with the (high-risk-only) vaccination campaign," Predy said.

Meanwhile, critics charged the province dropped the ball by not screening for those most in need of H1N1 shots right off the bat.

ANSWERS DEMANDED

After a week of long lines and confusion over who should be eligible for the vaccine in the first days of the campaign, the move to limit flu shots to only at-risk groups has Liberal Leader David Swann demanding answers.

"They failed to prioritize the most in need: the vulnerable people at risk of serious illness and death and they need to answer for that," said Swann, who spent the day visiting people waiting in line for the shot at the Brentwood clinic in Calgary.

"They opened up the floodgates and that was inappropriate."

Swann said the province has been working on its pandemic plan for a decade and one of its main tenets was to identify and treat those most at risk of contracting a virus first before targeting the general population.

Instead, the province opened mass immunization centres, relying on the goodwill of Albertans to stay home unless they fit the profile outlined for those most at risk of succumbing to the virus.

So far, the virus has been responsible for 14 deaths in Alberta.

"They need to let the health professionals take over and get the funding they need to get all the proper resources in place to do this right," Swann said.

David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said the province didn't clearly communicate its plans and now people most in need of the vaccine are paying the price.

"My main concern is how they chose to get the message out there about who should get that shot," he said.

"The government seems to be contradicting Alberta Health Services and saying everybody should get the shot when obviously there are a number of high-risk people who should be the priority."

For more information, visit albertahealthservices.ca.

ALYSSA.NOEL@SUNMEDIA.CA

Vancouver Sun

2009-10-31T23:30:00.001-06:00

Alberta flu vaccine clinics to close until further notice

After days of runaway lines and in the face of dwindling supply, the Alberta government put an abrupt halt to its mass immunization program against the H1N1 flu Saturday, promising to launch a new effort next week targeted exclusively at high-risk groups.

The shutdown means vaccine clinics that attracted thousands of people Saturday — and every day since they’ve opened — will remain closed Sunday and until further notice. When they do reopen, only pregnant women, people under 65 with chronic health conditions, children between six months and five years old, people living in remote communities and health care workers will be vaccinated.

“It is important for the public not to panic and respect the priorities for vaccination,” said Dr. Gerry Predy, the province’s chief medical officer of health. “We’re asking people to be calm. There will be more vaccine, and there should be enough vaccine for everybody who wants it.”

The province initially received 600,000 doses of the vaccine. Of those, they doled out more than 300,000 in the first six days of the campaign.

The government had asked for 200,000 more doses for next week. But they’ve have been told they may only receive 90,000 because the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, has fallen behind in production.

Predy said the reduction in vaccine is a national issue, one beyond the province’s control.

Critics, though, say Alberta should have had a targeted vaccination program from the beginning and that launching one now reveals they were poorly prepared for the pandemic.

“This come-one, come-all approach has been chaos,” said David Eggen, the executive director of Friends of Medicare. “This lack of planning has now come back to bite us.”

While some provinces turned the general public away during the initial phase of immunization, Alberta only asked that priority be given to high-risk groups. Clinics did not screen patients or turn anyone away.

“There’s no excuse for this kind of bumbling. It’s not acceptable. People are outraged,” said David Swann, the leader of the provincial Liberal Party.

Swann said he met a 10-year-old boy in a vaccination line at a Calgary mall who couldn’t understand why the vaccine wasn’t being given to those who have the greatest chance of becoming ill. Alberta Health Services should have been turning people away if they did not fit the high-risk criteria, he said.

Predy, though, defended the province’s approach.

“Our pandemic plan was to vaccinate as many people as possible in as short a period as possible,” he said. “In retrospect, we still think it was the right thing to do given the information we had at the time we developed the plan.”

The final day of the mass vaccination campaign was perhaps the most chaotic yet.

In Edmonton, overwhelmed flu clinics stopped accepting new arrivals by 12:30 p.m. as people descended on them in what appeared to be record numbers in advance of an anticipated vaccine shortage.

Lineups at some clinics formed a full five hours ahead of their scheduled 9 a.m. opening.

At the Strathcona County Health Centre in Sherwood Park, some lined up at 4 a.m. to hold spots for themselves and family members.

By 9:15 a.m., there were already nearly 1,000 people in line, many of them wrapped in blankets, shawls and sleeping bags to guard against the fall chill.

Like many in line, Michael Kopp said he was galvanized by talk about an anticipated shortfall of the vaccine.

“When you hear the health minister talking on TV about how they’re going to run out of the vaccine, you just know there are going to be masses of people,” said Kopp, who was there with his wife Carol.

Health Minister Ron Liepert said Friday the provincial government was going through about 50,000 doses of the vaccine a day. Liepert warned the province could run out of the vaccine by this week if public demand continued at its current pace.

Of the thousands who showed up at Edmonton’s Bonnie Doon Mall Saturday, few had shopping in mind.

Those who did were buying snacks for restless children from Tigesti Woldeab, whose Something Good kiosk is in the centre of the mall.

“Business has been pretty good,” acknowledged Woldeab.

By mid-morning, a security guard estimated the crowd to be around 1,500, some facing a five-hour wait.

Security was heavy at some clinics in anticipation of a backlash from those turned away.

“Our staff have had a lot of anger directed toward them, and it’s unfortunate because I think they’ve done a great job,” said Predy. “But we’ve tried to do everything we can to prevent that from happening.”

In Calgary, clinics turned people away for a second consecutive day.

“I am very scared,” said taxi driver Resham Sidhu, a father of three young children, after getting turned away from a clinic. “I drive a cab and I have contact with a lot of people, and then if I catch something, I contact people. Then I come back home and (put my children) at risk, too.”

Val Alvarez — who was turned away for a second time this week in Calgary — said she was frustrated she hadn’t been able to get the shots for her two children.

“They are at the age that where they are saying kids are a priority,” she said. “Well, they’re not a priority if they’re telling us to go home.”

Outside the big cities, flu-shot clinics in Bonnyville and Grande Prairie both reported long lineups Saturday, but there was no indication they had to turn people away.

Predy said the vaccine was disturbed across the province based both on population and on turnout from previous campaigns.

The head of the province’s largest civil service union, meanwhile, wants front-line justice and social service employees put on the vaccination priority list.

Guy Smith, the president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, said corrections employees, probation officers, provincial Sheriffs, child protection workers, youth care workers and nurses in correctional facilities face a higher-than-average risk of contracting the flu.

“These public employees need to be available to keep the system operating in the event of a major health crisis,” said Smith. “If these employees get sick, there will be a shortage of trained people who can do their jobs.”

Predy, though, said prisoners and prison workers don’t fall within the high-risk category.

Eventually, he said, everybody in the province who wants it will get the vaccine. But in the short term, only those who need it most will get the jab.

“We will be turning away people who don’t meet the criteria, so the public needs to be aware of that,” Predy said.

Predy said health workers will work through the weekend to develop a screening plan. Once they do, the clinics will be reopened.

As for the rest of the province, Predy preached patience.

“People shouldn’t panic. This is a temporary shortage,” he said. “We anticipate that within three weeks, we should have a better flowing supply of vaccine.”

Minister's Advisory Committee Follies

2009-10-31T12:28:00.000-06:00

Health-care reform's third man a rookie MLA from Edmonton

Panel co-chair Fred Horne defends decision to dispense with public hearings

By Sheila Pratt, Edmonton JournalOctober 11, 2009

While most Edmonton Tory MLAs prefer a low profile when it comes to health reform, Edmonton backbencher Fred Horne is about to join Health Minister Ron Liepert and Alberta Health Services CEO Stephen Duckett in the spotlight.

Horne, who represents Edmonton Rutherford, is co-chair of the 16-member advisory committee reviewing all major pieces of Alberta health law.

That includes the laws governing hospital services, public health insurance, nursing homes and contracting out to private clinics, to name a few.

The goal is to update the laws to make it possible to move more care out of hospitals and into places like doctors' offices, clinics, pharmacies and primary-care networks, says Horne.

That might also involve looking at whether health-care professionals should expand their duties (scope of practice), he says.

The committee has little more than six weeks to produce a report for Health Minister Ron Liepert that is expected to have far-reaching implications for the direction of health reform.

"It will be an important report that will look to the future," said Horne, adding that Liepert will be making the report public.

The committee may also look at how to provide incentives to encourage healthier living, reduce risky behaviours and build healthier communities, he says.

Thirty-five stakeholders have been invited to meet over four days with the committee behind closed doors to present their concerns on what legislation they'd like to see changed.

Each will have 30 minutes with the committee starting next Thursday and Friday in Edmonton.

The public is invited to fill out an online workbook on the committee's website, says Horne.

"Anyone is free to send in a written submission," he adds.

Horne defended the decision to meet with stakeholders behind closed doors.

"The committee wants a dialogue with stakeholders, so we're not holding public hearings," he says.

"We're looking for targeted information on key pieces of legislation."

Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald said that's an unfortunate decision, as the public should be engaged in the process.

But MacDonald said he's not surprised there are no public hearings or town hall meetings.

"In the past when they had public hearings, it created an uproar and the public pushed back and they had to back down. They don't want that to happen this time. They're just steamrollering ahead."

Dave Eggen, of Friends of Medicare, said his organization is among those invited to make a presentation.

He would also have preferred an open process, but that's not about to happen, he said.

"Liepert said again this week the time for consultation is over.

"Every Edmontonian should ask their MLA why they supported health cuts in caucus, including the cuts to mental health beds at Alberta Hospital," Eggen says.

Wendy Armstrong, of the Consumers Association of Canada(Alberta), said her group is also pleased to be invited. But it is difficult to respond when the goal of the reform process is so vague, she adds.

"What happened to the days when the government put out a white paper of proposals for the public?"

She notes that Liepert asserted again last week that Alberta voters gave the government a mandate for health reform in the 2008 election. But the consumers association isn't convinced that's the case, especially for radical reform, given that health care was not mentioned in the 2008 election.

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

2009-10-31T12:20:00.000-06:00

2009-10-31T12:19:00.000-06:00

2009-10-31T12:15:00.000-06:00

News
The provocateur’s prescription
Hired to fix Alberta’s ailing health system, Duckett opts for ‘shock’ treatment

Published October 29, 2009 by Jeremy Klaszus in News

Back in February, Heather Smith was ready to like Stephen Duckett.

Alberta’s recently created health superboard had just poached Duckett, an Australian health economist, from his government job in the state of Queensland. Smith, president of the United Nurses of Alberta, heard good things about the man who was about to become Alberta Health Services’ new president and CEO — that he was smart, educated and based his decisions on evidence: “A man of learning,” recalls Smith. The nurses union in Queensland gave him a good review. “The message we got back was generally, ‘We’re sorry to see him go,’” says Smith. “I was the one here in our office saying, ‘He may not be bad. Let’s see.’”

Eight months later, Smith has a different view. The nurses have filed a complaint with Alberta Health Services accusing Duckett of “bullying,” spreading “mistruths” and causing “serious morale issues” in the health system. This, after Duckett told media that much “of what a nurse does in a hospital ward could be done by someone else” and made other remarks about disparaging nurses’ coffee breaks. “We have been disappointed,” says Smith.

Liked or not, Duckett has an immense — or, as he puts it on his blog, “incredibly difficult” — job ahead of him. Last year Health Minister Ron Liepert suddenly scrapped the province’s health regions (along with their CEOs) to centralize the system under the Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) banner. Neither the public nor health staff were consulted.

The department, which employs about 90,000, faces a whopping billion-dollar deficit.

Duckett is tasked with making the new behemoth work and building staff and public confidence in the superboard. At the same time, he’s also being asked to cut hospital wait times, improve accessibility, create new health advisory councils and more — all while hacking down the deficit.

If he succeeds, he rakes in $144,000 on top of his annual $575,000 salary. The size of his potential bonus is directly tied to 10 specific goals, ranging from cutting emergency wait times for complex cases (from an existing 16.1 hours to 14 hours) to increasing seniors flu immunization rates (from 58 per cent to 63 per cent). “We have a single hired gun with a promise of a bonus if he does it well,” says Smith.

MAKING HIS MARK

Duckett hasn’t wasted any time making his mark on Alberta’s system. As soon as he was on the job in March, he started furiously restructuring AHS departments. Managers had to reapply for their existing jobs; some were laid off. Staff describe an uncertain and demoralizing work environment.

“The general sense at the staff level is that this has been terribly mishandled, and it appears as though those in charge have no idea what they are doing,” says one AHS employee. (Staff are forbidden from openly speaking their minds to media, as a new code of conduct was written up shortly before Duckett started.)

So far, Duckett has been provocative in his approach — much like the health minister. Duckett has slowed hiring (nurses call it a “freeze”; Duckett calls it putting the “brakes on external recruitment”), shut down hospital helipads for a week based on bad information, cast doubt on the quality of research being done at Alberta universities and announced plans to cut some 300 acute care beds and 250 mental health beds.

He has yet to win over both his own staff and the public. “He burned through a lot of credibility very quickly,” says David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare and a former NDP MLA. Eggen also refers to Duckett as a “hired gun” — he believes that the AHS board hired someone out of country so “he can execute the dirty work and then you can blame him” once he’s gone. “He definitely is not here to win friends and influence people, so far as I can tell.”

(Duckett wasn’t interviewed for this story, despite repeated requests over several weeks for an interview. AHS communications staff said he was too busy, and declined to set up an interview with other health officials, saying Duckett “is the best guy for your interview.”)

Duckett writes on his blog that he’s not here to cut and run, and that he’s been “amazed by the continuing xenophobia associated with my appointment.” His contract is for an “indefinite term.” He writes: “Why would I have left a good job in Queensland, uprooted my family, and bought a house in Edmonton for a job that might only last 12 months? To put the record straight, I have a long-term contract with Alberta Health Services.”

‘100 DIFFERENT BULLETS’

Duckett hails from a country that has a mix of public and private hospitals; about 40 per cent of Australians use private health insurance for routine procedures like eye and joint surgery. This begs the inevitable question: under Duckett, will Alberta see more private care?

Albertans have traditionally been suspicious of Conservative efforts to reform health care. Former premier Ralph Klein’s infamous Third Way, a plan that would have paved the way for more privatization, hit a wall of public backlash. Now, Liepert talks about “finding efficiencies” in the system — in other words, cutting inefficiencies.

“There’s no one magic bullet that’s going to fix the problem,” says Liepert. “There’s going to be 100 different bullets and hopefully if we fire 100 different bullets in the same direction, we’re going to start to see a different alignment of health care.” Critics like Eggen say that Liepert’s vaguely worded “different alignment” involves more privatization.

Duckett is the man responsible for firing Liepert’s bullets. Both his supporters and detractors say he’s got a brilliant mind; as an economist, he loves working with numbers and finding ways to make health systems more efficient. But is the Aussie bent on privatization? “No,” says Vivian Lin, a a former colleague of Duckett’s and the chair of public health at La Trobe University in Melbourne. In fact, she says, the opposite is true. “A lot of people would see him as a very committed person to Labour Party values — so, socialist left…. He has quite publicly opposed attempts to privatize elements of the Australian health system.”

Former colleagues say Duckett is a strong supporter of the public system, though not an ideological supporter. “Basically, Stephen’s view is that the public system is more efficient and more equitable than the private,” says Hal Swerissen, dean of health sciences at La Trobe — a position Duckett himself held until 2006. “It solves the big problems better. It’s not an ideological position in the sense of, ‘Public is better no matter what’…. He would be interested in what is going to be efficient.”

In Alberta, Duckett has much more power than he had in Australia, where state and federal governments share responsibility for health provision (he worked on both levels and in the mid-’90s was the equivalent of deputy minister in the federal government). “Whether you’re at the federal level or the state level, you don’t actually have the levers of the whole health system because each level only has responsibility for one part,” says Lin.

Most Albertans — including Eggen and Liepert — aren’t familiar with Duckett’s previous work. “That’s the job of the headhunter, to do that work,” says Liepert when asked what specifically Duckett did in Australia. (Duckett was selected by a search firm; Liepert interviewed Duckett and, impressed by his “no-nonsense style,” OK’d the choice.)

Before he moved to Edmonton earlier this year, Duckett was in charge of Queensland’s Centre for Health Care Improvement, which was tasked with implementing the state Labour government’s plan to improve patient safety and the “organizational culture” of the health department. Queensland, Australia’s second-largest state, has about four million people. Duckett was about three years into the job when Alberta wooed him away.

Before that, in the ’80s and early ’90s, he worked for the health department in the state of Victoria, where as director of acute health, he introduced case-mix or activity-based funding — a system whereby hospitals are paid for each procedure they do instead of being given a lump sum.

Duckett plans to introduce activity-based funding in Alberta, and has said it will save tens of millions of dollars. In a May speech, he said the activity-based system ensures hospitals receive “fair” funding and live within their means. Switching over “would mean that arguments about overfunding, unfair treatment, favourites etc. would be wiped away and would also reduce the likelihood of service reductions of a budget strategy,” he said.

Eggen is wary of the plan. “I think it’s to open the door to more private contracting and also to, as they say, create this idea of competiton between hospitals, which is patently absurd as far as I’m concerned.”

Liberal leader David Swann — a doctor — says activity-based funding has advantages and disadvantages. “It means that where people are doing good work, efficient work, they get rewarded. The disadvantage is if they just push through people more quickly, it may not be the best work. It may be the fastest work. So giving them more money because they push people through more quickly isn’t exactly what’s needed.”

Swann is unimpressed with the government’s approach to health care. “They’re making ad hoc decisions based on the pressures they’re getting, and the indicators of either human suffering or professional outrage or public anxiety.”

SHOCK STRATEGY

Swann might not be too far off. Swerissen, who worked with Duckett in Australia for about 10 years, says his former colleague intentionally riles up people. “One of the techniques that he uses is to basically shock people a little bit by pointing out the obvious,” says Swerissen. “If you have a situation where one group of professionals is really doing things which are irrational and inefficient, he’s quite likely to say so and then see what reactions he gets.”

It’s done not for the mere sake of provocation, says Swerissen, but with a goal in mind: “He does that a bit to destabilize a situation and then see what emerges, and then he will adapt to the set of circumstances. He uses that as a strategy to get some movement in the system. It’s quite a pragmatic approach that he usually has.”

Unsurprisingly, not everyone in Australia appreciated this. “I think if there was one group that didn’t like him, it was the AMA — the Australian Medical Association,” says Lin. “They think he doesn’t like doctors.” (Contacted by Fast Forward Weekly, a spokesperson with AMA Queensland said: “We don’t comment on Stephen Duckett. We don’t have anyone who’s worked with him directly.”)

Alberta doctors have been wary about the new superboard arrangement and impending cuts. In a June letter, former Alberta Medical Association president Noel Grisdale warned Liepert that trying to “achieve too many savings too soon” might do more harm than good, putting AHS in a position where it “may become identified with reduced access and reduced quality before having a chance to prove itself.”

Current Alberta Medical Association president Chip Doig is diplomatic when asked about Duckett, saying it would be “a little bit unfair” to grade Duckett’s performance so early. Doig is hopeful that cuts won’t hurt either doctors or patients. “We have every expectation from what’s been communicated to us… that cost savings will primarily be achieved through not a reduction in health services, but in other efficiencies.”

‘TOUGH DECISIONS’

So what’s next for Duckett and Alberta health care? Critics — including some within AHS — say there’s no clear plan. “They’re feeling it out as they go along,” says Swann.

Liepert disagrees. “We have the plan, called Vision 2020,” says the minister, referring to a broad health road map put out by the province last December. The plan, which aims for a “patient-focused, co-ordinated and efficient” system, lists five strategic goals, including providing services “in the right place and at the right time” and “matching workforce supply to demand for services.” Part of that includes expanding pharmacists’ and dietitians’ roles as a way of freeing up doctors’ time.

Vision 2020 says it’s “not about the private delivery of health services,” but a “stronger, more efficient and sustainable publicly funded health system.”

Liepert says, “For anybody to say there is no plan, they’re not looking at what’s out there.”

But he doesn’t rule out more private options. “Are we going to the U.S. system? Absolutely not…. Are we going to be selling off our hospitals for profit? No. But we have for-profit provision of seniors care. Doctors are in it for profit. Doctors, they’re not part of the United Way. So there’s all kinds of for-profit health care today.”

As for Duckett, he’s reaching out to AHS staff by asking for their input on ways to save money. Those who come up with the best suggestions will get prizes including two weekend getaway packages and two $500 gift cards — rewards Duckett is pledging will come from his own pocket. “I see part of my job as a leader as being to liberate you to think and act creatively,” Duckett wrote on his blog earlier this month. “And I now want to put my money where my mouth is.”

He’s also asking AHS board members to take a pay cut, but has made it clear that he won’t give up his bonus.

Under Duckett, AHS is also revisiting the much-maligned code of conduct that forbids staff from publicly sharing their opinions. “They seem to be reaching out for at least the impression of consultation now… [to] give a sense of legitimacy to what’s happening,” says Swann.

Meanwhile, health advocates are mobilizing to show their support for Alberta’s public system. Rallies were recently held in Calgary and Red Deer, and more are planned for the coming weeks. “There’s a concern that we’re going to be cutting more services and people will be able to access less,” says Bonnie Malach of Alberta Better Care Calgary, a newly formed coalition of health advocates.

The province, Liepert says, is currently working on next year’s budget. “I don’t know what our funding increase is going to be for health care, but let’s say, as an example, instead of 10 per cent or even six per cent, our increase next year is only three per cent. Well, by golly, there’s going to be some tough decisions around that.”

“What they are, time will tell.”

2009-10-25T10:14:00.000-06:00

Calgary Herald

2009-10-25T10:11:00.000-06:00

Health care at 'tipping point,' coalition warns

New lobby group urges province to resist privatization

By Jamie Komarnicki, Calgary HeraldOctober 25, 2009 8:20 AMComments (2)
StoryPhotos ( 1 )

At a downtown Calgary rally Saturday, which drew about 100 people, the Alberta Better Care coalition urged the province to veer away from privatization. The Conservative government has pledged it's committed to maintaining public health care.

"The cuts--privatization, hospital crowding, seniors issues--there's a tipping point," said rally organizer Liza Lorenzetti.

Facing a $6.9-billion forecasted deficit this year and two more years of expected fiscal shortfalls, the province is looking to cut costs on several fronts. The province's medical superboard is also grappling with its own deficit of more than $1 billion.

Alberta Health Services chief executive Stephen Duckett has said the board will offer early retirement packages to nurses and other medical workers in a bid to trim costs. Duckett has insisted staff and other cuts can be achieved along with his goal of substantially reducing wait times.

However, critics argue the province should have planned long ago to deal with health-care funding and infrastructure shortfalls.

"Where was the planning to say Alberta is increasing in population, why don't we increase (services) incrementally alongside?" asked Ted Woynillowicz of Friends of Medicare.

Mark Dicey, a Calgary visual artist, said he's concerned about the province's plans for long-term care.

"We're all getting older," he said. "If the structure is being dismantled, we're all going to be affected in the end."

The new health coalition, which includes seniors advocates, unions and politicians, has several more events planned, including a rally at the Conservative party convention in Red Deer on Nov. 7.

jkomarnicki@theherald.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Moving and shaking in Red Deer - Nov. 7th

2009-10-25T10:05:00.000-06:00

Movers And Shakers

Edmonton JournalOctober 25, 2009

Here's a quick roundup of a few people shaping politics outside the dome.

- The Upstart: Danielle Smith. With no seat and no byelection in the near-future, Danielle Smith, the new leader of the Wildrose Alliance party, will have to make her headlines away from the legislature this Smith fall.

Smith is planning to host a series of town hall meetings, which should help Albertans get to know her and her policies.

The party's only MLA, Paul Hinman, says he will still hold the government accountable under the dome, but look for Smith to continue hammering away at Premier Ed Stelmach every chance she gets.

- The CEO and His Critic: Stephen Duckett and Dave Eggen.

Since his appointment last spring as president and CEO of Alberta Health Services, Stephen Duckett has routinely been in the headlines.

He may answer to the health minister, but day-to-day he is the most powerful person in Alberta health care. His blog has become a must-read for people following the province's opaque health reforms.

David Eggen will be watching Duckett's moves carefully. Eggen, former MLA for Edmonton-Calder, is now the executive director of Friends of Medicare, where he uses his freedom to regularly lambaste Duckett and the government.

- Unlikely Allies: Gary Holden and Joe Anglin.

One is comfortable in expensive suits and boardrooms, the other is at ease in worn hiking boots community halls. But Joe Anglin, a populist landowner-rights activist from Rimbey, and Enmax CEO Gary Holden find themselves unlikely allies in the fight against Bill 50. The controversial bill, which streamlines the approval process for power lines, was introduced in the spring and will likely pass the legislature this fall.

But not if Anglin and Holden can help it.

Anglin is hosting a series of eight town-hall meetings this fall to whip up (mostly rural) opposition to the bill.

Holden's Calgary-owned utility company is using its own muscle to oppose the bill online and on the airwaves.

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Fort Macleod Rally at Mr. Berger's Office

2009-10-24T19:46:00.001-06:00

People in the southern Alberta community of 3,000 are concerned about privatization of health care.
View larger image

Fort Macleod residents rally outside MLA, Evan Berger's office on Saturday.

Southern Alberta residents rally against health cuts
Updated: Sat Oct. 17 2009 15:37:59

ctvcalgary.ca

Supporters of Friends of Medicare gathered in Fort Macleod on Saturday to criticize the province for cuts to the healthcare system.

A small crowd gathered in front of Evan Berger's MLA office claiming that the Stelmach government and the Health Minister, Ron Liepert, have made no secret that cuts are coming to health care and they say enough is enough.

"It hurts in the pocketbook, cause none of us are really that wealthy that we can afford privatization," said Fort Macleod resident, Nadia Campbell.

The group says the government's constant move toward privatization of health care services is unfair and they want to bring the issue to light.

"We just want to get people more interested and concerned about this because not too far into the future depending on your age, we're all gonna need it, it's gonna affect us whether we like it or not," said Michael Cormican, from Friends of Medicare, "what they're doing, what the cuts are doing is downloading the costs onto the individual and family."

MLA Evan Berger was not present at the rally.

On Friday, 200 nurses protested outside an Edmonton hospital to voice their concerns about planned cuts to health care and a recently announced wage freeze.

Pharmacare Now!

2009-10-20T18:16:00.000-06:00

Alberta cuts generic drug costs
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 | 4:29 PM MT Comments11Recommend6CBC News
Alberta has set aside $5 million to provide an allowance for all pharmacies for each prescription less than $75. (CBC)
Prices for new generic drugs will be reduced from 75 per cent to 45 per cent of the brand-name drug price, the Alberta government said Tuesday.

Prices for existing generic drugs will also be reduced starting next April, said Minister of Health and Wellness Ron Liepert.

"Prescription drug costs continue to climb, and we need to bring those costs down for Albertans," said Liepert. "The next phase of our pharmaceutical strategy will reduce the out-of-pocket costs of prescription drugs for all Albertans, allow for quicker access to new drugs and give pharmacists a greater role in patient care."

The first phase of the Alberta Pharmaceutical Strategy was announced in December 2008 and included a drug program for those with rare diseases, a new drug plan for seniors and revised premiums for non-group coverage.

The second phase, announced Tuesday, means Alberta will begin to negotiate product-listing agreements with brand name drug manufacturers, with the aim of reducing drug costs through volume discounts.

Ontario, Quebec, B.C. and Manitoba already use product-listing agreements.

Alberta says it will also introduce a new payment model for pharmacies. A transition plan has been developed to support pharmacies as they shift from just dispensing prescription drugs to providing a wider range of services.

'They have a lot of unfinished business in regards to the drug program, and a lot of places where they can still save a lot of money.'
—Dave Eggen, Friends of MedicareThere will be $5 million in subsidies to pharmacies for dispensing prescriptions valued at less than $75 each.

Dave Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare in Alberta, praised the changes in the drug plan, but the government still has work to do.

"They still haven't resolved Phase 1 very well, downloading costs on to seniors, having an extensive program for seniors that some people can't afford. So I think they have a lot of unfinished business in regards to the drug program, and a lot of places where they can still save a lot of money."

Eggen said he would like to see bulk buying of all prescription drugs.

"Bulk buying is a good idea. The missing element here, though, is that the government has a capacity to bulk buy and control the generic drug market much more comprehensively. They can set up a clearing house to purchase most prescription drugs and that gives you a much better negotiation power with the pharmaceutical companies."

People are Angry - Wrong Way!

2009-10-20T18:13:00.000-06:00

Health cuts 'ideological choice,' crowd told

More than 500 people attend town hall session organized by Friends of Medicare

By Richard Warnica, Edmonton JournalOctober 14, 2009Comments (32)

The Alberta government has made an "ideological choice" to blow a hole in the public health system -- a move that will raise costs and erode care, a medicare advocate warned an audience of hundreds at a town hall meeting Tuesday.

"We are trying to stop money from flowing out of the system," said David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare.

"The government is completely swimming against the current."

The overflow crowd of more than 500 had organizers scrambling to lay out chairs as Eggen took to the podium.

Lining the walls on either side of the hall, people broke into applause as experts argued that planned health cuts are uninformed, ill-timed and unnecessary.

"Alberta has less excuse than anywhere in the country to cut back," said Dr. Micheal Rachlis, a family doctor turned health policy analyst who spoke after Eggen.

Rachlis called plans to delist services and shut beds a breach in the "spirit of the Canada Health Act," one that won't save any money in the long run.

If the government really wanted to reduce costs, he said, it would expand coverage to include more drug coverage and community care and reform the way doctors and other health professionals are paid, not allow more private delivery.

"I think the best argument against going private is Tony Soprano's," he said: "Fuggetaboutit--you don't need it."

Diana Gibson, research director at the University of Alberta's Parkland Institute, told the crowd that the government is trying to use public relations to make health-care problems disappear.

"It appears with a couple of press releases, we can magic away nursing shortages," she said.

The crowd appeared to be overwhelmingly supportive of the speakers' messages, with some saying they were alarmed by stories of coming cuts and closures.

"I'm concerned by what I'm hearing in the media, but I'm also concerned by what I'm seeing," said Bill Davidson, who runs a boarding house for patients who fly in for treatment from the north. "I'm seeing new places getting built, but not enough staff going into them."

Others were there to protest plans to reduce beds at Alberta Hospital, an acute psychiatric care facility.

"I think it's an outrage that they're closing that mental hospital," said Shirley Lewis.

"I just feel like it's going to spiral into an even worse situation," said Agata Nowinka, a fourth-year medical student who worked at Alberta Hospital this fall.

The government has said it won't close beds at Alberta Hospital until new spaces for treatment are opened in the community. But that doesn't mollify Nowinka.

Acute psychotic patients often need constant intensive care, she said. "That just can't happen in the community. It's like sending your car to be treated by a hairdresser."

Eggen said the government is using the economy as an excuse to do what it wants with the health-care system.

"It's a business choice and an ideological choice," he said. "You blow a hole in the middle of your public health system and private health care will enter."

Health Cuts Supported by all Tory Members

2009-10-11T11:00:00.001-06:00

Health-care reform's third man a rookie MLA from Edmonton

Panel co-chair Fred Horne defends decision to dispense with public hearings

By Sheila Pratt, Edmonton JournalOctober 10, 2009

While most Edmonton Tory MLAs prefer a low profile when it comes to health reform, Edmonton backbencher Fred Horne is about to join Health Minister Ron Liepert and Alberta Health Services CEO Stephen Duckett in the spotlight.

Horne, who represents Edmonton Rutherford, is co-chair of the 16-member advisory committee reviewing all major pieces of Alberta health law.

That includes the laws governing hospital services, public health insurance, nursing homes and contracting out to private clinics, to name a few.

The goal is to update the laws to make it possible to move more care out of hospitals and into places like doctors' offices, clinics, pharmacies and primary-care networks, says Horne.

That might also involve looking at whether health-care professionals should expand their duties (scope of practice), he says.

The committee has little more than six weeks to produce a report for Health Minister Ron Liepert that is expected to have far-reaching implications for the direction of health reform.

"It will be an important report that will look to the future," said Horne, adding that Liepert will be making the report public.

The committee may also look at how to provide incentives to encourage healthier living, reduce risky behaviours and build healthier communities, he says.

Thirty-five stakeholders have been invited to meet over four days with the committee behind closed doors to present their concerns on what legislation they'd like to see changed.

Each will have 30 minutes with the committee starting next Thursday and Friday in Edmonton.

The public is invited to fill out an online workbook on the committee's website, says Horne.

"Anyone is free to send in a written submission," he adds.

Horne defended the decision to meet with stakeholders behind closed doors.

"The committee wants a dialogue with stakeholders, so we're not holding public hearings," he says.

"We're looking for targeted information on key pieces of legislation."

Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald said that's an unfortunate decision, as the public should be engaged in the process.

But MacDonald said he's not surprised there are no public hearings or town hall meetings.

"In the past when they had public hearings, it created an uproar and the public pushed back and they had to back down. They don't want that to happen this time. They're just steamrollering ahead."

Dave Eggen, of Friends of Medicare, said his organization is among those invited to make a presentation.

He would also have preferred an open process, but that's not about to happen, he said.

"Liepert said again this week the time for consultation is over.

"Every Edmontonian should ask their MLA why they supported health cuts in caucus, including the cuts to mental health beds at Alberta Hospital," Eggen says.

Wendy Armstrong, of the Consumers Association of Canada(Alberta), said her group is also pleased to be invited. But it is difficult to respond when the goal of the reform process is so vague, she adds.

"What happened to the days when the government put out a white paper of proposals for the public?"

She notes that Liepert asserted again last week that Alberta voters gave the government a mandate for health reform in the 2008 election. But the consumers association isn't convinced that's the case, especially for radical reform, given that health care was not mentioned in the 2008 election.

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Listing boat "Pauses" before sinking

2009-10-07T16:31:00.001-06:00

Gov't 'pauses' bed closings

By Jodie Sinnema, edmontonjournal.comOctober 5, 2009Comments (101)
StoryPhotos ( 6 )

More Images » Alberta Health Services announced in August that 100 to 150 beds would be closed over the next three years at Alberta Hospital edmonton, part of which is shown above. reaction to the announcement has been strongly negative, with concerns coming from parents, police, health professionals and edmonton Mayor The head of Alberta Health Services admitted Tuesday the consultation process about bed closings at Alberta Hospital wasn't broad enough to quell the fears of psychiatrists.

"The consultations we've done so far have been essentially internal," CEO Stephen Duckett said in an interview Tuesday, the same day 14 psychiatrists at the hospital wrote a letter lambasting Alberta Health Services for plans to close 246 beds without proper consultation.

"Our level of consultations hasn't been sufficiently specific or probably at high enough a level," Duckett said.

"Our plans aren't firm yet and because our plans aren't firm, people can have uncertainty, and with uncertainty, rumours are able to be developed."

In response to a public outcry and multiple rallies against the plans that will move many mental health patients into city hospital wards, Premier Ed Stelmach announced the formation of an "implementation team" to get expert input on the issue.

"What he was looking for was an opportunity for a bit of a pause and a little more thought about the transition we're trying to achieve from solely an institutional-based model to a more of a community based-model," said MLA Fred Horne, who will serve as the premier's representative on the committee. "It's the right move and the premier's obviously very committed to it."

Psychiatrists, support workers, other health professionals who work in Alberta Hospital and advocates for patients with mental illnesses will be on the committee, as will Doug Knight, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, who has been a vocal opponent of the bed closures planned for Alberta Hospital.

Until now, Alberta Health Services has said it consulted with psychiatrists and others in the mental health community before deciding to close the beds and move mental health patients to city hospitals and other community settings once the appropriate care is in place.

Psychiatrists say they weren't consulted.

"Alberta Health Services is proceeding at breakneck speed to dismantle years of quality psychiatric services at Alberta Hospital Edmonton with potentially disastrous results for patients and families," doctors wrote in a letter to Stelmach and Albertans on Tuesday. "In what is becoming an alarming social experiment by AHS, the psychiatrists at Alberta Hospital Edmonton would like to express grave concern for the safety of our patients, and the future of compassionate care for the severely mentally ill in Alberta."

RELEASE PLANS

The psychiatrists called for a stop to the hasty process of bed closures and a "genuine" consultation process to figure out the long-term plan. They also said Alberta Health Services must release its plan for the hospital's 275-acre grounds once acute psychiatric and geriatric patients move out.

"Do not sell this beautiful land off the backs of the mentally ill," the doctors wrote.

Duckett said he wants to hear directly from the psychiatrists and workers rather than hear about their concerns through the media or through unsubstantiated rumours.

He said there is no plan to dispose of the large chunk of land the hospital sits on.

He also disputed claims that the patients will be moved by December-- a much faster turnover than staff first thought. "We've said our timeline has always been two or three years," Duckett said.

Duckett disagreed with concerns that the committee might not have much power.

"You just look at the members of this committee to realize that there are people there with a long history of supporting people with mental illness, and they're not going to be shut up by feel-good measures," Duckett said.

Changes to the health system will still be made, since the province has already decided to move away from institutionalized care to care within the community, at least when it comes to Alberta Hospital. Those buildings are old and irreparable, Duckett said, unlike the Ponoka facility for the mentally ill, which he called a "lovely" upgraded centre.

"There is no question about the policy direction that's been decided here," Horne said. "The theory behind the committee is to see how we can add value to the work that is already underway by Alberta Health Services. I just encourage people to give this a chance."

Knight said he's happy to sit on the committee, but while he agreed some Alberta Hospital patients could be better served in the community, he said all the beds must remain open for others who need specialized care given by teams of trained pharmacists, nurses, doctors and aides.

PATIENTS ON STREETS

"I still don't think those beds should be closed," said Knight, whose aggressive campaign to keep the beds open has included TV commercials featuring psychiatrists and professionals in law enforcement saying that closures will mean more mental health patients on the streets and in jails. "I am hoping this (committee) is a result of them starting to listen to not just the AUPE but others in support of us."

David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said the formation of the committee is a sign the government is realizing its mistakes.

"Mr. Stelmach is backpedalling," Eggen said. "I think they got caught and now they're in full damage control. They hit a nerve that they didn't expect and they're looking for a way out of this mess."

2009-10-04T16:46:00.000-06:00

Capital Health execs handed $300,000 gift

Ex-CEO approved bonuses following health region amalgamation: AG report

By Trish Audette, Edmonton Journal; With files from Darcy Henton and Richard WarnicaOctober 3, 2009

After the province announced plans to amalgamate the nine health regions into one superboard last year, the CEO of Edmonton's Capital Health approved retention bonuses for 15 executives that totalled $300,000, according to the auditor general's latest report.

Sheila Weatherill paid $20,000 bonuses to each executive, even though eight of the 15 were then let go during the amalgamation. None of the retention payments were

-Oilsands spat could cost $100 million / A3

recovered and, according to the report, no documentation clearly outlines why such payouts were made.

Auditor General Fred Dunn said Friday he is frustrated and "somewhat disappointed" that the theme of nearly all his annual reports since 2002 has been the government's failure to enforce its own rules.

Dunn, who will retire in February, released his final report Friday.

Putting a spotlight on compensation packages handed out to outgoing health executives, the multimillion-dollar gap between bitumen royalties received and expected, and the need to enhance communications contract rules, Dunn's audit looked at whether the government meets its own objectives and taxpayers get value for their money.

He said some compensation payments made in the health sector in the last year could be called "friendly parting gifts," and there is a need for more consistent and effective monitoring across the board.

"It becomes very inefficient inspecting the same problems over and over again, and you find no change in approach or attitude."

In a 350-page report, Dunn urged the government to better guide public agencies in keeping track of severance packages, bonuses and other achievement pay.

But Dunn's lengthiest recommendations were aimed at Alberta Health Services.

"This has been a very difficult audit," Dunn said, adding it was essentially the first time all nine health regions --now amalgamated into single entity-- have been audited at once.

He compared the health authorities to "regional fiefdoms" that handed out "gold-plated" retirement packages to top executives.

Mathematical errors and relying on the wrong employment contracts led to AHS miscalculating three executive severance packages last year, and paying out about $41,000 more than was necessary.

Alberta Health spokesman Andy Weiler said the department, and Minister Ron Liepert, had no role in approving severance packages.

"What has to be remembered here is the auditor general's audit for 2008-09 is looking at a system in transition," Weiler said.

AHS vice-president of corporate services, Mike Conroy, would not comment on past practices, but said the $41,000 overpayment is being pursued and $2,000 has already been recovered.

Liberal Leader David Swann said he was outraged by what appears to be a "total disregard of management principles.

"It's clear that this government either doesn't know how to, or doesn't care to, put in place serious measures to set up contracts that are clear and enforceable."

NDP Leader Brian Mason said the government's overall lack of oversight is serious. "Every public official responsible for spending public money should treat the money as if it was their own. They should treat it as if it comes out of their pocket, and it's clearly not been happening."

The auditor general's office also discovered no single organization is responsible for securing the province's online health records. For as long as three months last year, no one in the department double-checked who was accessing online patient information.

With no systematic review of who looks at health records, Dunn said patient information could be compromised.

Weiler said no breaches of privacy were ever recorded, and Alberta Health and Wellness constantly revisits its system of securing patient files.

But David Eggen, the executive director of Friends of Medicare, said Dunn's report shows a shoddy handling of a year in transition.

Starting a new superboard from the ground up should open the door to increased efficiency, Eggen said. Instead, Dunn's recommendations -like a suggestion AHS come up with long-term business plans--point to an "astounding" lack of planning.

Premier Ed Stelmach said on Friday the government will accept Dunn's recommendations on streamlining compensation systems.

Dunn said Friday the University of Calgary failed to provide him with information about executive compensation. By dodging his office's request for the president's contract, U of C made have tried to deceive the legislature, he said.

taudette@thejournal.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Canadian Press

2009-10-02T11:37:00.001-06:00

Friends of Medicare suspects Alberta is hiding user fees and extra billing
(CP) – 18 hours ago

EDMONTON — The group Friends of Medicare is turning up the heat on the Alberta government to disclose whether patients are subject to extra billing or user fees.

Group spokesman David Eggen said a federal report issued each year outlining health-care payments across Canada does not clearly identify extra charges to patients.

"Now, more than ever, we need to know what's going on," Eggen told a news conference Thursday.

"We know there's different clinics opening up. Clinics that are pushing the boundaries of the Canada Health Act."

But a government spokesman rejected the advocacy group's allegations.

"Alberta does not allow user fees on any insured services," said John Tuckwell, spokesman for Alberta's Health Ministry.

Eggen said it appears the federal government is not asking for specific information on user fees and the province doesn't feel obliged to tell. He describes that as a failure to protect citizens from these types of payments.

The Canada Health Act requires that the federal government reduce transfer payments to provinces that allow these extra fees.

"Alberta was penalized back in 1984 for allowing extra billing," said Eggen. "The financial and political pressure exerted by reducing transfer payments resulted in the Alberta government backing off."

Friends of Medicare has hired a lawyer to send letters to the federal and provincial health ministers demanding they fulfil their responsibilities to protect the public health-care system.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved