EDMONTON – There is some disappointing news for patients waiting in emergency rooms across the province: the long wait times won’t be getting shorter as planned – at least not anytime soon.
Last year, the province set an ambitious goal last year of having 60 percent of patients seen, assessed, treated and admitted within 8 hours of arriving at an emergency room by this March.
Now, the Minister of Health, Fred Horne is saying the following: “I think it’s fair to say it’s highly unlikely we’re going to meet the two targets identified last year.”
Not only will AHS fail to meet its goal by March, but it may be awhile before the targets are reached, especially considering they’re currently only being met for less than 40 percent of patients in Edmonton.
Horne, who met with physicians on Wednesday to review the past year’s efforts, said that while improvements have been made, they’ve been stunted by a prolonged province-wide spike in patients needing emergency help.
“We are seeing improved patient flow but we’re also seeing a drastic increase in the number of emergency department visits in Alberta,” he said.
“Some of our emergency departments are seeing up to 15 to 20 percent increases in volume,” added AHS President and CEO, Dr. Chris Eagle. “That’s had a huge impact on our ability to achieve these targets.”
While there was no reason given for why emergency room visits have spiked in the past year, the health minister says the right steps are being taken. He points to additional continuing care spaces in the province, expanded access to primary care, and an additional $25 million dollars earmarked for home care in this year’s budget.
Critics say it’s still not enough, though.
Liberal MLA, David Swann, believes part of the problem is that the system is not geared towards prevention and early intervention. “It’s no surprise to any of us that throwing a bunch of money at emergency departments, a few more staff, a few more beds is not going to solve the problem.”
The President of the Alberta Medical Association, Linda Slocombe, is also frustrated by the numbers.
“I think as a patient, you need to go to your MLA and encourage them to do what is necessary to get those targets on track,” she suggested.
Meanwhile, health officials say they’re looking to set new performance targets, which will be released soon.
With files from Ross Neitz, Global News
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