The Wildrose Opposition is calling for a study to find out why there are such varying surgical and emergency wait times in Alberta.
In a news release Thursday, the party said the NDP government must direct the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) to look at the reason for differences in wait times across the province.
“The health minister must account for the major discrepancy in wait times between different regions,” said Wildrose Shadow Health Minister Tany Yao. “Albertans want answers as to why they’re not receiving equal and effective healthcare.”
Yao pointed to statistics that show the average wait time for a knee replacement in the south zone, which includes Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, is 52.2 weeks, while the same surgery in the Calgary zone is 37.1 weeks.
He also said, since last July, at medium-sized urban hospitals, patients have waited between just one hour to as long as 17 hours in emergency for a hospital bed.
The release went on to say that Alberta is spending more per capita on health care than both Saskatchewan and B.C., yet is not seeing better results.
“Under this NDP government, the Health Quality Council of Alberta has received little direction,” Yao said.
“The health minister must direct the HQCA to conduct a study on surgical and emergency wait times in Alberta, and release the results without ministerial sign-off so Albertans know exactly how their health care system can be fixed.”
A statement from Health Minister Sarah Hoffman reads:
“First, we want to be clear, if you are an urgent patient, you will get urgent care.
“There have also been some good improvements on wait times for things like hip fracture repair and wait times to see a specialist.
“We know, however, there is much more to do to improve wait times for Albertans – including for procedures like joint replacements. That’s why we’re working with physicians to increase efficiency and capacity while reducing inappropriate testing and focusing on improving its referral system to avoid unnecessary delays wherever possible.
“Listening to the opposition and making billions of dollars of reckless cuts to health care would only make wait times longer.”