Wildrose accuses PCs of causing increase in ER wait times in Red Deer

EDMONTON – The Wildrose Party says it has obtained documents by a Freedom of Information request (FOIP) that show emergency room (ER) wait times in Red Deer have jumped since 2005.

The Wildrose Official Opposition is blaming “years of PC mismanagement and the centralization of Alberta’s health care system” for the increase in wait times.

“This is a sign of a broken health care system that is being held together by the heroic efforts of our front-line health care workers,” said Wildrose Health Critic Heather Forsyth. “The giant AHS bureaucracy continues to grow while patients in places like Red Deer are left waiting longer and longer for the care they need.”

Forsyth said the documents show that in 2005, 61 per cent of patients at the Red Deer Hospital were admitted within the eight-hour wait time benchmark. (View the documents obtained by the Wildrose’s FOIP request below).

The Wildrose says the total for annual ER visits has remained unchanged since 2005, but that the percentage of patients admitted within the eight-hour benchmark dropped to 43 per cent in 2012. In 2013, says Forsyth, it has dropped to 39 per cent .

“Alberta taxpayers continue to pay more and more for health care and keep getting worse results and Red Deer is a prime example,” said Forsyth.  “Wait times in Red Deer are spiraling out of control despite record levels of health care spending. The Wildrose believes that the people of Red Deer and central Alberta deserve a health care system that puts patients first and that means addressing the looming wait-time crisis facing our province.”

Forsyth said that Alberta Health Services is failing to meet its eight-hour target for ER admissions, and that the average length of stay for patients at the Red Deer Hospital who are eventually admitted rose to 14.5 hours in 2012, which, Forsyth says, is an increase of over six hours since 2005.

Wildrose Seniors Critic Kerry Towle said there will be even less space for patients in need of care in Red Deer after the government’s decision to shut down the Michener Centre, which she believes will result in an increase of seniors occupying acute care bed spaces as they wait for access to long-term care beds.

A spokesperson for AHS tells Global News it has identified this issue and is working with the Red Deer Hospital to improve patient flow. It adds the situation is a complex one, and there is no quick fix.

AHS says there are 88 supportive living spaces in LaCombe that recently opened up, and it expects another 100 continuing care beds to open up in the area in 2014.

Global News contacted the Health Minister on Tuesday and was told he was unavailable for comment.

FOIP request by Wildrose on ER wait times in Red Deer

The Wildrose Party’s FOIP Request regarding ER wait times in Red Deer

Wildrose graphs: ER Wait Times in Red Deer

Red Deer ER Wait Times

AHS Performance Dashboard

Alberta Health Services Performance Dashboard