Alberta doctors association says delayed pay deal will hurt health-care system

EDMONTON — An Alberta doctors' group says even though a new pay deal with the province is ready to be implemented, the government isn't putting its money where its mouth is.

Dr. Shelley Duggan, the Alberta Medical Association's new president, says doctors are worried the province's health-care system is on the verge of flatlining, and the pay deal is still waiting on approval from the province's Treasury Board.

"We are deeply, sincerely afraid that the health-care system in Alberta is ready to collapse past the point of repair any time soon. And because we must advocate for our patients, our patience has come to an end," she told reporters at a virtual news conference Monday.

In April, the province announced a plan to change how family doctors are paid, but it has yet to finalize a new model that would move away from the current fee-for-service system.

Former medical association president Dr. Paul Parks said Premier Danielle Smith promised the deal by September and the delay will only hurt the struggling health-care system.

He called on Albertans to pressure the government into action as they're forced to wait longer and longer in emergency departments and to see specialists.

"The impact of indecision and inaction is that Albertans' health-care access will deteriorate and many will suffer and some will sadly and needlessly die," he said.

Smith has promised to ensure every Albertan has a primary health provider by the next provincial election in 2027. Her government also introduced in April a new salary deal to increase access to nurse practitioners.

Parks said Monday doctors only have promises.

"You can't sign a lease, you can't hire staff and you can't run a clinic based on hope," Parks said.

Late last year, it was announced that $200 million in federal funding over two years would help Alberta physicians keep their practices open and, for its part, the province has put in another $57 million.

Health Minister Adriana LaGrange's office did not respond Monday to questions about whether the Treasury Board is delaying the deal, but she promised to continue to work with the medical association to finalize the details as soon as possible.

The ministry said it's asked the association to help find ways to stabilize expenditures that are growing faster than population growth and inflation, after physician compensation hit a record of $6.7 billion in 2024.

However, Parks said the province's physician services budget hasn't kept up with population growth since 2019 and is currently about $731 million short.

The United Conservative Party government estimated earlier this year that more than 700,000 Albertans don't have a family doctor, while the Opposition NDP estimates it's closer to 800,000.

Duggan said of those doctors practising comprehensive care in the province, just over one in ten are accepting new patients and nearly seven in 10 of all physicians are eyeing an exit from their practice by 2029.

"We're in a worldwide competition for physicians. It's absolutely essential that we retain the ones we have," she said.

In the meantime, Smith’s government has been working to dismantle the provincial health authority, Alberta Health Services, and replace it with four new governing bodies.

The first, Recovery Alberta, launched in early September, shifting thousands of workers from under AHS to the new addiction recovery and mental health agency.

Both Parks and Duggan said the government's reorganization is sparking chaos across the board, and that creating multiple administrative layers could stifle co-ordination between sectors, including hospital care and continuing care.

"Patients shouldn't have to wait because the department staff are too busy working with consultants trying to figure out how to break the health-care system into four pieces," said Duggan, adding that the acute care system is in a worse state than it was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman said Monday in a news release that without access to a family physician, many patients end up in emergency rooms with medical conditions that could have been prevented or treated earlier.

"It doesn’t need to be this way. Instead of causing more chaos, the government should prioritize patients and health-care workers. They should sit down at the table and sign an agreement to create a stable and reliable health-care system that we can all be proud of."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press