Entries tagged with
health care
Misleading Narratives
Pay-to-play queue-jumping won’t fix surgery wait times
This blog post critically responds to a recent Calgary Herald opinion piece on surgical wait times in Alberta. It shows how spending taxpayers’ money in private surgical centers not only failed to resolve the issue but also made it worse. The post also presents evidence-based solutions to reduce wait times in the public system.
Playing Politics With Public Health
Bill 6 must give Albertans access to key information
Bill 6, the Public Health Amendment Act, 2023, proposes fundamental changes to the management of public health emergencies by shifting authority for major decisions from public health officials to cabinet. This blog explores the ramifications of Bill 6 and makes the case for changes that would allow for more transparency and informed decision-making in future health crises.
Failing to Deliver
The Alberta Surgical Initiative and Declining Surgical Capacity
Through Freedom of Information requests, statistical analysis, and a review of the research literature, this report evaluates claims made by the Alberta government about the effectiveness of the Alberta Surgical Initiative in reducing wait times and the role of for-profit surgical outsourcing. Based on the research evidence, the report recommends that the provincial government shift away from for-profit surgical delivery and fully commit to public system improvement.
Lights and Sirens
The Critical Condition of EMS in Alberta
This report explores the current state of affairs of prehospital emergency medical services in Alberta from the standpoint of those who live it, experience it, and breathe it on a daily basis — the paramedics. More specifically, it outlines findings from a study that explored how COVID-19, the overdose crisis, and other factors have impacted EMS in the province of Alberta. The report aims to give voice to those who work on the front lines of emergency medical services, a voice that has been absent from how policy in Alberta is informed and developed.
A new report from Parkland Institute examines the UCP government’s privatization of Alberta’s medical lab services to DynaLIFE set to happen on July 1, 2022, as announced last week by Alberta Health Services (AHS). “The DynaLIFE deal rewards a large corporation and its shareholders over the current and long-term interests of Albertans,” says report author Rebecca Graff-McRae, a research manager at Parkland Institute. “It offers false economies, minimal savings, a smaller and demoralized workforce, a massive infrastructure deficit, and a fragmented system with little accountability.”
Misdiagnosis
Privatization and Disruption in Alberta’s Medical Laboratory Services
Drawing from financial data, lab professionals’ experiences, and hundreds of pages of files obtained through a freedom of information (FOIP) request, this report examines the serious implications of the UCP government’s plan to contract out the majority of Alberta’s medical lab services to a single for-profit corporation — DynaLIFE.
More Than "Just a Health-Care Aide"
Immigrant Women Speak About the COVID-19 Crisis in Long-Term Care
A first-of-its-kind report highlights the experiences of 25 immigrant women health-care aides working in long-term care (LTC) during the pandemic and shows how this essential work is socially and economically devalued. To-date, the voices of the vulnerable immigrant, racialized women doing low-wage, on-the-ground caring work in LTC have largely been ignored.
Time to Care
Staffing and Workloads in Alberta’s Long-Term Care Facilities
Time to Care: Staffing and Workloads in Alberta’s Long-term Care Facilities by Parkland research manager Rebecca Graff-McRae reveals that many seniors continuing care centres are chronically understaffed and unable to meet the basic care needs of seniors.
Alberta's health minister announced plans to cut 11,000 Alberta Health Services jobs in laboratory services, medical laundry, housekeeping and food services. These front-line workers ensure testing and sanitation under the most challenging conditions, especially during a pandemic. Research manager Rebecca Graff-McRae responds to the provincial government's Oct. 13 announcement.
Privatization Pressures in Alberta Health Care
Laboratory Services, Home Care, and Telehealth Under Austerity
This report explores contemporary pressures to expand private participation in three areas of Alberta’s public health care system: diagnostic laboratory services, home care, and telehealth.