'We're not cattle here': Radio callers berate Alberta premier over health care access

Story by Lisa Johnson • Edmonton Journal

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith got an earful on health care during her regular public relations broadcast Saturday.

Speaking on her CHED 630 call-in show from Dubai, where Smith has been attending the COP28 climate conference, the premier agreed with callers criticizing long emergency room wait times , the fact that some residents are unable to access obstetrics in rural areas , and a lack of front-line workers.

She vowed to continue working to fix the issues, but had few new details or benchmarks about how her plan to re-haul the system to create more governing agencies would do so. Smith only renewed threats to eliminate other health management jobs.

“What are you guys going to do to fix the 10- to 12-hour waiting times in emergency rooms in Alberta? It’s been going on for decades now, and it’s out of control. We’re not cattle here,” said one caller.

“You’re so right, and I put that as a priority when I first got elected a year ago,” Smith responded, pointing to progress under Dr. John Cowell, the sole administrator appointed shortly after Smith’s election, replacing the entire Alberta Health Services (AHS) board.

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The governance situation at the provincial health authority has been a revolving door since Smith was elected leader of the UCP and premier in late 2022, after she ran on a party leadership campaign blaming AHS for perceived failures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was a bit disappointed that we saw some regression over the course of the election and we had to make a more significant change,” Smith said, referring to the subsequent firing of six top executives in November.

Smith said he had made progress, but now she has confidence new AHS president and CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos, appointed this week, will be able to fix paramedic wait times

“I just ask for you to to give us a little bit of time, and I hope that we’ll be able to report back to you within six months or shorter, that we’re making major progress. But I agree that what we’ve had right now is is unacceptable,” said Smith, promising she is working on improving surgery times, emergency room wait times, and EMS response times.
‘We don’t need you to burn down the house. We need you to build it up’

Another caller’s criticisms about AHS prompted Smith to claim the elimination of executive positions “sent a message” to those in management that they need to do more to support the front lines.

Smith issued a local threat: “Managers need to be engaged, they need to be doing frontline service, otherwise they’re not going to be there very long.”

A nurse texting into the program criticized the massive drop in beds available for an increasing population.

“We don’t need you to burn down the house. We need you to build it up,” they said.

Smith agreed, but argued the proper resources haven’t been dedicated to the front lines, and have instead been given to growth in management.

During the radio show, Smith also defended naturopaths for their focus on nutrition, saying they “play a role” in the health-care system, echoing a recent controversial statement from Health Minister Adriana LaGrange that drew criticism the government was supporting non-scientific treatment .

lijohnson@postmedia.com