The province’s decision to dismantle Alberta Health Services in favour of four separate health care delivery organizations has local medical professionals both excited and concerned.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) currently administers most aspects of health care in the province, but that will change in the coming months.
The new organizations, announced last Wednesday, will cover the priority areas of primary care, acute care, continuing care and mental health and addiction.
“We too just heard the announcement and there is much work ahead to understand the impacts,” said Dr. Alfred Durojaye, president of the St. Albert and Sturgeon Primary Care Network (PCN). “It’s certainly positive that a spotlight is being put on primary care as foundational to the health care system … We hope that [it] will translate directly to patient care and access to primary care services.”
But Durojaye said that any major reform of the health care system could cause staff to worry about the security of their jobs.
“We’re working hard to make sure our staff know just how valuable they are to the PCN,” he said.
At as press conference last Wednesday, Premier Danielle Smith said Alberta's current health system "limits government’s ability to provide system-wide oversight on behalf of the people of Alberta. It also limits our ability to set priorities and require accountability for meeting them."
The new system will “avoid the scattered approach” of the “rigid centralized structure” that currently exists, Smith said.
She said the changes will create faster and more responsive health care delivery systems and allow for “innovative solutions” as well as create space for “local decision-making and advice.”
Durojaye said he’s hearing that primary care doctors in St. Albert have “mixed feelings” about the announcement.
“There have been many changes to health care in Alberta over the last 20 years and to date we haven’t found the perfect answer,” he said. “Change is always difficult and raises both excitement and concern.”
Work for primary care doctors in the city should “continue as usual,” Durojay said.
“St. Albert has been fortunate in that our number of physicians has remained somewhat stable over time. We have seen some family physicians leave practice for various reasons, but we’ve also seen a few begin practice in the area. We have a strong PCN, with physician members and amazing staff who are truly committed to the patients they serve. This bodes well for the future of primary care in the St. Albert and Sturgeon County area.”
As the changes begin to take shape, AHS will switch focus to acute and continuing care. It will become a service provider, much like Catholic provider Covenant Health, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange told reporters at a press conference last Wednesday.
The acute care organization will oversee hospital care, urgent care centres, cancer care, clinical operations, surgeries and emergency medical services.
The new primary care organization will “coordinate primary health care services and provide transparent provincial oversight,” according to a government press release. It will cover visits to family doctors or nurse practitioners, consultations with specialists, preventative care and chronic disease management.
“The new continuing care provincial organization will provide provincial oversight, coordination, service delivery, home care and community care,” a press release from the province says.
The mental health and addiction ministry, introduced late last year, will oversee the new mental health and addiction organization. It will take control of services currently provided by AHS.
Anyone battling addiction or mental health struggles “deserves an opportunity to pursue recovery,” Minister Dan Williams told reporters at a morning press conference.
All four of the new organizations will be overseen by an integration board chaired by LaGrange.
The new system will roll out in stages over the coming months and years. First will be the organization for continuing care, expected to launch in the spring of 2024, LaGrange said. It will be followed by the launch of the new addictions and mental health organization, with acute and primary care to be unveiled next fall.
LaGrange also named Dr. Lyle Oberg, a minister under both Ralph Klein and Ed Stelmach who later joined the Wildrose Alliance Party, the chair of a new seven-person AHS board tasked with overseeing the transition.
The Gazette contacted a number of health care deliverers affected by the change and heard back from Covenant Health, which manages Youville Home, a long-term care facility in St. Albert.
"Regrettably, we don’t have any further information we can share at this time, as it’s too early in the process. We ask for your patience as we navigate these changes,” an email from Covenant Health said.
The Gazette reached out to for Morinville-St. Albert MLA and Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally, but did not hear back before publication deadline.
