Alberta's opposition parties banded together Friday to call on the province for a transparent inquiry into the province's health care system, just one day after the government announced a third-party review of emergency room delays and cancer care.
In an unprecedented move, opposition leaders held a joint press conference on Friday afternoon calling for the inquiry into allegations of government cover-ups in health care. The move was in response to news that a former Edmonton surgeon, Dr. Ciaran McNamee was forced out of his practise by Capital Health in the 1990s.
According to a statement of claim, McNamee's sanity was questioned after he complained publicly about surgery wait times and inadequate care for patients.
He was subsequently "forced" out of his job as head of thoracic surgery for the Capital Health Region, according to a statement of claim that has not been proven in court.
Just as the McNamee case made headlines Premier Ed Stelmach announced the independent third-party review, which will be undertaken by the Health Quality Council of Alberta, an impartial body, to look at wait times and cancer care services.
The review, to be overseen by Health and Wellness Minister Gene Zwozdesky, is expected to take to take three to five months, but will not look into independent MLA Raj Sherman's allegations that doctors were paid to keep quiet about cancer patients dying while waiting for care and that Capital Health kept two sets of books.
Sherman brought the allegations forward in the legislature last week.
"We need to stop playing games," Stelmach said Thursday, while announcing the third-party review.
He said Sherman's allegations have caused Albertans to question if and when they'll receive adequate emergency care or cancer treatment.
"I'm drawing a line and I've asked the minister of health and wellness to clear the air," he said.
Review not good enough
Given the new information on McNamee, Liberal leader David Swann said the government's independent review was "no longer good enough given the severity of the damning allegations coming forward late yesterday," he said Friday.
"The investigation proposed by the premier is not enough on its own to restore public confidence in our health care system," he said.
Swann said the inquiry should be free of government interference or control and should investigate whether health care staff were subject to intimidation, retribution or employment discipline, or the threat thereof.
He stressed the importance of transparency and said the inquiry should investigate whether or not the government, Alberta Health Services or former regional health authorities paid compensation in return for silence on the quality of heath care services.
"Without a public inquiry conducted independent of government interference and intimidation, Albertans will be left to wonder just how many more Albertans have suffered anonymously and unjustly," said Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith.
"The inquiry must lift the veil of silence from doctors who have been either too afraid to speak out or bound by confidentiality or non-disclosure provisions from revealing the truth," Smith said.
NDP leader Brian Mason said the recent allegations "seem to indicate a pattern of intimidation" of health care professionals.
"If there is in fact a culture of intimidation on the part of the government and on the part of others in the medical establishment to silence doctors and other health care professionals who want to bring forward very important concerns, then that helps explain why we have had so many difficulties," he said.
"If the health care professionals can't speak up, then the patients are left on their own."
Alberta Party acting leader Sue Huff said the joint press conference was not about scoring political points.
"What we really need to do is get at the root causes, what went wrong, what is currently wrong, what's missing and look at solutions to move us forward," she said.
"It's about finding the truth, finding solutions, protecting Albertans, including Albertans and moving forward."
