Sherman focuses on health care as one link in society's chain

Despite his continued emphasis on his career as an emergency room physician, despite the photos of him in his scrubs in campaign literature and despite his continual drumbeat on the need to improve health care, Raj Sherman sees an issue with more of an impact on Albertans.

"If you actually want to fix health care from the 30,000 foot level you need better jobs and you need a more educated and skilled society."

In an editorial board meeting with the Gazette this week, Sherman made it clear action on health care would be the top priority of a Liberal government, but he argued that fixing the system would only truly come when the rest of society moves with it.

"The major issues are good jobs, a good education and good health care. Health care is actually the symptom of a society where kids are dropping out of school."

Despite seeing it as part of a broader problem, Sherman has an approach to fix health care, which he argues has to start with basic services and not in hospitals.

"The number one issue is health care and in our platform last week we have the most aggressive plan in the nation to actually fix health care."

Major components of that plan include putting $800 million towards home care, to investing in more long-term care spaces, and to increase the number of family doctors in the province.

"The key is to invest in people looking after people."

Sherman argues the system needs these people more than it needs more hospitals, operating rooms or specialists.

St. Albert's recent ambulance woes are also a product of this system, Sherman argues.

"The whole ambulance issue is a symptom of a broken health-care system," he said. "The whole ambulance crisis is a result of a failed seniors' policy."

While he primarily blames the PC government for the system Albertans have, he said Albertans have to accept some of the responsibility themselves.

"To be honest, Albertans bear some of the responsibility for this, they have been voting Conservative and Conservatives want to privatize health care."

Primary care

Sherman, who worked as a rural family physician before becoming an emergency doctor, said students are lured to specialties because of better salaries, but also because the government doesn't put a value on the work of family doctors.

"The Conservatives have zero respect for physicians, zero respect for family doctors. Doctors are not included in the decision making."

As evidence of this problem Sherman cites the government's recent announcement of family care clinics, which the Alberta Medical Association said they were not part of the discussion on.

Dr. Darryl LaBuick, who works at the Grandin medical clinic and is a former president of the Alberta Medical Association, agreed with Sherman on the family care clinics.

"It somewhat disturbs me that Alison Redford is where she is going to shift the tables and develop an almost parallel type system of primary care," he said. "It disrupts the whole pattern and plan and strategy that we have had for primary care for the past eight or nine years."

Sherman argues the province has a working model for primary care in primary care networks, but they simply need more support and buy-in from the government.

"The primary care network is already there and it has the buy-in of the medical community," he said. "You need the buy-in of the doctors and you have to connect them to the community."

Sherman said he would make changes to connect those networks to hospitals, restoring the importance of family doctors at the centre of a person's health.

LaBuick said he favours the primary care networks and said they are just picking up steam.

"Absolutely, I think we have some great potential with them. We have had these in development for approximately seven or right years now and we have made some big gains."

He said on Sherman's notion of more closely aligning the networks with hospitals, it would allow for more seamless integrated health care and could be the next step for primary care.

"That is a utopia, but it is something that we work towards and right now the primary care networks are really focused on the continuum of primary to community care."

Education

Sherman put forward his ideas this week on education, including an endowment fund that would gradually reduce and then eliminate tuition in the province.

He said the program isn't just about students and their parents, because Alberta needs more schools.

"It is the right thing to do, to educate our children or any Albertan who wants an education, but it also meets the need for industry."

He said the costs are pushing university and college out of reach for too many students, leading them to drop out of high school as well.

"We have to make education affordable and accessible."

Sherman said with more skilled labour, the province would be able to attract more investment in refining and upgrading. He said too much oil leaves the province unprocessed and unrefined.

"One of our top issues is the economy, let's diversify our markets to the West Coast. We will get $10 to $30 more per barrel if we upgrade it here."

Expanding industry in the province does come with a catch; Sherman wants to increase taxes on those new businesses.

The Liberal plan calls for an increase in the corporate tax of two per cent and an increase to personal taxes for those earning more than $100,000.

Sherman said he wants businesses from all over the world to come to Alberta and take advantage of what the province has to offer.

"We want them to succeed. We want them to make money. When they make money I want two extra cents out of every dollar they make," he said. "That two extra cents is going to help care for our seniors in our community."

He said Albertans want better services and he believes they realize they need to pay for them.

"Most people are not opposed to paying a little bit extra tax, if it went to the right places."