Independent MLA Raj Sherman told a St. Albert crowd that investing in seniors, family medicine and prevention is the “easy fix” to Alberta’s health care woes, while delivering occasional jabs at former colleagues in the Ed Stelmach government.
Sherman, an emergency room physician booted from the Tory caucus last fall for his open criticism of the government’s handling of health care, spoke to a large crowd at the monthly meeting of Seniors United Now (SUN). In recent months, the group has expressed concern with Alberta’s new health act, as well as its five-year health plan.
“I’m going to leave politics out of it. I’m just going to give you facts and evidence today,” said Sherman, who purchased a membership in the Alberta Liberal Party last month.
However, several times during his discussion he criticized the Tory government for its record on health care.
“Your government is lying to you … and you keep voting them in.”
He said the issues facing the province’s emergency rooms are the same issues facing society at large.
“It’s a societal problem that sits in the ER,” Sherman said.
“I’ve been an inner-city ER doctor now for 18 years. The problems that we face are the problems of society: homelessness, addiction, illiteracy, violence, families falling apart.”
“Not to mention the gaps in care for people not having a family doctor, not enough home care for seniors, not enough long-term care,” he said.
“Those problems all sit in the emergency rooms.”
Sherman said it’s not only seniors, but young and middle-aged people clogging emergency rooms.
However, he said investing in seniors’ health is the number-one solution to problems in the ER.
“The top five solutions are home care and home care, home care followed by home care. You know what the fifth solution is? Home care.”
Sherman said more money should also be invested in rehabilitative, palliative, long-term and sub-acute care for patients not sick enough to be in hospital but not well enough to be on their own.
“I have yet to get anyone in sub-acute care in seven years in emergency,” he noted.
“You fix those things for the seniors, you have no waits in the emergency … and it saves money.”
During his talk, Sherman was critical of the province’s senior health care officials, many of whom lack experience in the medical field. He said the government needs to make more of an effort to engage frontline health care staff.
“You want to deal with paramedic issues, talk to the paramedics. You want to fix the ER problem, talk to the doctors and nurses that work in the ER.”
He said investments in family medicine, including primary care networks and more family doctors, need to be made, as well as investments in prevention.
With diabetes now being diagnosed in children as young as 12, Sherman said Canada faces a “triple tsunami” of grandparents, their children and grandchildren all having health care issues at the same time.
Last month in the legislature, Sherman alleged hundreds of patients died while waiting for emergency department and cancer care and that doctors were paid millions in hush money.
The government has since asked the Health Quality Council of Alberta to conduct an independent review of the allegations. Opposition parties have repeatedly called for a full judicial inquiry looking into the allegations.
“It takes a pretty principled person to step up and step out on health care in Alberta,” said Dick Tansey, chair of the St. Albert chapter of SUN, on Monday.
“And I think he should be commended for that.”
During the question-and-answer portion of the talk, several people commended Sherman, while one woman called him a “hero.”
Before leaving the stage, the crowd gave Sherman a standing ovation.
Although he vowed to keep politics out of his talk, the issue dominated his discussion. When asked by a member of the audience if he intended for run for the Alberta Liberal leadership later this year, Sherman didn’t back down.
“Damn it, I’m not done yet,” he said. “They messed with the wrong guy.”
