If theatrics are what it takes to get the Tory government to finally work with some sense of urgency on the issue of emergency room wait times, then Premier Ed Stelmach had best sit back with some popcorn and watch. Or invite Alberta Health Services (AHS) CEO Stephen Duckett over for a cookie or two.
These “theatrics,” as the premier blogged about late Sunday night, of which he claims Albertans are tiring, are exactly what has propelled focused action to fix a long-term problem with a greater sense of urgency. The fact patients are dying in emergency rooms across the province, waiting up to 20 hours for hospital admission or having pelvic exams in hallways was obviously not compelling enough to get the government moving. Yet the very incidents the premier derided in his blog have prompted action.
According to his spokespeople, the reference to theatrics includes almost everything that happened last week — Dr. Raj Sherman’s scathing email, the subsequent emergency debate in the legislature and the video Friday, now going viral, of Duckett refusing to answer questions from a pack of journalists because of his now-infamous cookie.
It was all very nice one month ago when Dr. Paul Parks, section president of emergency for the Alberta Medical Association, wrote his impassioned letter that first sparked interest in alleviating wait times and the government released its new 90 per cent targets for patients. But Sherman’s actions and the subsequent incidents have highlighted just how far removed Stelmach and his government are from the roots of the crisis. If they thought headlines about new targets without any substantial action to achieve them were going to make the problem go away, they have grievously erred.
This crisis is not the fault of bureaucrats within AHS or those running or working at the hospitals. The emergency room deaths, suicides, waits and other abominations are all the fault of our government that decided to create AHS, hire Duckett and all other senior individuals to run it and carry out its vision, which has never been well-articulated. Emergency wait times have always been a source of irritation among Albertans who have endured long nights in an ER. Yet had the Tory government of the day listened and acted years ago instead of simply waiting until now, the problem might not be as bad and there would be no angry MLAs, no debates and no cookies to further exacerbate what a poor job it’s doing, not just with our health care system, but the province as a whole.
Theatre has always been political, intended to provoke thought and dialogue on issues of social importance. Whether it takes place on a stage or on a street in downtown Edmonton, whether its characters are heroes, villains or cookies, drama helps propel change. If that’s what it takes to get a premier to actually sit down and acknowledge his government’s shortcomings, then the drama should continue. Alberta’s emergency room situation is part tragedy and part theatre of the absurd in the making. And whether Stelmach likes it or not, he is one of the lead actors.
