Opposition skeptical restructuring will improve serviceĪHS employs more than 112,000 people and has a budget of about $16 billion per year. The government has not provided a timeline for the restructuring. "Should they be micromanaging who is allowed to hire a doctor into a primary care facility? Should they be delivering continuing care, or is that a different specialty that should be under different management?" "Should they be doing midwifery?" Smith asked of AHS. Those bodies amalgamated in 2008 to become the country's first provincewide health authority. Smith said on Thursday she is not interested in returning to a system of regional health authorities. LaGrange questioned whether AHS could be divvied up by function, hinting the organization could be broken up into acute care, long-term care, procurement, and more. On Tuesday, she gave Health Minister Adriana LaGrange a mandate letter asking LaGrange to restructure AHS and decentralize decision making at the organization. Last year, she fired the AHS board and replaced members with an administrator. Smith has said AHS has too much centralized management and not enough front-line health-care workers. Since she ran for leadership of the United Conservative Party last year, Smith has voiced concerns about AHS management and signalled a restructuring is coming. The rationale listed for most disruptions is "Temporary staff shortage due to illness / leave / vacation / vacancies." Some closures have persisted for longer than a year. On its website, AHS lists 33 ongoing "temporary service disruptions," such as no obstetrical care, closed emergency rooms or inpatient bed reductions at hospitals across the province. "That's the reason why you need more management closer to home at each individual hospital." "If we had managers at that local facility making decisions for the community about what services should be provided in that community, I'm convinced they would find the people, they'd find the anesthesiologists. Speaking to reporters after a Thursday appearance at an Edmonton Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Smith said "bad management" has led to disrupted regional health services, such as newly renovated operating rooms sitting unused in Brooks. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press - image credit)Īlberta Premier Danielle Smith says restructuring Alberta Health Services (AHS) to place more managers in smaller communities will help to restore essential care in regional health centres. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith shares the government's vision for the Alberta economy at a luncheon hosted by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce in Edmonton on Thursday July 20, 2023.
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