By David Opinko

Doctors accuse AHS of downplaying bed closures, misinterpreting their own data

Aug 23, 2021 | 4:53 PM

A group of emergency room (ER) doctors in Alberta, representing around 450 emergency physicians with the Alberta Medical Association (AMA), have written a scathing letter to Alberta Health Services (AHS).

Among the 11 names listed in the letter is Dr. Stephanie Brass from Lethbridge.

Addressed to AHS President and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu, it states that there is “growing concern” that there “appears to be a serious disconnect between AHS leaderships’ understanding of the growing Access Block within our various EDs across the province and with AHS’s internal and external public communications.”

Penned by Dr. Paul Parks, he called out AHS for allegedly “actively and publicly” downplaying the significance of bed closures and increased staffing issues across Alberta in a July 31 op-ed column in the Edmonton Journal.

Similar information was presented to other members of the media a week prior.

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“Many of us are very concerned that AHS has misinterpreted its very own robust Access metric data, or worse, that the data is not adequately reflecting what front-line health care providers are experiencing in many of the EDs across our province.”

Dr. Parks says that ED Access Block, or the inability to get the care that is needed in a timely fashion, “is currently severe and continues to worsen with each passing day.”

According to the letter, there are many reasons for the increased ED volumes, including:

• Deferred care throughout the pandemic
• Increased mental health and addiction illness
• Increased EMS volumes, staffing shortages, and offloading concerns
• Changes in access to primary care, with a large shift towards virtual care
• COVID-19 ongoing complicating factors
• Staffing shortages and ongoing routine reduction in space availability
• Increasing access block

As of August 19, AHS reported that 221 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in Alberta, including 48 who have been admitted to intensive care. That includes 24 and seven respectively for the South Zone.

Medicine Hat, in particular, has been hit hard, and local doctors are concerned about staff shortages and fatigued at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital.