‘Revolving door of leadership’, says advocate on Alberta Health Services’ board dismissal

“We are at a critical time in our efforts to refocus the health care system to better deliver health care to Albertans across the province,” said Alberta’s minister of health Adriana LaGrange in a statement Friday.

“This decision will allow us to be responsive to the health care needs of Albertans.”

This is not the first time that the board has been dismissed since Premier Danielle Smith took office in 2022.

Smith has frequently replaced AHS senior leadership, as the province continues to restructure health care.

Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said that the decisions are part of a political project.

He said the Premier promised to her supporters that she would get rid of AHS to solve the province’s health care challenges.

“It’s creating a lot of confusion, all for the sake of politics,” said Gallaway. Jayk Sterkenburg/CHAT News

“What we actually need is the government to be laser focused on the front line workforce, and ensuring Albertans can actually access the health care that they need,” he told CHAT News Saturday.

“Instead, we’re just seeing this endless restructuring project that’s creating chaos, that’s changing leadership constantly. Folks don’t actually know who their boss will be, who their employer will be, who’s delivering what services,” he added.

“It’s creating a lot of confusion, all for the sake of politics, rather than actually addressing health care issues.”

Gallaway said that if the government does not address the retention crisis, we will never recruit our way out of it.

He said the province should be focused on the front line workforce who are leaving positions, instead of new agencies and CEOs being introduced.

In January, the CEO of AHS was replaced after only a year in the position, costing Alberta taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars for severance.

He said that $9.5 million has been spent in the last fiscal year for health care executives who are dismissed.

“It’s very expensive to just constantly be changing who’s in charge at the top in these entities, and then creating more and more of those entities, so now we have four CEOs instead of one.”

Gallaway says that the revolving door of the AHS board, committees, and commissions continually changing has not improved health care for Albertans.

by Jayk Sterkenburg

‘Revolving door of leadership’, says advocate on Alberta Health Services’ board dismissal

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