Health, Seniors & Community Support Policy

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The Official Opposition believes in a strong, publicly funded, and publicly delivered healthcare system.

Fixing Health Care: A Phased Approach

Everyone wants to be healthy. Everyone wants their loved ones to be healthy. Albertans want to feel confident that their public health care system will be there when they need it.

Right now, that confidence is being sorely tested by long wait times in emergency rooms and for elective surgery, a shortage of doctors and nurses, and stories about neglect of seniors in extended care.

A province as prosperous as ours shouldn’t have problems like these. It should have one of the best health care systems in the world.

But years of mismanagement have left public health care in disarray. Before Alberta’s health care system can reach its true potential, we have to return to basics. Health care can be revitalized if we:

  • Return control of delivery of health care to the regional level
  • Ensure everyone has access to a family doctor
  • Ensure public delivery of quality, affordable continuing/long-term care
  • Revitalize prevention programs for healthier citizens and long-term cost savings.


This document outlines a common-sense, realistic plan to accomplish those four initial goals and lay the foundation of a restored and revitalized public health care system – one that finally works for all Albertans. We’ll take carefully measured steps to immediately address the worst problems facing the system while preparing for more sweeping improvements in the medium to long term. We’ll make steady but significant improvements in the five major facets of health care: how the system works, hospitals and clinics, access, doctors and nurses, and keeping you healthy.

For full details read Fixing Health Care: A Phased Approach.

Pulling Through: David Swann’s Emergency Plan for the Emergency Room

To help Alberta weather the emergency room overcrowding crisis, David came up with a solid plan. Called Pulling Through, Swann’s seven-step plan includes:

  • The creation of an emergency task force of top-tier health care professionals to get people moving through emergency rooms more quickly
  • The mobilization of all available health care professionals to help cope with the immediate ER crisis until long-term measures can take effect
  • A campaign to help Albertans navigate the health care system more effectively
  • The immediate creation of alternative long-term care settings
  • Extended hours for diagnostic testing
  • Opening mothballed acute care beds
  • Planning for the future – specifically, an orderly transition from the top-down Alberta Health Services model to more local control of health care delivery

For more details , read Pulling Through.

Dignity and Care for Alberta Seniors

Seniors helped build Alberta, and they deserve respect, dignity and proper care when they need it. 

  • We support expanding the public delivery of continuing care services, rather than depending on private industry to fill the need that clearly exists for Alberta’s seniors.
  • Ensure that there is sufficient capacity of all types of continuing care facilities in the province, so that the “First Bed Policy” can be eliminated.
  • Index link AISH payments so that the assistance that AISH recipients receive accurately reflects the increase in the cost of living they experience.
  • Create an Independent Seniors Advocate office, which would report directly to the legislature regarding systemic issues that seniors face. This would give seniors a person to go to when they feel they have a need to be directed to the right resources. We would also create an independent office for seniors that will help maintain and defend their rights, and provide an avenue for redress when they feel they need assistance.
  • Ensure that the standard of pay between government staff and contracted agencies are comparable, so those both delivering and receiving assistance from contracted agencies know that the staff are both sufficiently trained and compensated for their important work.

Health, Seniors & Community Support Responses & Questions

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19 March 2012

Postsecondary Education Costs,Intimidation of Physicians,AIMCo Investments March 19, 2012

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Premier, welcome back. Societies that outeducate us today will outperform us tomorrow. The education of Albertans will determine the future prosperity of our province. In Alberta we have Canada’s highest high school noncompletion rate and lowest postsecondary participation rate. This is because Alberta has the nation’s highest tuition fees, highest noninstructional fees, a form of backdoor tuition that allows institutions to skirt government rules and tuition increases. To the Premier: will you please stop gouging our students and cap tuition and noninstructional fees charged by our institutions?

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16 March 2012

Sherman asks premier to pass bill to protect children before election call

Edmonton – Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman wants Premier Redford to ensure that his bill to outlaw smoking in vehicles with children present passes before she calls an election. Bill 203 has already passed second reading unanimously.

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15 March 2012

Sexual Assault Services March 15, 2012

Dr. Swann: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. National data shows that a shocking 60 per cent of Alberta women will experience sexual assault after the age of 16, and that happens to be 50 per cent higher than the national average. Sexual assault is underreported across the country, and support systems in Alberta for survivors are hit and miss across the province, with serious underfunding. The government of Alberta provides only $1.6 million through Human Services to nine sexual assault centres, averaging less than $200,000 per centre, totally inadequate and resulting in inconsistent service.

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15 March 2012

Long-term Care for Seniors,First Nations March 15, 2012

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A week ago I met with family members of Tatiana Marchak, yet another senior who suffered severe neglect due to this government’s failure to adequately fund staff and resources and monitor seniors’ care facilities. On Friday evening January 10 Tatiana fell and hit her
head. Her face was very badly bruised. Despite her obvious need for medical care emergency medical services was never called, and she died in a bed at St. Michaels a few days later. Given the overwhelming evidence even from the Health Quality Council to this government and to the Premier: why are you intentionally neglecting our seniors?

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14 March 2012

Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped March 14, 2012

Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week we learned that despite the Premier’s promise residents of the province’s continuing care facilities will not be receiving a long-awaited $400-a-month increase in benefits under the assured income for the severely handicapped program. Now we learn that those who do receive that increase are too often subjected to another increase: in their rent. To the Minister of Seniors: why is it that institutionalized AISH clients are not receiving the $400-a-month increase that the Premier promised?

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14 March 2012

Time for an Alberta Spring

After 41 years of PC government, Albertans can see the rot and its brother – cynicism – has taken over this great province. But every day we learn that Albertans have finally had enough of an entitled, bullying, incompetent regime that’s finally overextended its welcome.

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14 March 2012

Long-term Care for Seniors March 14, 2012

Dr. Swann: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, on Monday the minister of health told the House he’s building thousands of continuing care spaces for seniors. Let me be clear. The experts, including Dr. Paul Parks, are saying that the urgent need is for fully medically supported long-term care beds. With 14,500 nursing home or long-term care beds we actually have fewer now in Alberta than we had in 2008. Why, despite having over a million people added to our population in 20 years and proportionately more seniors, does this province have only 74 more long-term care beds?

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14 March 2012

Long-term Care for Seniors,First Nations,Electricity Prices, March 14, 2012

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week I met Grace Denyer’s family. They were horrified at her neglect and by this government’s failure to adequately fund staff and resource seniors’ care facilities. Mrs. Denyer stayed at Youville, where a urinary tract infection went untreated for six weeks. She was routinely left in a diaper, which led to her screaming in pain due to her open wounds. Finally, she had a stroke, which was not diagnosed until five days later. To the government: why do you insist on spinning this issue instead of admitting that this govern-ment is failing our seniors?

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