Alberta's neonatal intensive care units in 'crisis' and babies at risk, doctors warn
CBC
Some Alberta doctors say neonatal intensive care units are in "crisis," putting vulnerable babies at risk, and they're calling on the provincial government to take immediate action.
The Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association sent a letter to Health Minister Adriana LaGrange and Alberta Health Services president and CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos on Tuesday, outlining concerns — including key staffing shortages and a lack of beds — and calling for help.
"These babies have nowhere else to be cared for, and we believe the situation has become so critical that deaths of infants may soon follow," the letter stated.
In Edmonton, for example, the physicians said NICUs frequently run at between 95 and 102 per cent capacity, well above the 80 to 85 per cent range they say is considered safe. Their data shows that happened 30 per cent of the time in the first three months of 2024.
"If every bed is being occupied and an emergency comes in, there may not be a place to put that baby," Dr. Manpreet Gill, president of the Edmonton staff association, said in an interview with CBC News.
"Babies, when they're in crisis, require swift action, and if there's not enough staff, equipment or physical beds to care for them, it puts the babies at risk."
According to Gill, the pressure is being felt across the province and doctors have been pleading for help for several years.
"We've been struggling all the time with where to put babies," said Amber Reichert, an Edmonton-based neonatologist and co-author of the letter.
Reichert said nurses are often caring for three to four high-risk babies at a time instead of one or two babies.
"I'm extremely worried," she said, adding the number of infants needing care is rising as staffing shortages worsen.
"It makes me worry that at some point something's going to get missed and a baby is going to be harmed.
The letter states that briefing notes were sent to Alberta Health raising concerns about the urgent need for beds, staffing, transport teams and neonatology teams in both 2022 and 2023, with no results.
According to Reichert, another letter was sent by a group of neonatologists from Calgary and Edmonton to LaGrange and Mentzelopoulos in early February detailing their concerns.
Nurses, while not involved in the letter, say they share similar concerns.
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