Doctors reiterate call for Red Deer Regional Hospital transition plan

Diane Adkins was gripped with severe stomach pain in December. The longtime Red Deer resident thought it was the flu, but after the pain got worse, she went to the doctor. 

What followed was waiting and more waiting. First, it took three hours to see the doctor. After that, she spent five hours sitting in an emergency room. 

Finally, it was discovered she had a ruptured appendix.

Immediate surgery wasn't possible, and she had to spend the next 10 days in the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. 

"Our medical staff are just run off their feet," Adkins said, describing her hospital stay, during which she was moved four times to make room for other patients.

The Red Deer Regional Hospital serves nearly half a million central Albertans. It's been plagued by ongoing capacity problems, staffing shortages and high patient volumes. 

While the Alberta government has pledged $1.8 billion in funding for an expansion, the infrastructure work isn't set to be completed for years. Meanwhile, a group of Red Deer physicians and concerned citizens is reiterating calls for more to be done in the interim. 

On Wednesday, the Society for Hospital Expansion in Central Alberta (SHECA) held a news conference in Red Deer, asking Alberta Health Services for a transition plan to improve bed shortages, backlogs and staffing issues. The group has been calling for a plan for months. 

According to Jim, the central zone lacks for advanced care beds, and too many patients are being transferred from the Red Deer hospital to Edmonton and Calgary to complete their stays. 

Data obtained by the group via a Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FOIP) request showed that 233 patients had to be transferred from the hospital in the past 12 months. 

Kim said that when patients are transferred, it creates chaos in the hospital, stress for families and hurts staff morale. 

"The feedback that you get from that is devastating as a health-care worker," he said. "You're told, 'You don't care for me.' It's brutal." 

The working conditions have made it difficult to recruit and retain physicians and other critical staff, the advocacy group said. 

Data from another FOIP request showed that clinical stipend dollars paid in the Red Deer area were far below that of other regions, despite the fact the central zone serves roughly 12 per cent of the province's population.