Edmonton physicians warn province of ‘immediate, unavoidable' surgery disruptions over changes to compensation
CBC
Edmonton could begin seeing surgical cancellations and other impacts to patient care in the next few weeks, a group of physicians warn in a letter to two of Alberta’s health ministers.
The letter, obtained by CBC News, was sent on Feb. 11 to Primary and Preventative Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange and Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones.
It was sent by surgical hospitalists in Alberta Health Services’ Edmonton Zone, a group of doctors that provide support and care for surgical patients.
The letter warns that the doctors believe the end of the funding model currently in place for hospitalists will cause “immediate, unavoidable surgical cancellations” at hospitals in the Edmonton Zone. Those cancellations would need to begin in mid-March “for patient safety reasons,” the doctors write.
“Patient care would fragment into ad hoc, site-specific arrangements, increasing reliance on already overburdened ER, surgical teams, internal medicine, and ICU (intensive-care unit) services.”
The authenticity of the letter was confirmed to CBC News by the three hospitalists who authored it on behalf of their group, but they declined further comment.
CBC News sent a list of questions to the press secretaries for LaGrange, Jones and Premier Danielle Smith.
“Alberta’s government remains committed to collaborating with physicians to maintain stable, continuous patient care as legacy stipend arrangements and related inequities are addressed," Maddison McKee, LaGrange’s spokesperson, wrote in a statement.
The statement did not address questions about the hospitalists’ concerns regarding compensation or the potential for health-care disruptions.
Dr. Paulose Paul, an orthopedic surgeon who has worked in the Edmonton Zone since 2002, said he and his colleagues are reliant on hospitalists to do their work.
“As physicians, our group is always committed to providing and delivering safe, effective care for patients that need orthopedic surgery,” said Paul, who was previously the zone lead for orthopedic surgery.
“It seems hard to imagine that that job is going to be easier when you remove such a significant portion of our day-to-day workforce.”
Surgical hospitalists attend to patients who are in hospital for surgery. This support allows surgeons — who often work at multiple hospitals — to focus on surgical duties rather than post-procedure care or time-consuming tasks such as patient discharge.
In their letter, the hospitalists say they are predominantly family physicians, although their group has “always included internists, surgeons, emergency physicians and other specialists.”
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Edmonton could begin seeing surgical cancellations and other impacts to patient care in the next few weeks, a group of physicians warn in a letter to two of Alberta’s health ministers.
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