Stelmach calls inquiry into ER waits, cancer surgeries
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After weeks of pressure from Alberta doctors and opposition parties, the Stelmach government announced today it will have the provincial health watchdog investigate hundreds of cases of substandard care, and wait-time woes in emergency departments and for cancer care.
Premier Ed Stelmach said in question period the government will ask the Health Quality Council of Alberta to investigate 322 cases of substandard care - including some deaths - that were first identified last fall.
The review will also examine wait times in hospital emergency departments, which doctors have warned are on the verge of a "catastrophic collapse," as well as problems accessing cancer treatment in Alberta, Stelmach said.
Although terms of reference must be set, Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky said the HQCA investigation will likely also review - to some degree - explosive allegations from MLA Raj Sherman about 250 people, many with cancer, dying on surgery wait lists, millions paid to doctors to buy their silence and claims of two sets of financial books in the former Capital Health Region.
Stelmach said the investigation will help "clear the air" about health-care concerns and improve public confidence in the system.
The announcement comes a day after Dr. Paul Parks, head of the emergency medicine section for the Alberta Medical Association, said an internal review launched last fall by Alberta Health Services on the 322 cases hasn't accomplished much because health professionals are afraid to speak up.
Calgary Herald
