What bed shortage? Alberta doctors pen response to op-ed by AHS CEO

A group of emergency room doctors in Alberta have written a letter expressing “confusion and alarm” after the CEO of the province’s health authority declared in a Postmedia op-ed that “there is no bed shortage in Alberta.” The letter was signed by a dozen ER doctors—including the president of the Alberta Medical Association’s emergency medicine section, which represents 450 ER doctors across the province—and sent on August 20 to Alberta Health Services, according to a CBC News report. "Many of us are very concerned that AHS has misinterpreted its own data,” the letter stated. “To avoid any further confusion or disconnect between AHS leadership and those providing clinical care in our overflowing [emergency departments], allow me to state very clearly that [emergency department access block] is currently severe and continues to worsen with each passing day.” The health authority has said that 98% of its acute care and emergency beds are available, even though the provincial tracking site shows bed reductions in more than two dozen communities. The town of Hardisty, for example, currently has no ER care spaces—a dire circumstance for a health centre that sees around 150 ER visits each month. Read: AHS launches website to track facility bed shortages, service disruptions In July, the Edmonton Journal published an opinion piece by AHS CEO Dr. Verna Yiu that blamed reduced availability of hospital beds to staff holidays and absences, and routine summer closures. “Let us be clear — there is no bed shortage in Alberta,” wrote Dr. Yiu. “Our system is stable, safe, and available for any patient who needs it. If a patient needs a bed — whether it be in an emergency department, or on a hospital ward — a space will always be available.” That’s not what it looks like from ER doctors’ perspectives. Dr. Shazma Mithani, the emergency medicine representative for Edmonton, cited increases of 10% to 20% in emergency room visits across Alberta from pre-pandemic months. COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have also started to rise. "Having a big influx of COVID-19 patients into hospitals, I'm quite worried about how the health-care system is going to manage it,” said Dr. Mithani. “How are front-line health-care workers going to come out on the other side of this?" Patients are certainly feeling the impact of this influx of COVID patients. Last week, the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton had to cancel dozens of surgeries after four operating rooms were closed. Dr. Mithani said she expects more cancellations. "Human resources are certainly limited, both with doctors and nurses and other front-line health-care workers,” she said. “Everybody is really burned out because of the pandemic over the last 18 months. It's a very stressful time … and here we are entering a fourth wave.” Read: Controversy over publicly funded surgeries in private facilities in Alberta In their letter to the AHS, the ER doctors listed a number of factors contributing to the lack of access to beds and to care. These include patients showing up with later-stage illness after deferring care during the pandemic, increased mental health issues and higher demand for emergency medical services, in part because lowered access to primary care has pushed more patients to ER. At the same time, Alberta continues to struggle with staffing and PPE shortages, increased need to isolate patients, and other pandemic-related issues. AHS said in a statement that it understands the pressure faced by the province’s emergency departments and will reach out to the physicians who signed the letter to discuss their concerns. The statement also addressed the physicians’ reaction to Dr. Yiu’s op-ed. "The op-ed was intended to share information with the public and provide reassurance that the healthcare system remains safe and accessible to all Albertans, recognizing that we have temporary hospital bed reductions occurring at some sites," the statement read. AHS recently invoked its emergency work rules, which could mandate overtime work for nurses. Read: Alberta nurses may face pay cuts

What bed shortage? Alberta doctors pen response to op-ed by AHS CEO

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