Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre’s higher rate of urgent re-admissions likely means patients are being discharged too soon, says a local Friends of Medicare member.
According to Canadian Institute for Health Information, the rate of return at Red Deer’s hospital within 30 days of discharge held steady for 2011-12 at nine per cent, while the rate for both Canada and Alberta was 8.7 per cent, or one in 12 patients.
“Maybe we could save problems for the patients, and also the system, if we gave them a little more time to recover,” said Brenda Corney, chairperson of Friends of Medicare Red Deer chapter, on Tuesday.
The new statistics available on the institute’s interactive website — www.OurHealthSystem.ca — provides a snapshot of health systems in Canada.
Corney said Red Deer’s hospital is short on beds. One reason is the number of hospital patients waiting for long-term care beds.
“I think one of the changes we need to take a look at is the provision of long-term care beds. It costs a lot less to keep someone in a long-term care facility than it does to keep them in hospital.”
Canadian Institute for Health Information says re-admissions to hospitals across Canada costs more than $1.8 billion a year.
She said the cost of re-admission can amount to more than keeping people in a hospital bed a little longer.
Corney is also concerned that the average cost of an acute care hospital stay in Red Deer is $5,800, compared to the national average of $5,335.
Alberta has the highest hospital costs among the 10 provinces at $6,631.
Administration costs are included in the cost of care, she said.
“We know in Alberta our costs are top heavy and I think that was probably a factor.”
Canadian Institute for Health Information says the biggest costs are staff salaries at 72 per cent, and drugs and medical supplies, at less than 10 per cent.
Corney said it’s good these health statistics are available to the public because a lot of health data is kept secret.
“You have to FOIP (freedom of information request) it and then you get these pages of blacked out stuff. I think the more information we have available, the better decisions we can make and the more that people are accountable. Figures are known and now they can be questioned and now they can be compared.”
Corney said the data gives Albertans the chance to know the strengths and weaknesses of their health-care systems.
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com