EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach resisted renewed opposition calls Wednesday for an independent inquiry into the health system, saying citizens are happy with what’s going on.
Stelmach said 62 per cent of Albertans in a 2010 survey suggest they have confidence in the health system — a jump of 10 percentage points in less than a decade.
“We have a lot of work to do, but it’s going in the right direction. We’re not going backwards,” Stelmach told the house in question period.
“Sixty two per cent won’t get you into medical school,” shot back opposition Alberta Party member Dave Taylor.
“Sixty two per cent gets us elected, thank you very much,” replied Stelmach as his colleagues laughed and applauded.
Stelmach faced renewed calls from three opposition parties for an independent review of the health system, given recent allegations and documented evidence of substandard patient care and patients suffering and even dying awaiting treatment.
It has become a proxy war, with each side trotting out health professionals and leaders to back its case.
The Alberta Medical Association and the Calgary and Area Physicians Association have called for a review to clear the air on patient concerns.
Alberta’s Health Quality Council — whose survey Stelmach quoted — is an arm’s-length agency of physicians and other professionals. It has also said this week it would review the matter, but by law, must wait for Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky to give it the green light.
The allegations involve the documented case of 322 patients at Edmonton’s flagship University of Alberta hospital.
The documents suggest the patients suffered through substandard care and in some cases died.
Alberta’s health bureaucrats are already reviewing that case.
Stelmach dismissed calls from opposition Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann to let the Health Quality Council look into it, but said, “Anything we can do to improve the confidence of Albertans and the health system, we will continue to do that.”
The second set of allegations come from Raj Sherman, a former junior health minister in Stelmach’s government who was turfed from caucus almost four months ago for criticizing his own department’s handling of emergency room wait times.
Sherman is also an emergency room doctor and now sits as an Independent.
He alleged in the house last week that in 2006 or earlier, about 250 patients died, many from cancer, while on a wait list for surgery in Edmonton.
He said health officials covered up the deaths, bribed doctors with millions of dollars to keep quiet, and doctored up two sets of financial books to bury the hush money.
He also accused Dr. Trevor Theman, registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Sheila Weatherill, who now sits on the board that oversees health delivery provincewide, as being complicit.
Theman has denied it and Weatherill has not commented. Sherman’s comments were made within the immunity of the legislature, so he can’t be sued for defamation.
Sherman has not provided evidence to back up his claims, and Stelmach has publicly labelled him reckless for falsely accusing private citizens of misconduct.
The premier reiterated Wednesday he will not pursue Sherman’s allegations and read aloud comments from Dr. John Cowell, the CEO of the Health Quality Council.
“He said and I quote, ’The allegations are very serious. There’s no question about it, Dr. Sherman is saying up to 250 people have died on a waiting list. He needs to provide further evidence this is true,”’ said Stelmach.
Sherman did not speak on the issue Wednesday, as he didn’t have a turn in the legislature question rotation.
His allegations, made 10 days ago, have dominated debate in the spring sitting but have been undermined by a series of bizarre pronouncements and actions.
On the day of his allegations Sherman declined to provide evidence. The next day he said he would provide it, then two days later announced he wouldn’t. He Tweeted a day later he would, then told reporters a day later he wouldn’t.
On Monday morning he announced he would table evidence, called reporters to a news conference to discuss the tablings, then refused to answer questions. Many of the documents turned out to be previously publicized correspondence referring to the 322 cases.
When asked again by reporters Tuesday why he won’t provide proof, Sherman announced he never made such a promise in the first place.
“I never once said I would table those documents,” he said.
Sherman also gathered reporters together to announce that he has anointed one of them as his designated truth-seeker.
“Amongst you there is a reporter who has been given the path on where to go sniffing,” he said.
“One of you — I won’t say who — has been given the roadmap on where to look.”