EDMONTON — Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky is ordering shorter wait times in hospital emergency rooms after a doctor warned of a potential collapse of the system.
The new benchmarks call for patients who attend the emergency room and require hospital admission to be seen and transferred to the proper ward within eight hours.
Patients who visit the emergency room but don’t require an overnight stay should be seen within four hours, according to the new targets.
Zwozdesky also says he has directed Alberta Health Services to adopt some specific performance measures.
The minister told reporters the targets will be in place by the end of the year but he couldn’t say when they will be enforced.
“At least we will have the protocol in place, the target in place and they will have strategies to meet that,” said Zwozdesky.
Dr. Paul Parks, whose letter to the province prompted the health minister to take action, says he’s encouraged that steps are being taken. But Parks says without any firm timeline for enforcing the shorter wait times, the situation in emergency rooms is still a crisis.
“The key is I have faith in this. The minister has said this is a top priority,” Parks said.
The NDP complains the real problems affecting emergency rooms are still not being addressed, including more long-term care beds and more staffing.
“It’s just more smoke and mirrors,” said Rachel Notley, NDP MLA and health critic.
“They are dreaming in Technicolor. None of this stuff is actually going to happen.”
“The key is I have faith in this. The minister has said this is a top priority,” Parks said.