NDP Leader Rachel Notley said at a news conference Wednesday the party’s plan will ultimately take pressure off hospitals and ambulances, and help keep and recruit workers in part by rebuilding trust with health-care professionals
Alberta’s Opposition NDP is promising, if elected, to spend $150 million a year to hire 1,500 health care professionals as part of a new model that aims to boost the number of patients family doctors can see.
An NDP proposal released Wednesday estimated the extra workers, to be on the ground by the end of next year in new integrated primary health teams, will help 75,000 Albertans currently not able to find a family physician get access to primary care.
An NDP proposal released Wednesday estimated the extra workers, to be on the ground by the end of next year in new integrated primary health teams, will help 75,000 Albertans currently not able to find a family physician get access to primary care.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said at a news conference Wednesday the party’s plan will ultimately take pressure off hospitals and ambulances, and help keep and recruit workers in part by rebuilding trust with health-care professionals.
“We need to keep (physicians) wanting to do this job. This is not ‘field of dreams.’ It’s a real thing that’s come as a result of multiple years of conversations with family practitioners …They don’t necessarily want to be working 80 hours a week running their own clinic. They’d prefer to be in a team so they can focus on what they do best, which is providing care to Albertans,” said Notley.
The plan points to some clinics in Alberta that have already implemented a similar model, including the Crowfoot Village Family Practice in Calgary and the Taber Clinic.
Notley said each doctor at the Crowfoot Village Family Practice has been able to take on 40 per cent more patients than a traditional practice because many of their patient’s needs can be looked after by an allied professional.
“We can build on the success of those clinics,” she said.
When asked by a reporter how the NDP would recruit 1,500 health-care workers in the midst of a shortage across jurisdictions exacerbated by COVID-19, Notley said among some 80,000 allied health professionals already working in the province, some could be brought back from retirement, others coaxed into full time, and more foreign-trained professionals could be brought into the mix.
“It’s practical, it’s achievable and I feel confident we’re going to be able to get there,” said Notley, whose party promised to build 10 new clinics and expand others with $75 million in operating costs and $60 million in capital costs.
UCP Health Minister Jason Copping’s office responded to a request for comment from Postmedia by highlighting its work to recruit and retain the workforce, but didn’t address the specifics of the primary health team proposal.
“We have record numbers of doctors, nurses, and other frontline staff working in our health system — thousands more than under the NDP,” said spokesman Scott Johnston, who pointed to increases to the health budget in past years and a $600 million increase expected for 2023-24.
Johnston counted an extra 700 physicians, 1,800 registered nurses and 300 paramedics in the province since the UCP was elected in 2019, and pointed to the UCP’s work in reducing surgical wait times.
“We need to do more, and we will, with new funding and new initiatives coming in Budget 2023 on Feb. 28,” he said.
Notley said she’s in support of scaling up the UCP’s initiative, announced last week, to boost student aid and classroom space for nurses with foreign training.
On Thursday, Copping is expected to announce cash to boost the province’s health workforce challenges.
Even though it is a federal responsibility, the NDP also promised Wednesday to invest $5 million towards Indigenous consultations and early program proposals.