The Alberta NDP shared some sobering statistics about how many doctors the province has lost so far this year, but the UCP government says the data tells a different story.
Shannon Phillips, Lethbridge-West MLA and the NDP’s finance critic, said at a news conference that Alberta lost 188 physicians in the past three months.
To make matters worse, she says Alberta families aren’t able to find a family doctor, putting them further away from the medical help they need.
The COVID-19 pandemic, along with the constant threat of cuts and conflict with the health care sector on the part of the UCP are to blame for the problems, Phillips says.
“There’s no question that, exiting the pandemic, health care professionals are feeling very burnt out given the extent to which they’ve been treated with monumental disrespect by this government,” she said during a media conference in Lethbridge.
Thirteen doctors left their practices in Lethbridge during that same time, leaving approximately 43,000 people without a physician.
Phillips also said she already knows what the Kenney government will say about the numbers.
“The minister of health will respond with these numbers today selectively saying in the last four quarters that 99 more doctors are registered now to try and distract from his failures. The net change of doctors was 254 less just the quarter before, meaning that Alberta has a net loss of 155 doctors when compared to the end of 2020,” she said.
“Year-over-year data clearly shows that numbers of doctors leaving are increasing and new registrants are decreasing.”
‘SIMPLY AN ERROR’
The Alberta government, in response to a request for comment from CTV News, says Phillips’ understanding of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta report is wrong.
“Comparing to the prior quarter is simply an error. This data is strongly cyclical – most or all losses each year are reported in Q1, because the deadline to renew is December 31, while most or all gains are reported in Q3, because most new grads register in July,” said Steve Buick, press secretary for Health Minister Jason Copping, in an email.
“The only valid comparison is to the previous year.”
He also disputes her claims that the health minister is at odds with doctors.
“Minister Copping is working with the AMA to address the issues for doctors, and make sure we keep Alberta the best place to practice medicine in Canada.”
Also, while the South Zone exhibited the highest number of losses, Buick says numbers were up or remained stable in all of Alberta’s other health zones.
The government is also investing $90 million to recruit physicians in Alberta’s rural communities, including “the most generous rural-practice incentives in Canada” and other programs that are part of this year’s budget.
“Rural recruitment and retention is a longstanding issue across Canada, and the pandemic has been hard on physicians, especially in smaller communities,” Buick said.