It matters where surgeries are done, and public facilities are best, says AUPE president
EDMONTON – Repeated claims by senior Alberta government and Alberta Health Services officials that it doesn’t matter where surgeries are done, as long as they are done well, are misleading and wrong, says the president of the province’s largest union.
“This justification for private delivery of essential public health services is clearly at the top of the list of the government’s talking points on health care,” said Guy Smith, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.
“But it is wrong to say it doesn’t matter who provides public health services because the evidence is overwhelming that public hospitals staffed by public employees are more efficient, safer and use fewer taxpayers’ dollars to provide the same essential services,” said Smith.
“So when we hear senior politicians and top AHS officials claiming that it doesn’t matter who does the surgery, as long as it is publicly financed, they are using misleading language to justify a greater reliance on less-efficient and more expensive private clinics,” Smith said.
Alberta Health Services CEO Stephen Duckett was quoted in media reports today stating that “it doesn’t matter to people how the care is delivered, as long as it’s publicly funded and done well.”
And Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky told a radio talk show host this morning that “it shouldn’t matter where it gets done” as long as it’s publicly financed.
“Obviously, this is the new government mantra on privatization,” said Smith. “In fact, it should matter to Albertans because private delivery of health care costs taxpayers more, doesn’t do as good a job and opens the door to a two-tier health care system.”
Smith noted that the government has identified a lack of trust by voters about health care policies as a key problem it needs to address. “Using misleading language to justify a policy Albertans have made it clear they do not want is not a good way to restore trust,” he said.
Smith said the Alberta government’s “blitz” to clear a backlog of surgeries left by years of under-funding clearly illustrates the need for steady long-term public health care funding at appropriate levels.
“Obviously the existing situation required an emergency injection of money to restore balance to the system, and the government is right to fund a blitz to eliminate the current backlog of needed surgeries,” he said.
“What‘s needed is a true commitment to public health care and other public services by the government, which is what the people of Alberta have said they want,” he said.
Smith also noted that while the Feb. 9 budget included significant funding increases for health care, other public services that are also important to Albertans are being neglected and starved of funds.
“We have seen major funding cuts to Sustainable Resource Development, which will hurt the protection of the environment, to Advanced Education, which obviously hurts Alberta families and young people, and to Children’s Services, which puts our most vulnerable young citizens at risk,” he said.
“All these areas need the same thing as public health care, a steady, planned source of funds and services provided by committed, properly trained and impartial public employees,” he concluded.
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For more information, contact:
Guy Smith, President, AUPE, 7809-930-3301 or 780-265-2294 (mobile telephone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (mobile telephone)