‘Big push’ on to hit hospital space target
CALGARY – An all-out effort to free up beds at the province’s busiest, chronically overcrowded hospitals by the end of the month could go “right down to the wire,” as Alberta Health Services tries to hit ambitious new targets, observers say.
The medical superboard and Health Minister Fred Horne were mum on whether the hospital bed project has met its goals, saying the province intends to roll out final results later this month.
But Horne said he’s pleased by efforts. “I’ve seen some early results and they’re really encouraging,” the health minister said. “I think Albertans are going to be pretty darn proud of their health-care workers for what they’ve achieved.”
A Calgary physician representative said there’s still a major drive in city hospitals to redeploy beds and ease the space crunch, even as patient volumes inch upward.
“It’s going to be right down to the wire, is what I think,” said Dr. Lloyd Maybaum of the Calgary and Area Medical Staff Society. “There’s still a big, big push to try to hit those target numbers. Whether those numbers are hit or not remains to be seen.”
In February, Horne ordered AHS to reduce hospital occupancy rates to 95 per cent by Oct. 31.
His directive followed a blistering Health Quality Council of Alberta report looking at myriad medical system issues, including overcrowded hospitals and poor bed planning.
Soon after, AHS chief executive Dr. Chris Eagle announced rampedup efforts to hit the occupancy targets at Calgary’s Foothills, Peter Lougheed and Rockyview hospitals, and Edmonton’s University of Alberta, Royal Alexandra, Grey Nuns and Misericordia.
He also laid out another ambitious goal: reducing by half the number of elderly and frail patients taking up hospital beds while waiting for spots in less-expensive supportive living and nursing homes.
According to the most recent publicly available AHS figures, 459 Albertans were waiting in hospital beds for continuing care as of June; the patients waited an average of 34 days for placement.
Liberal Leader Raj Sherman, who is also an emergency room physician, said “absolutely it’s possible” for Alberta to hit its hospital targets — but only if the government does a better job managing its resources.
Sherman said the province has failed to plan for needed home care and long-term care in Alberta, and the result has been “warehousing” seniors in costly hospital beds.
“It’s causing a whole ripple effect through the whole health system,” Sherman said.
An AHS spokesman said the medical authority is still crunching the hospital bed numbers.
Don Stewart said once a report is finished, it must go to government for review before it’s released publicly.