Doctors stand ground in family care debate
The association representing Alberta’s 7,200 doctors is not backing down from a public scrap with Alison Redford’s Progressive Conservatives over the party’s plans for 140 new family care clinics.
On Thursday, Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Linda Slocombe challenged the promise of the clinics — announced by Redford earlier this week — as unproven, costly and rushed out with little consultation or planning.
“Alberta’s primary health-care system cannot afford unnecessary (and costly) duplication and fragmentation. Alberta cannot afford to further alienate physicians,” Slocombe wrote in a letter to AMA doctors.
“Alberta should not be experimenting with an untried and unproven concept that could threaten the viability of the family doctor’s office.”
Slocombe said the announcement on family care clinics came as three pilot-projects had just opened this month — leaving no time to evaluate how the new models work.
Less than five hours after Slocombe’s letter, Redford sent out her own missive in an open letter to the AMA president to “clarify” the physician’s points.
“To imply there is no transition plan when the AMA is sitting on the evaluation team for the family care clinics pilot project was very disappointing to me,” Redford wrote, noting the clinics would build on the work of many PCNS.
“As we discussed two weeks ago, my government is committed to working with the AMA to create a better environment for patients.”
The Tory leader closed her letter by questioning whether the doctors’ group would speak out on “potential disruption” that the Wildrose party’s election promises could have on the medical system.
The doctors’ group and PC government have been at odds this year over contract negotiations and the province’s failure to call a full public inquiry into cases of physician intimidation.
On Thursday, the AMA also confirmed it’s not backing down from running advertisements during the provincial election campaign.
Last week, Elections Alberta sent a round of warnings to groups including the AMA, pointing out they face significant penalties if they don’t comply with the province’s new third-party advertising laws.
In Slocombe’s letter to physicians, the AMA said it will not register with Elections Alberta, noting the association is a non-partisan organization and it views the ads as a legitimate expression of free speech.