Doctor count clearly wrong

Re: “Too many foreign doctors?” June 23 Health Minister Fred Horne is quoted as saying “I don’t think we’ve had a physician workforce plan in Alberta for some time.”

Yet, wait times in hospital emergency departments have been horrific for years with patients waiting for hours strapped in a stretcher. Wait times at walk clinics routinely run 3 hours, and we don’t have a plan!

Can you imagine the strain on the emergency departments and walk-in clinics if the doctors trained elsewhere weren’t recruited? Monday’s article is another example of how Albertans’ basic needs have been compromised over many years.

When patients are dying waiting to be seen, there aren’t enough doctors in Alberta. As long as they are qualified to practice, why does it matter where they are from?