The Alberta government says it will adopt all 21 recommendations that were made by the Health Quality Council after a review was conducted into health care in the province.
The recommendations include a public inquiry, the creation of two task forces and a review of EMS.
A public inquiry into allegations of queue jumping will be conducted.
The inquiry will look into:
- Whether improper preferential access to publicly funded health services is occurring.
- If there is evidence of improper preferential access to publicly funded health services occurring, make recommendations to prevent improper access in the future.
"Premier Redford has delivered on her commitment for a public inquiry," said Fred Horne, Minister of Health and Wellness. "As we have always said, it was important to wait for the HQCA to finish its work before calling the public inquiry as the report provided context for decisions about of the next steps. We will proceed with the public inquiry and the review of EMS even though the HQCA report did not call for these actions. These are important steps in continuing to improve public confidence in the health care system."
The HQCA will lead the review of EMS and also name a panel to conduct the public inquiry.
The province says that the task forces and EMS review will be launched to dig deeper into specific findings.
The task forces will tackle health system governance and role clarity with respect to the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The governance task force will evaluate things like; authority, roles and responsibilities, and accountabilities between the Minister of Health and Wellness, the Department of Health and Wellness, Alberta Health Services, including the appointment of the Board of Directors, and the medical profession.
The role clarity task force will review the roles, programs and services of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta and ensure that physicians, outside agencies and the public have a better understanding of what the College does.
"The HQCA report highlighted that many physicians receive little education or support on how, when and under what circumstances they can advocate effectively and that many felt threatened or adversely affected when they did," added Horne. "The College will play a key role in helping address this issue."
AHS has also been directed by the Minister to take steps to reduce occupancy rates in acute care beds in the province's major hospitals.
For more information on the review, visit the Government of Alberta Health and Wellness website.
