Rachel Notley, the leader of the Alberta NDP, says that the PCs are putting Albertans at risk by neglecting just under $150M worth of necessary maintenance in three Calgary hospitals.
“Millions of Albertans rely on these hospitals to be safe and secure places that provide high quality care when they or their loved ones are sick or injured. The PCs chronic neglect of basic infrastructure maintenance put patients’ care at risk,” said Notley.
According to documents released to the NDP by the Alberta Health Services, Notley says there is a back-up of six years’ worth of overdue projects.
“These repairs are not just aesthetic; we’re not talking about re-designs of the lobby,” Notley said on Friday. “We’re talking about fire suppression; we’re talking about things like sprinkler systems. In Foothills alone, we’re looking at $6.3M alone in uncompleted work in relation to fire safety. We’re also looking at HVAC systems which I’m sure many of you know contributes directly to air quality in hospitals.”
The affected hospitals include Foothills Medical Centre, Rockyview General Hospital, and the Peter Lougheed Centre.
Notley says that one of the concerns that really struck her was a proposed renovation for emergency lockdown at Foothills. “I know that that’s a serious problem in many hospitals where other patients and staff are suddenly at risk because of a patient who becomes dangerous and there’s no safe lockdown place for them to go to.”
She says there is no plan to fund that through 2015.
Notley says say PC neglect has impacted Edmonton-area hospitals as well. ““Hundreds of patients were impacted when the roof caved in at the Misericordia in Edmonton. The PCs refused to replace it on time and the results for patients were disastrous. The entire first floor had to be closed down, and the ER could not accept new patients. We cannot allow this kind of neglect and deliberate delay to continue whether it’s here in Calgary or in Lethbridge or Red Deer or anywhere else.”
Rayne Kuntz, media relations senior advisor with Covenant Health, the organization which runs Edmonton's Misericordia Community Hospital says the November 20, 2014 water pipe leak occurred in an area of the hospital which was under construction, the roof did not collapse and eight ceiling tiles were removed and replaced. The hospital's emergency department was not impacted by the leak.
Rachel Notley believes hospital concerns in Alberta are likely to grow during this time of economic uncertainty.
“This PC government neglected our hospitals when times were good, so how can Albertans expect them to maintain them properly now? The PCs refuse to put the health and safety of Alberta families first and that is just plain wrong. Albertans want the care of patients to be the priority in our health care system and so do I.”
