Concerns raised over Alberta's growing population amid loss of health-care workers
Alberta is booming once again, but with that boom comes concerns over the province's health-care system.
According to the latest figures from the province, Alberta's population increased by 194,000 people from October 2022 to October 2023, a 4.3 per cent increase from October 2021 to October 2022 – the highest spike Alberta's population has seen since 1980.
The population growth comes as some 20,000 health-care workers left Alberta in 2023, according to Statistics Canada.
Friends of Medicare says without help, Alberta's health-care workers will continue to leave the province or the field altogether.
"Over half of doctors are considering leaving the system or leaving the province," said executive director Chris Gallaway.
"We've seen similar studies from nurses' unions, and others say over half of the health-care workforce is looking at leaving health care altogether or leaving their jurisdiction because they're burnt out."
Gallaway says he is hopeful the upcoming provincial budget will provide more support for health-care workers to stop the bleeding.
He says without new infrastructure spending and more staff, the crisis will only deepen.
"There's no comprehensive workforce planning. There's no retention plan, and there's no recruitment or training attached to any of that," Gallaway said.
"If we don't do that, we're not going to keep our facilities open and folks are going to continue to struggle to access primary care, hospital care and other health care."
The Alberta Medical Association (AMA) fears the health-care system's capacity isn't built for the influx of people.
Infrastructure and staffing are key areas the AMA says need to be addressed by the province.
"There is no question, our workforce and our capacity is not keeping up with the booming population," said Dr. Paul Parks, AMA president.
"If we really added 200,000 new Albertans last year … that's an inordinate number of people. When you think about it, that amounts to being a new hospital that we need in the Edmonton and Calgary areas with that population growth. We're not building hospitals that fast."
Parks has concerns regarding wait times at urgent care centres increasing by several hours, and those needing a surgical procedure waiting years.
"It is something we have to look at and we have to address it in a really big provincial, conservative way, like yesterday, and if not yesterday, then let's start today," he said.
According to Parks, 800,000 Albertans already don't have a family physician.
"Add another 100,000 people, it's a huge impact," he said.
"Then, the only place they can go is to really overburdened and overcrowded acute care facilities and hospitals."
CTV News reached out to the province for comment regarding the impact of the population boom on the province's health-care services and infrastructure.
Andrea Smith, press secretary for Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, said in a statement that population growth is among several factors that are considered when assessing health-care needs of communities across Alberta.
"We are working to ensure Albertans have equitable access to appropriate health care services, no matter where they live.
"Over the last fiscal year, we have made record investments to increase the capacity of the health system, including $257 million to support family medicine. Work is also underway to address priority objectives including reducing ambulance response times, decreasing ER and surgical wait times, and attracting more frontline health workers to deliver the care patients expect and deserve.
"At the same time, the government is investing in transformational efforts to increase access to primary care and home care services - shifts that will help Albertans get the right care, in the right place at the right time to increase the overall capacity of the health-care system.
"As part of efforts to refocus the health-care system, Alberta Health is also taking a more active role in planning for health system capacity to ensure the system can continue to meet the needs of Alberta's growing population."
AHS says it continues to look for creative ways to retain and build its valuable and critical workforce to address the staffing challenges across the organization.
"Since December 2019, we have 9,751 more staff in AHS, including 7,000 frontline staff, including 2,550 RNs and 520 paramedics. In 2022 alone, we added 800 more nursing staff (RNs, LPNs, and Health Care Aides).
"That trend continues. Between January 2023 and December 2023, AHS' workforce increased by 1,899 employees. In Calgary Zone, we saw an increase of 535 employees during that same time period.
"AHS currently has 2,118 jobs posted, of which 62 per cent are for nursing (RN & LPN) or healthcare aide jobs. Including those jobs, 72 per cent of all posted positions are for clinically related frontline jobs."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.