Friday Focus: Healthcare needs solutions not chaos.

The Friday Focus is a weekly blog post from Alberta Liberal Leader John Roggeveen. It covers some of the major topics in Alberta Politics each week.

Right now, our healthcare system is in bad shape; some say close to collapse. To fix the problems we face, we need to listen to our frontline healthcare workers. They, not Danielle Smith, should lead the charge to reform our health care. But Premier Smith has ignored them and hatched a plan to give her government direct control of our health care.

Healthcare workers are being sidelined so the UCP can roll out the red carpet for privatization advocates. Consider former conservative MLA Lyle Oberg, the new AHS boss, and his background in private hospitals and health-related businesses.

We need strong public healthcare. Massive restructuring will only make accessing health care harder for most. It won’t cure the lack of family doctors or reduce burnout among nurses.

There are solutions to the problems out there. Take Alberta’s family doctor shortage, for example. The challenges of running a business drive doctors out of family medicine. Let’s listen to doctors, nurses and other health professionals to find ways to ease their burdens. 

Adjusting the pay model for doctors is one policy option that can ease pressures. We can also better integrate nurse practitioners and mental health experts into the system to help alleviate stresses. 

The UCP healthcare plan is drastic and scary. But we can and will raise our voices to call for positive change and find answers to our challenges.

You can help us do just that by donating today. Contributions of all sizes help us carry on our party's important work, advocating for evidence-based solutions.