Healthcare response
January 20, 2026
Your readers may recall that I shared a copy of my recent letter to Jackie Lovely, Camrose MLA, regarding the concerning state of health care in Alberta as a letter-to-the-editor in the January 13 edition of The Camrose Booster.
I did hear back from the MLA’s office – and in a rather timely way, too! However, it was Ms. Lovely’s assistant who responded, primarily referencing the government’s Acute Care Action Plan, which includes, quoted below:
Adding more than 1,000 new acute care beds in Edmonton and Calgary, including 700 new beds in Edmonton (350 each at the Misericordia and Grey Nuns hospitals).
Funding 50,000 additional surgeries to reduce wait times.
Increasing community and psychiatric care spaces.
Implementing a provincial neonatal intensive care strategy to support vulnerable infants.
Advancing a six‑priority framework focused on long‑term capital planning, workforce sustainability, and increasing flexibility for healthcare professionals.
I read the response several times, but couldn’t uncover many (any?) helpful details regarding the plan. A very partial breakdown regarding those 1,000 new beds is provided, but without a timeline. (I have since been told that these are probably not really new beds insofar as the government may, in fact, be reinstating 1,000 beds previously cut. I need to fact-check that one.)
Moreover, the response did not address my concern regarding how the addition of private health care within our public system will improve patient access and care rather than worsen it. I note mention of “increasing flexibility for healthcare professionals,” but am unsure of what that actually means. I suspect it is a veiled reference to previous announcements regarding private provision, and remain deeply worried that “increased flexibility” will result in increased pressure on our health-care professionals to work more, resulting in more burn-out. Exactly how will this “increased flexibility” improve patient care? Details, please, preferably backed by research. In fact, what we really need if we are serious about patient care and preventing burn-out, is an increase in the number of health-care professionals and significant improvements in their working conditions.
We need to keep the conversation going, and continue sharing our concerns with each other and with the government. With that in mind, I encourage readers to contact the MLA’s office and also to attend the Friends of Medicare presentation with Dr. Paul Parks on Thursday, February 19, at 7:00 p.m., at the Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Centre for the Performing Arts. Please Google as you need to register, although there is no cost.
Margaret Holliston,
Camrose