Monday, January 12: Alberta Medical Association president Brian Wirzba issues a statement about the state of the province’s acute care system, which he says has been at 110 per cent capacity for over a year, with wait times having increased by 70 per cent in major cities since 2022. He adds physicians have been sounding the alarm about emergency departments, and asks the government to reestablish “clear provincial accountability for operational integration and patient flow.
Read more: Why Can’t You Get a Family Doctor?
Tuesday, January 13: An Edmonton Journal op-ed by Dr. Warren Thirsk and Dr. Greg Hrynchyshyn, co-signed by 300 other Alberta physicians, calls for clear patient-safety thresholds, improved discharge coordination, integrated load-levelling across sites and robust surge protocols. This follows the Alberta Medical Association urging the government to declare a state of emergency.
Read more: Should the Cheif Medical Office of Health have More Independence?
Thursday, January 15: Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services Matt Jones announces that an independent investigation has been ordered into the death of Prashant Sreekumar, a 44-year-old man who died in an Edmonton emergency department while waiting nearly eight hours to see a doctor.
Read more: The Consequences of How We Pay Doctors
Friday, January 16: All 14 staff members of the Alberta Law Foundation resign and two board members are removed after provincial legislation gave the Minister of Justice more control over the organization, which funds non-profit legal work in the province.
Read more: When Judges Use Political Language
January 16: The Federal Court of Appeal rules that it was unreasonable for the federal government in 2022 to stop protests about COVID-19 health restrictions in Ottawa and at border crossings by using the Emergencies Act.
Read more: Masking Fear
The Week in Alberta is updated weekdays by 4:30pm MT.
