Alberta NDP says Smith government mishandling doctor shortage

Alberta’s NDP is criticizing the United Conservative’s handling of the ongoing physician shortage in the province.

During a Tuesday press conference, status of women critic Julia Hayter, accused the UCP of not following through with their promise to promptly fix Alberta’s health care system.

Hayter said Premier Danielle Smith “has her head in the sand” and is ignoring the problems Albertans are facing including limited access to doctors.

Back in October, Smith promised that within 90 days, Alberta’s health care system would be fixed.

But, Hayter pointed out that it’s been over 300 days, and many Albertans still struggle to access doctors.

More specifically, female doctors.

She said there is not a single female doctor accepting new patients in Edmonton, and data from the College of Physicians and Surgeons reports women account for roughly 4,800 of the 11,000 in Alberta

“In those intimate appointments, it’s that comfort level of having a female physician to openly discuss those issues,” she explained.

Hayter noted this disproportionately impacts certain women such as Muslims, who turn to female healthcare providers for cultural and religious reasons.

Meanwhile, Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Fred Rinaldi says this shortage is having potentially deadly consequences.

First of all, people are deferring care — affecting any kind of longitudinal screening like breast cancer, pap smears, because people don’t have a regular doctor to see,” he said.

However, in a statement to CityNews, Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange says work is being done through Alberta’s Health Care Action Plan to increase access to a regular health provider throughout the province.