Advocacy group says Alberta’s pause on Airdrie Urgent Care Centre lacks transparency

There have been rumblings over the past week of plans to privatize Airdrie’s Urgent Care Centre, and with no formal announcement from the Alberta government, Friends of Medicare is sounding the alarm on what it’s calling a “shady deal.”

Last week, Albertans learned that the long-needed expansion and renovation of the Airdrie Community Health Centre had been put on pause, as the province entertains a proposal to add private delivery to the publicly-funded facility.

Alberta Health has acknowledged it is reviewing a new joint proposal from private partners and has put the renovations on hold while it does so.

However, Chris Gallaway with Friends of Medicare says that publicly acknowledging the “wheels in motion” after it’s been brought to light, is a red flag.

“The only reason we heard about this is because the Airdrie Health Foundation chair mentioned it,” he told CityNews. “They got this communication from the government, there’s been no official notice to the public, there’s been no government release, there’s been no information as to why this is happening beyond a quote that was said to a local paper that the government finally responded to.

“So, there’s no transparency here of what’s even happening, let alone why it’s being allowed to happen.”

And, the delayed acknowledgement seems sneaky.

“The renovation and expansion project that is already under way, why is the government taking proposals at all? Was there a call for private partners to join the project midway? Why did these private partners make the proposal?” Gallaway said. “There must be some reason why they did that, they wouldn’t just create a proposal and lob it at the government, so what’s happening here?”

Gallaway says the province tends to overuse the word innovative to describe privately delivered and publicly funded health care.

“They need this renovation to expand Urgent Care, renovate the facility. They got that commitment in the budget, they got the project rolling and now it’s on pause from a government that’s reviewing a proposal by private partners and we have a lot of questions about that,” he said. “Why did they take this proposal for a project that’s already underway? Why are we picking up private delivery of healthcare in our health care centres and our hospitals?”

In a statement to CityNews, health ministry press secretary Andrea Smith said putting the renovations on hold while Alberta Health evaluates a new proposal is due diligence to ensure that Albertans receive value for money spent.

“Alberta’s government remains committed to this publicly funded capital project and to ensuring that once operational, the site provides publicly funded health services,” she said. “Government is always looking to find innovative ways to improve health care delivery in communities across the province.

“The provision of health services in Airdrie is a priority and Alberta’s government will ensure that any health project in the community provides high quality care,” Smith added.

CityNews has reached out to the City of Airdrie for comment.