In a time of unprecedented uncertainty, it is concerning to see the UCP’s battle with Alberta doctors wage on.
The timing of this embattled debate over physicians' compensation is especially bizarre given the conflict began in March— When the fear and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic was gaining momentum in the province, Canada and the world.
In that time things have not cooled down and the provincial government is now calling for the creation of a Sunshine List of doctors' salaries.
The Alberta Medical Association has said there is no issue with a Sunshine List as it creates increased financial transparency— However, the nuance of the salaries and how the money supports health care needs to be made crystal clear.
On Friday (Sept. 11) Minister of Health Tyler Shandro released details of the province’s Sunshine List Regulations. The list will make public the salaries and billing information of Alberta physicians. The UCP government has given health officials 60 days to release fiscal data from the last three years, and, starting in 2021, the information will be released within 90 days of March 31.
The move comes after Shandro tore-up the contract between the Alberta Medical Association and the provincial government in February.
Due to the steadily deteriorating relationship between Alberta doctors and the government, the province’s doctors have been without a contract since that time and arbitration has failed to take place.
Alberta Physicians are now facing a slow death by a thousand cuts, and the Sunshine List is the latest gash.
Local physician Dr. Candice Knoechel said context will be key when the Sunshine List of doctors is released.
She estimates that 30 per cent of their earnings pay for nurses and other technical staff, equipment, supplies and lease fees— COVID-19 has only increased this costs.
Communities in our area have already seen doctors leave— The Bragg Creek-based Care in the Creek has lost a doctor, Sundre’s Moose & Squirrel Medical Clinic has recently seen five out of eight physicians exit the clinic and Canmore has also seen doctors depart in droves.
A solution needs to be found to ensure Albertans, especially those in rural communities, are able to maintain access to physicians and quality health care.
The COVID-19 pandemic makes this reality more important than ever.
Airdrie-Banff MLA Peter Guthrie noted that the pandemic has put the province in a precarious financial position.
“Right now, we are spending $5.4 billion on physician compensation. That is 10 per cent of the entire budget of the province. What the province is requesting is that we maintain that at a zero per cent increase,” he said. “We are asking that doctors be maintained at the highest levels in the country.”
However, one cannot help but question if the support of the economy is coming at the expense of Albertans' health.
We are in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic and our health care and frontline workers need our support more than ever.
Witnessing the treatment our Minister of Health has given doctors, one can not help but wonder if the health of our communities is a priority for the current government.
We can only hope Minister Shandro will once again begin bargaining with physicians in good-faith for the health and safety of our communities.
If this does not happen we risk losing more doctors to different provinces and countries, leaving Alberta in a health care crisis.
