Doctors reiterate call for Red Deer Regional Hospital transition plan

Diane Adkins was gripped with severe stomach pain in December. The longtime Red Deer resident thought it was the flu, but after the pain got worse, she went to the doctor. 

What followed was waiting and more waiting. First, it took three hours to see the doctor. After that, she spent five hours sitting in an emergency room. 

Finally, it was discovered she had a ruptured appendix.

Immediate surgery wasn't possible, and she had to spend the next 10 days in the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. 

"Our medical staff are just run off their feet," Adkins said, describing her hospital stay, during which she was moved four times to make room for other patients.

The Red Deer Regional Hospital serves nearly half a million central Albertans. It's been plagued by ongoing capacity problems, staffing shortages and high patient volumes. 

While the Alberta government has pledged $1.8 billion in funding for an expansion, the infrastructure work isn't set to be completed for years. Meanwhile, a group of Red Deer physicians and concerned citizens is reiterating calls for more to be done in the interim. 

On Wednesday, the Society for Hospital Expansion in Central Alberta (SHECA) held a news conference in Red Deer, asking Alberta Health Services for a transition plan to improve bed shortages, backlogs and staffing issues. The group has been calling for a plan for months. 

"The well-being of central Albertans is at stake, the function of the hospital is at stake," said Dr. Kym Jim, an internal medicine specialist and spokesperson for the advocacy group. 

According to Jim, the central zone lacks for advanced care beds, and too many patients are being transferred from the Red Deer hospital to Edmonton and Calgary to complete their stays. 

Data obtained by the group via a Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FOIP) request showed that 233 patients had to be transferred from the hospital in the past 12 months. 

Jim said that when patients are transferred, it creates chaos in the hospital, stress for families and hurts staff morale. 

"The feedback that you get from that is devastating as a health-care worker," he said. "You're told, 'You don't care for me.' It's brutal." 

The working conditions have made it difficult to recruit and retain physicians and other critical staff, the advocacy group said. 

Compensation and recruitment  

Data from another FOIP request showed that clinical stipend dollars paid in the Red Deer area were far below that of other regions, despite the fact the central zone serves roughly 12 per cent of the province's population. 

According to the documents, which were shared with CBC News, only 0.22 per cent of $41.6 million in total clinical stipend dollars were spent in the central zone between January 2021 and June 2022. 

In comparison, the north zone received nearly five per cent of the total stipend dollars, although the area serves only a slightly greater percentage of the province's population. 

These stipend dollars, the society said, are part of the way that AHS compensates physicians for being available for patients. 

"If you work in Edmonton and Calgary, you are essentially paid more to do similar work, and this is a massive problem when it comes to recruitment in central Alberta in certain disciplines," Jim said.

Officials and politicians from several nearby communities attended Wednesday's press conference. Among them was Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston, who called the information presented by the group "sobering." He also called for a transition plan for the hospital. 

"We're not asking for preferred status, we're not asking for favours or special treatment. We're not asking for that," he said. "What we're asking today is for parity, a level playing field and a voice for our physicians, our nurses, our physiotherapists." 

AHS said in a statement to CBC News that it is implementing 100 new positions of alternative providers — including clinical assistants, physician assistants and nurse practitioners — to support selected programs and services with critical acute care coverage shortages.

These alternative providers will support doctors by providing hands-on care. 

AHS added that in times of overcapacity, "which does occur at RDRHC and other facilities," patients who can safely have their needs met in other facilities may be transferred out from Red Deer to other facilities in the central zone or transferred to Edmonton or Calgary if a higher level of specialty care is needed. 

AHS said it is continuing to work with the government on advancing the redevelopment of the regional hospital and planning is on schedule for redevelopment and expansion.

As for Adkins, who was also at Wednesday's news conference, she's still waiting to have her appendix removed. In the meantime, she could suffer yet another rupture. 

When asked what she thought of the society's presentation, Adkins said she felt the central zone was being neglected. 

"Something needs to be done, for sure," she said. 

The Society for Hospital Expansion is planning to hold a rally in May ahead of the provincial election.