Minister, doctor meet over healthcare 'collapse'

Health minister Gene Zwozdesky is meeting today with Dr. Paul Parks, an emergency room doctor who is warning of a potentially catastrophic collapse of emergency care in the province.

Parks, the section president of Emergency Medicine for the Alberta Medical Association, wrote a letter to the health minister earlier this month expressing fear about overcrowding in emergency rooms. He demanded immediate intervention.

The letter included numerous examples submitted by doctors where patient care was compromised by extreme wait times.

Zwozdesky said he has heard the concerns and now wants to get a better idea about what can be done.

"What I want to know is what he sees are some of the solutions over and above what we're doing and which of those particular recommended solutions are achievable in the immediate term; in the short term; and the longer term," he said. "We have a strategy to deal with all three terms."

Zwozdesky believes the government’s recent announcements increasing the number of acute-care and long-term care beds will stave off any potential collapse of the system.