While Council was immersed in a two-day planning retreat, Ron Liepert, Alberta's Health Minister, made the stunning announcement that he was disbanding and dismissing the boards of all nine health regions, AADAC, Alberta Mental Health Board, and the Alberta Cancer Board in order to implement a new health system governance model.
While this news is small potatoes compared with the misery being caused by natural disasters in Burma and China, it has the potential to greatly affect the delivery of healthcare in our communities. Whether this impact is positive or negative remains to be seen.
It's always easier, perhaps human nature, to see the downsides of major changes, and having lost my job during the last round of regional shuffles, it is REALLY easy for me to see the downsides!
So I tried to think of some pros to the changes and had initial thoughts about potential efficiencies, higher and more consistent standards, or more effective staff support with provincial oversight for issues such as patient safety, infection control, perinatal care, mental health or continuing care.
This central governance with what is being called a "Superboard" will certainly make it easier for the government not to have all those boards pressuring for more money and services. But will it also make it a lot easier to close facilities because there will be fewer local officials on the hot seat for such decisions? Will it make it easier to introduce privatized services? Will it be easier or harder to pay attention to prevention?
Could this really mean the end of have and have-not regions, one of the reasons given for the change? Will equitable care and service really be available to all Albertans? Will this model actually result in more frontline workers, more efficient delivery of service, shorter wait times, and less administration or will there simply be administration that is centralized a great distance from our communities? These are the wait-and-see aspects of the changes.
On the con side, I fear that we will lose administrative-level positions in the health sector. This is what I see as a trend towards the de-skilling of rural and northern areas of Alberta. When high-level jobs are lost to communities like Peace River, whole families move. Without higher-level jobs available, organizations may find it harder to recruit because there are fewer employment opportunities for spouses.
The other worry I have is around loss of local input and a say in what happens to the delivery of healthcare in our community. Without board members who live in or near, how will the Superboard know how its decisions are affecting us? Will those members actually care? Will the Community Health Councils become crucial links to ensuring there is a local voice about healthcare delivery or will they also be disbanded?
And as a Town Councillor, I'm wondering whether municipal government will now need to take a more active approach to monitoring and advocating for healthcare in our communities? We've been able to fairly comfortably leave that with the health region board. With resources already stretched at the municipal level, is this something we can take on with any level of confidence? With all the other things we already need to advocate for with the provincial and federal governments, can we realistically add this to our plates?
Lots of questions and not many answers at this point, but it's something I'll be paying close attention to as a person employed (somewhat peripherally) in the health sector, and as the Town Council member of the Community Health Council.
While this news is small potatoes compared with the misery being caused by natural disasters in Burma and China, it has the potential to greatly affect the delivery of healthcare in our communities. Whether this impact is positive or negative remains to be seen.
It's always easier, perhaps human nature, to see the downsides of major changes, and having lost my job during the last round of regional shuffles, it is REALLY easy for me to see the downsides!
So I tried to think of some pros to the changes and had initial thoughts about potential efficiencies, higher and more consistent standards, or more effective staff support with provincial oversight for issues such as patient safety, infection control, perinatal care, mental health or continuing care.
This central governance with what is being called a "Superboard" will certainly make it easier for the government not to have all those boards pressuring for more money and services. But will it also make it a lot easier to close facilities because there will be fewer local officials on the hot seat for such decisions? Will it make it easier to introduce privatized services? Will it be easier or harder to pay attention to prevention?
Could this really mean the end of have and have-not regions, one of the reasons given for the change? Will equitable care and service really be available to all Albertans? Will this model actually result in more frontline workers, more efficient delivery of service, shorter wait times, and less administration or will there simply be administration that is centralized a great distance from our communities? These are the wait-and-see aspects of the changes.
On the con side, I fear that we will lose administrative-level positions in the health sector. This is what I see as a trend towards the de-skilling of rural and northern areas of Alberta. When high-level jobs are lost to communities like Peace River, whole families move. Without higher-level jobs available, organizations may find it harder to recruit because there are fewer employment opportunities for spouses.
The other worry I have is around loss of local input and a say in what happens to the delivery of healthcare in our community. Without board members who live in or near, how will the Superboard know how its decisions are affecting us? Will those members actually care? Will the Community Health Councils become crucial links to ensuring there is a local voice about healthcare delivery or will they also be disbanded?
And as a Town Councillor, I'm wondering whether municipal government will now need to take a more active approach to monitoring and advocating for healthcare in our communities? We've been able to fairly comfortably leave that with the health region board. With resources already stretched at the municipal level, is this something we can take on with any level of confidence? With all the other things we already need to advocate for with the provincial and federal governments, can we realistically add this to our plates?
Lots of questions and not many answers at this point, but it's something I'll be paying close attention to as a person employed (somewhat peripherally) in the health sector, and as the Town Council member of the Community Health Council.
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