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From: Paul Parks <pparks@ualberta.ca>
To: dave@hancock.ab.ca
Date: Friday, February 22, 2008, 2:26:02 PM
Subject: ED Overcrowding Crisis
Dear Mr. Minister,
I am writing to further follow‐up on our conversation of February
15th, 2008.
Unfortunately ED overcrowding is significantly hampering our ability
to provide safe, timely, standard levels of care to the patients in
our region. Since I sent you the last document regarding sub‐optimal
care delivery due to overcrowding, things have seemed to only continue
to degrade, and we are still uncertain as to what is being initiated
to address this quintessential health care issue.
Attached is another document providing more examples of sub‐optimal
outcomes at the UAH ED collected from Feb 12th ‐ Feb 22nd. The system
is on the brink of collapse, emergency health care provider morale is
at an all time low, and patients are suffering daily.
At 10 am today, over half of ALL of the emergency beds in the city of
Edmonton were occupied with EIPs (admitted in‐patients requiring an
acute care hospital bed, not an emergency stretcher). We know from
past experience that this ED overcrowding will only get worse over the
weekend. With an emergency medicine system constantly operating at 1/2
to 1/3rd functional capacity, it is only a matter of time until
preventable deaths occur.
As a group of concerned health care providers we are anxious to know
what is being done to address this crisis. As well, we are willing to
work with yourself, and with regional authorities, on this
challenging crisis in any way we can.
Thank you for taking the time address this issue. And thank you in
advance for taking the time to reply to this message so that I can
assure my group that meaningful action is being taken.
‐‐
Best regards,
Dr. Paul Parks mailto:pparks@ualberta.ca
Emergency Medicine
University of Alberta Hospital
on behalf of the Emergency Medicine Physicians at the University of
Alberta Hospital
From: Paul Parks <pparks@ualberta.ca>
To: Ron.Liepert@assembly.ab.ca
CC: Ed.Stelmach@assembly.ab.ca, Dave.Hancock@assembly.ab.ca,
Raj.Sherman@assembly.ab.ca, Paddy Meade <Paddy.Meade@gov.ab.ca>
Date: Thursday, July 3, 2008, 1:22:12 PM
Subject: Systemic Health Care Overcrowding is negatively affecting Albertans
Dear Health Minister Liepert,
As a concerned health care provider, I am writing to offer my
continued support in the effort to find a solution to the systemic
overcrowding issues that are directly impacting health care
delivery to the citizens of Alberta.
In my role as an Emergency Medicine physician at the University of
Alberta Hospital (UAH), as well as in my capacity as an executive
member of the Emergency Medicine subsection of the Alberta Medical
Association (AMA), I have been working with both regional and
provincial health authorities on this important issue. In fact, I
have provided similar information to your predecessor the
Honorable Mr. Hancock detailing the current crisis regarding
timely access to acute health care in Alberta.
Attached, please find documentation of the real impact that
systemic overcrowding is having on the delivery of care to
patients presenting to the UAH emergency department. The document
is a collection of sub‐optimal and substandard levels of care
directly due to emergency and systemic overcrowding. These
encounters have been documented by the various Triage Liaison
Physicians (TLPs) who have been working in the UAH ED waiting
room; a role created solely to provide a modicum of care to the
swelling numbers of patients with prolonged waits in our waiting
room. Unfortunately, the document only represents a small sampling
of continued compromised care ‐ this truly is only the tip of the
iceberg. (This same documentation has been sent to the
Capital Health Regional Executive to ensure they are fully
appraised of the situation as well.)
I am aware that Premier Stelmach is in the process of creating an
expert panel to directly address emergency and systemic
overcrowding, and through my position as President Elect of the
Emergency Medicine Subsection of the AMA I have volunteered to
participate and/or assist this panel in anyway I can. I write this
email to offer further evidence as to how dire the situation is,
and to support any efforts to mitigate the current crisis.
I thank you for taking the time to address this important issue.
I am anxious to work with yourself, in addition to the regional
health authorities, to address the ED and systemic overcrowding
that is impacting our ability to deliver timely care to the
patients of Alberta.
‐‐
Best regards,
Dr. Paul Parks mailto:pparks@ualberta.ca
Emergency Medicine
University of Alberta Hospital
780‐407‐8433