Alberta's Health Care Abyss: Over Half a Million on Waitlists as Province Halts Tracking of Patient Deaths

Alberta's health care system is grappling with an escalating crisis, as waitlists for essential medical procedures have surged past an astounding half a million. This includes crucial surgeries, vital diagnostic imaging, specialist consultations, and critical continuing care assessments, leaving a significant portion of the province's population in limbo, often in pain, and anxiously awaiting treatment.

Adding a deeply troubling layer to this already dire situation, the provincial government made a quiet yet profound decision in March 2020: to cease tracking the deaths of patients while they languish on these ever-growing waitlists.

This move, made without any public announcement or official justification at the time, has sparked widespread outrage and amplified concerns about transparency and accountability within Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the provincial administration.

Prior to this controversial halt, data consistently revealed a grim reality: hundreds of Albertans died each year while waiting for necessary medical procedures.

For instance, in 2019 alone, 237 people passed away while awaiting surgeries, with an additional 124 dying on lists for diagnostic imaging. These figures served as a stark, albeit incomplete, measure of the human cost of a strained system. Critics argue that stopping this tracking effectively blinds the public to the most severe consequences of prolonged wait times.

Opposition parties and health policy experts have vehemently condemned the decision.

They contend that discontinuing the tracking of these deaths is a cynical attempt to obscure the true severity of the health care crisis and to shield the government from public scrutiny. "This is a horrific example of lack of transparency and frankly, hiding the truth from Albertans," stated one critic, emphasizing the moral and ethical implications of such a move.

AHS, while acknowledging the cessation of tracking, has offered explanations citing the unreliability and incompleteness of the data gathered.

They suggest that the previous methodology did not always definitively link a patient's death directly to their wait for a specific procedure. However, this justification has done little to quell the concerns of those who believe that even imperfect data is better than none at all, especially when human lives are at stake.

The pandemic has undoubtedly exacerbated existing pressures on Alberta's health care infrastructure, but the roots of this crisis run deeper.

Years of increasing demand, coupled with capacity issues and a persistent struggle to retain health care professionals, have pushed the system to its breaking point. As waitlists continue to swell, the cessation of death tracking only intensifies fears that patient safety and well-being are being compromised, potentially with tragic, untold consequences.

The call for renewed transparency and a robust, accountable system to address this escalating crisis has never been more urgent.