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Alberta ER Chief Challenges Premier to Endure 13-Hour Emergency Department Wait

The challenge follows an AMA survey showing almost one in five emergency patients abandon their waits, with the government pointing to Health Quality Alberta figures confirming a gradual rise in walk-outs since 2020.

The entrance to the emergency department at Peter Lougheed hospital is pictured in, Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Overview

  • Dr. Warren Thirsk, head of emergency medicine for the Alberta Medical Association, invited Premier Danielle Smith to sit through a full 13-hour ER shift to witness overcrowding and the moral injury felt by physicians.
  • An AMA survey of more than 1,100 Albertans found that nearly 20% of emergency patients leave without being seen, unable to endure extended hallway waits.
  • The provincial government disputes that rate, citing its data showing about 10% of patients depart early in the top 16 hospitals and only two sites approach a one-in-five walk-out level.
  • Health Quality Alberta statistics confirm that walk-out rates have increased since 2020 across large and mid-sized hospitals, including Royal Alexandra and Northern Lights Regional.
  • Emergency physicians point to shortages of specialists, continuing-care beds and family doctors as drivers of lengthy waits and warn that many who leave return in worsened condition.