A group of doctors in Cochrane defended their antagonism to the government's attack on public health care in letter published in local newspaper, Cochrane Times.
A highlight:
“We, the physicians of Cochrane, want you to know that while Mr. Guthrie continues to spread misinformation, we are advocating doggedly to defend our public health care system and your medical care here in Cochrane. We know intimately the strain our town is under, and Mr. Guthrie stoking the fire of hostility towards physicians is indefensible and damaging.”
letter in full (Cochrane Times, Sept. 8, 2020):
With respect to the health of Cochranites and Albertans, who are you to believe? A politician toeing the party-line, or the committed and caring physicians who live and work in Cochrane?
For months now, Mr Guthrie and the UCP have been framing the battle between physicians and their party as a money issue. For months now, physicians and the Alberta Medical Association have understood that this same battle is an attack on primary care and the system we have worked so hard to build. Unfortunately, the UCP have a daily platform to propagate their opinion in the news. We do not.
As family doctors, we have unique insight into the lives of our patients. On any given day, we could have the privilege of sharing the joy of a patient who has just found out they are pregnant, counsel a patient with severe depression, and tell someone that the cancer they have been fighting has progressed. We know the fears of a lost job, a sick child, a grieving spouse. Lately, we have seen the effects of low oil prices and covid on our local economy. We talk about this every single day with our patients, as it impacts every facet of our day to day lives.
The root of the problem is this: the UCP want to bring in health care changes that the AMA feels would negatively impact patient care, especially in rural areas. This has already begun. Delivering a baby in Sundre is no longer possible, and over half of the physicians there have announced they are leaving. There are weekly requests for urgent coverage in other rural areas. New grads are choosing to go to other provinces rather than setting up here. All over the province, physicians are weighing out the risks and benefits of staying in communities they love and have built a life in. The UCP can continue to deny this (and they do), but the fact is, there has never in the history of Alberta been such uncertainty in the medical community. And this is directly the result of the government’s attack.
The AMA has asked this government repeatedly to come back to the negotiating table. They have requested an independent binding arbitrator to settle this dispute, but the UCP steadfastly refuse. Why do you suppose this is? An unbiased perspective would not support their position, and that is why they continue to publish their inaccurate facts while turning their backs on attempts to move forward with negotiations.
Physicians across this province want to provide high quality and high value care and help to save this government money. However, we’d rather not cut costs in ways that will negatively impact patient care. This government has any number of “issues managers”, accountants, and executives who think they know how to save our medical system money. The only people they are not willing to involve are the ones who know how the system works. Our mandate is to save lives and improve health and we will not stand for changes that are directly opposed to this.
We, the physicians of Cochrane, want you to know that while Mr. Guthrie continues to spread misinformation, we are advocating doggedly to defend our public health care system and your medical care here in Cochrane. We know intimately the strain our town is under, and Mr. Guthrie stoking the fire of hostility towards physicians is indefensible and damaging. We know you’re likely battle-weary from whatever circumstances you’re juggling. In that case, we are simply asking you to believe that we have our patients’ best interests at heart. That said, if you are able, please, continue to put pressure on your MLA and Health Minister and Premier. It is critical to hold our government to account on saving our system money in honest and transparent ways that will not impact our ability to deliver quality care in a timely manner.
Dr. Brian Dembinski, Dr. Meghan Elkink, Dr. Kerri Johnstone, Dr. Julie Torrie, Dr. Sharonjit Bains, Dr. Adam Nielsen, Dr. Glenda Schoombe, Dr. Willem Schoombe, Dr. Una Barry, Dr. Don Punch, Dr. Jennifer Corrales, Dr. Helen Davis-Herdman, Dr. Jesse Gabel, Dr. Michelle Klassen, Dr. Candice Knoechel, Dr. Robert McLaughlin, Dr. Tina Nicholson, Dr. Anna Tomanek, Dr. Brad Unryn, Dr. Sandra Lahey, Dr. Habeeb Ali, Dr. Richard Cote and Dr. Olga Konwisorz
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