Alberta government in ‘final stages’ of health-care revamp with new legislation
A year-and-a-half after announcing it would massively reorganize the health-care system, Alberta’s government says it’s now in the final stages of the still-controversial revamp.
The United Conservatives are dismantling the provincial health authority, Alberta Health Services, reducing it to a hospital services provider and putting four new agencies in charge.
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange is proposing legislation that would officially shuffle workers represented by five different unions from AHS to a different agency and the Alberta Health ministry.
Those handling front-line services such as immunization, newborn screening and health promotion will go to the new Primary Care Alberta agency.
Policy workers, public health inspectors and medical officers of health will be moved under the umbrella of LaGrange’s ministry.
Opposition NDP critic Sarah Hoffman says it’s another example of LaGrange consolidating control in her office instead of focusing on improving health care, and it appears no unions were consulted in the process.
— With files from Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
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