Wildrose Alliance backs private clinic in fight with AHS

[Azure]

The Wildrose Alliance and the operators of a private surgical clinic in Calgary are accusing the medical superboard of reneging on a deal with the facility, and demanding the health minister intervene to prevent it from closing.

The ongoing legal and financial fight between Alberta Health Services and the for-profit Health Resource Centre -- a private facility owned by Networc Health Inc. -- may finally crystallize next week when officials file new affidavits in court.

It's an intriguing battle over not only the health centre, but the role of private clinics in a publicly funded health-care system. And it has political parties drawing their battle lines on a health-care debate that could be a dominant issue in the next provincial election.

...

Smith said the medical board has broken its commitment to contract out up to 3,500 hip and knee surgeries a year at the health centre -- up from the current 1,000 or so.

"It would be absolutely devastating if this facility was closed down," Smith said Thursday at the health centre. "It's incumbent upon the health minister to intervene."

Dr. Tom Noseworthy, a health-policy specialist at the University of Calgary, said "the evidence shows" for-profit, private delivery doesn't improve public access to the system, nor is it cheaper or better quality. Private care should generally only be looked at to expand capacity in the health system when it's not available in the public realm, he said, but that won't be the case once the new surgical suites open at Foothills.

Smith and HRC maintain the facility can perform publicly funded surgeries "faster, better, cheaper" than the public model. "Under a publicly funded system, we don't think that patients care whether or not they're getting treated at a public hospital, or a private facility or a not-for-profit facility," she said.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/...425/story.html

Personally, I think contracting out public work to a private hospital and paying for it with public dollars isn't the way the two-tier system should work.

But on the other hand, government red tape and incompetence often turns a simple checkup into a 4 hour wait, and having a private clinic on contract for checkups, as well as major surgeries might help.

[Ducay]

I have no problem with this sort of thing.... if its really just contracting our public surgeries to a private corporation, why not? I mean all its doing is saving the taxpayers money, then all aboard

[Azure]

What I don't understand is how you can sign a contract with a private clinic to do the work, and then want to breach that contract because you got your own facilities.

Honor your contract.

And considering there is a huge waiting list for the types of surgeries we're talking about here, why not let both places operate? Lower the waiting list, and therefore next time the contract comes up for renewal, you don't have to pay as much.

[Slava]

The part I don't understand is that the WAP would normally explain how the system should trim the fat and be fiscally responsible, but in this case where the fat is a private for profit corporation they want government intervention?

I get the "honour the contract" mentality as well, but something just doesn't add up in these two positions.

[Ducay]

Ya, I went back and actually read the article and a couple older articles about the company in question.

I don't get at all why WRA is supporting these guys.....I mean, they're in financial trouble, and the AB Gov is looking to hire back these employees for the new surgical wing @ FMC.