Alberta S.S.R. may start forcing doctors to stay doctors in rural Alberta

[dead0man]

link-CBC

Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro has directed the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta to change its standards of practice for physicians by July 20 in an attempt to stop the province's doctors from leaving their practices en masse due to an ongoing dispute over pay.

"The standards do not go far enough to protect patients, particularly in rural or smaller communities," Shandro said in a bluntly worded June 18 letter, released at a CPSA meeting Wednesday.

"Patients in these communities should not have to face an entire group of physicians withdrawing services."

In the letter, Shandro tells the CPSA to change the standards of practice to "prohibit an entire group of physicians from withdrawing at the same time. This could be identified as 'job action' rather than a closure of a medical practice."

Doctors should be required to give three months' notice before leaving a practice, the letter states.

Shandro directs the CPSA to ensure doctors "take steps to mitigate the impact of withdrawal of services, including making all reasonable efforts to ensure that other physicians are available to address patient needs."

The college must "require physicians to provide effective alternative resources and/or arrangements for patients if they choose to withdraw services," the letter says.

If the alternative arrangements are insufficient and create undue risk of harm to patients, "the college can require that some physicians involved in the withdrawal of services must continue to provide services until effective alternative resources and/or arrangements have been created," Shandro's letter says.

[CumbrianLefty]

"Alberta SSR" - totally serious and balanced commentary there

[Middle-aged Europe]

"Alberta SSR" - totally serious and balanced commentary there

Somewhat ironically, Alberta health minister Tyler Shandro is a conservative politician in what is usually regarded Canada's most right-wing province.

[CumbrianLefty]

You can't bring actual facts into this, where would it end?

[dead0man]

You can't bring actual facts into this, where would it end?

other than the obvious joke that triggered some people (am I doing that right Badger?), what fake facts do you think I brought in?  None of you dodgers have even touched on the issue...which is not surprising at all of course....it's for the same reason Atlas keeps dodging my Biden=cop posts.


Facts that you don't want to be true don't go away if you ignore them.

[xelas81]

Since the disputes are over pay, isn't there obvious solution?
Are doctors in Alberta have a contract or is it at-will employment?

[Damocles]

Soyuz nerushimy respublik svobodnykh

[dead0man]

A Russian Dodge?  Are they better than Trabants?

[brucejoel99]

Isn't this a little rich coming from the Conservatives? What happened to letting free-enterprise decide?

And how's that gonna work anyway? Are they gonna physically chain doctors to their clinics? If a doctor wants to move to BC, how can Alberta actually stop that from happening?

How any Albertans continue to have confidence in their government is beyond me. They're building a pipeline to nowhere, for crying out loud!

[CumbrianLefty]

They're building a pipeline to nowhere, for crying out loud!

Isn't that pretty normal for Alberta, though?

[Hatman 🍁]

How any Albertans continue to have confidence in their government is beyond me. They're building a pipeline to nowhere, for crying out loud!

I think most Albertans don't have confidence in their government, but a good enough chunk of them would rather an incompetent conservative government then let the 'socialists' back in to power.

[T'Chenka]

How any Albertans continue to have confidence in their government is beyond me. They're building a pipeline to nowhere, for crying out loud!

I think most Albertans don't have confidence in their government, but a good enough chunk of them would rather an incompetent conservative government then let the 'socialists' back in to power.

Sounds about right. I've recently been saying that Alberta is the Canadian version of Texas, which isn't 100% true but captures the political essence of it IMO.