Alberta to introduce new bill to reduce wait times for surgery

 

 

With the number of people on the waiting list for surgery in Alberta increasing, the provincial government has introduced Bill 11 legislation aimed at addressing the crisis. The new law will allow doctors to work in both public and private health systems simultaneously.

There are currently about 83,000 Albertans waiting for surgery. The number of people on this list has increased significantly compared to previous years, with 43 per cent of people still waiting after the scheduled time for surgery, according to reports. The reform will bring positive changes to the province’s health sector, said Nadeem Ismail, director of health policy at the Fraser Institute.

He said that private facilities will be helpful for surgeons who want to work longer hours and increase their income, and that it will not affect operations in the public system at all. The government hopes that the dual-model system will help bring back nurses and unemployed doctors who left Alberta in search of better working conditions. However, there are still differences of opinion among experts about how effective the move will be in the health sector.