Province hires more nurses, opens more beds

Alberta Health Services says it will open 132 new beds in three Calgary hospitals this fall, but 70 surge capacity beds will close.

Most of the new beds are pegged as transition care beds, along with a new 20-bed hospice at the Peter Lougheed Centre.

152 new part-time and full-time nurses will also be hired.

'When we announced a first-of-its-kind, five-year funding plan for health services in this year's budget, we wanted to see an immediate, positive impact on patient care," said Gene Zwozdesky, Minister of Health and Wellness. "These additional beds are another great example of how this funding is helping to improve access and quality of care for Albertans."

"Opening these beds allows us to expand the range of care options we provide," said Brenda Huband, Senior Vice President, Alberta Health Services. "We are increasing access to hospital beds, but we also need to care for those patients with needs that are not met with traditional acute care units, including patients who need long-term support, those gaining the strength and skills to return to the community, and those who need palliative care."

Meantime, the Friends of Medicare is cautiously optimistic.

David Eggen with the organization, says the Stelmach government and previous Tory administrations have a poor record on following through on health care promises.

Eggen says the only way to improve the system is to open more beds and allocate additional dollars to operate them.

"If you ask anybody on the street you'll know that health care is first and foremost, for themselves, for their loved ones, and its worth investing in.  Certainly we can afford it.   We can't afford not to invest in it," says Eggen.

Eggen adds even with the additional beds, there is still a hospital bed shortage, not only in Calgary, but right across the province.

AHS says the following beds will open by December this year:

-    A new 32-bed short-term Convalescent Sub-Acute Care Unit at the RGH, providing focused transition and rehabilitation care to help patients return to the community. This unit is slated to open in late September. The RGH has also added 10 beds that focus on providing care to patients with dementia.

-    A new 32-bed Transition Unit at the PLC, to provide care for patients waiting for a community-based bed to become available, will open in mid-September.

-    A new 20-bed Hospice at the PLC, providing care that meets end-of-life needs for clients and families for whom care at home is no longer possible, and who do not need the resources of a regular acute care unit, will open in November.

-    A new 38-bed Transition Unit, similar to the unit at the PLC, opens at the Foothills Medical Centre in November. The opening of this unit will coincide with completion of the new McCaig Tower in November.