Alberta is introducing measures to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles from its hospitals in an effort to deliver faster service and “better patient outcomes,” Premier Danielle Smith says.
Hospital-based leadership will play a crucial role in the transformation of health care throughout the province, Smith said in a June 17 announcement, saying that what works in large urban centres like Calgary may not yield the same results in smaller cities like Red Deer or rural communities like Peace River.
Smith said the province’s hospitals have fallen into a “bureaucratic vortex” of inefficiency as hospitals wait for days, weeks, or months to receive approval for hiring or ordering supplies, causing delays in patient care.
“Frontline staff struggle to care for patients with their hands tied behind their backs,” Smith said in a video posted to social media. “This is what the current structure has created, distance from the problem and delays in the solution.”
Smith cited some examples of how bureaucracy is impacting hospitals across the province on issues like hiring and purchase orders.
“A department head tries to fill a maternity leave, she sends the request up the chain, but the approval doesn’t come back until the nurse is almost back from her maternity leave,” Smith explained. “And sometimes it’s as basic as buying chairs, but the hospital has to wait weeks for central purchasing.”
The province is moving away from a corporate administrative framework to focus on local decision-making through hospital-based leadership teams, Smith said. Each hospital will have its own leadership team to deal with hiring, managing resources, and problem-solving.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) health zones will be eliminated as part of the transition, with acute care facilities being integrated into seven regional corridors under the new leadership framework. All acute care facilities will be accountable to Acute Care Alberta.
AHS, the province’s health authority, will continue to provide hospital-based services, however, concentrating on key priorities such as improving wait times and supporting quality hospital care for patients, Smith said. It will also be responsible for setting boundaries, tracking performance, and holding leadership accountable.
The province implemented new legislation this year to restructure Alberta’s health-care system, dividing AHS into four distinct organizations, each focused on a different type of care.
The four health agencies are Primary Care, which addresses family medicine; Acute Care, which is intended for hospital services; Assisted Living to enhance home and community services; and Recovery Alberta, which is responsible for managing mental health and addiction issues.
The Opposition NDP has argued that the structural changes being enacted by Smith’s government represent a step toward privatizing health care.
“Health care should be there for all of us when we need it,” NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman said in a June 13 social media post. “Instead, the UCP is pushing privatization, leading to worse health outcomes.”
Smith said the first test of the hospital-based leadership model is expected to be in place as of November of this year, before being implemented province-wide by the summer of 2026.
Hospital-based leadership will apply only to AHS acute care facilities, the province said. Other acute care organizations will remain unaffected during the implementation phase.
