Does Danielle Smith Care About Patients Dying in Alberta Emergency Rooms?

Dr. Paul Parks is on the front lines of the crisis and he's skeptical

Later in this video interview with the past president of the Alberta Medical Association, Dr Parks asks, what's the game? Why does the Alberta government appear so callous as the Alberta health system collapses? I can see it on his face and hear it in his voice. He can't conceive of an Alberta government being that cruel.

I explained two themes in our expert interviews about Premier Smith. The first is that she is an authoritarian libertarian. The second is that she is pursuing the same ‘ungoverning” strategy as Donald Trump. The endgame is to break the machinery of the administrative state, which includes publicly funded healthcare, then turn over those functions to the private sector. Ungoverning is all about ideology and narrative, and has nothing to do with data, evidence, or expertise.

Dr Parks has a hard time wrapping his head around this idea. Frankly, that's true of every other Albertan. They're busy leading their lives—working to put food on the table and pay the mortgage, rushing out the door to get the kids to soccer and hockey practice, giving back to their community, caring for elderly patients, and the million and one other things that preoccupy us. We've grown up with the idea that publicly funded and administered systems will be with us forever. We can't conceive of politicians who might deliberately throw sand into the machinery of government and make people suffer in the process.

Emergency room physicians are suffering serious moral distress in the midst of this ongoing crisis. First, they have to deal with ERs that are operating well above 100% capacity. Not only are people dying while they wait for care, but the delay of diagnosis and care is debilitating others for life. The same doctors must then watch their government mislead the public while sitting on their hands.

For someone who has taken the Hippocratic Oath, the reality they are living does not easily coexist with the ideals they were taught in medical school. Nor is it consistent with their experience under past governments. No matter how much they try to fix the system, including offering to work more hours under extraordinary conditions, their efforts are met with a shrug and a deceptive press release.

When you watch this interview, pay particular attention to Dr. Parks’ voice and the look on his face. This is a man who cares. And the fact that the system in which he works prevents him from caring enough, truly is a moral distress for him. It should be a moral distress for all Canadians, especially the UCP government of Premier Smith.