Tories: Top doctors cost too much.

Of course the high-priced politicians who are looking after the government and giving large doses of snake oil to the citizens just gave themselves big raises. The article does not say how many public health doctors would be involved. In the overall budget increases for their salaries probably would not count for that much. As critics point out the real agenda is to remove the "public" from public health care and replace it with private health care. Alberta can become more like Texas with snowstorms. This is from the Calgary Herald.

Wednesday » June 11 » 2008

Top doctors cost too much: Tories

Jason Fekete and Archie McLean
Calgary Herald and The Edmonton Journal
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
CREDIT: Herald Archive, Edmonton Journal
Acting provincial health officer, Dr. Karen Grimsrud
On the heels of approving wage hikes of up to 34 per cent for the cabinet and premier, the Stelmach government said Tuesday it can't afford to pay senior public health physicians the salaries they're looking for.
The Alberta Medical Association, which is negotiating a new contract for its doctors with the province, is worried the exit of four senior public health officials will leave a "gap" in care for Albertans.
The province's announcement, meanwhile, sparked outrage from opposition parties who said the government's move is hypocritical, and that doctors' wages are simply an excuse to sack public health officials and pursue more private health care.
Dr. Karen Grimsrud, the acting provincial health officer, Dr. Gloria Keays, the deputy provincial health officer, and Dr. Ameet Singh, the infectious disease medical consultant, are all leaving Alberta Health and Wellness in the coming months.
Their departures come after a fourth senior public health official, Dr. Shainoor Virani, who left earlier this year. The department has been fairly tight-lipped about why and when they are leaving, and the doctors have been unwilling to comment.
"There is a limit as to what the government of Alberta can pay for certain positions," Health Minister Ron Liepert told reporters in Edmonton following a cabinet meeting.
"As much as we hate to lose them, this is just normal process where if you can find a better opportunity, you take it."
Liepert said their contracts are up in August and the department has been negotiating for several months to resolve the impasse. He wouldn't discuss the details of the contracts or what the doctors were asking for.
He maintained the doctors' contract demands were unrelated to pay hikes cabinet members gave themselves last month in a closed-door meeting. Liepert and other ministers now make $184,000 annually after a $42,000 salary jump. Premier Ed Stelmach makes $213,450 a year, the highest of any premier in Canada.
The head of the Alberta Medical Association warned Tuesday public health could suffer if the exodus of senior doctors continues and urged the province to step up its efforts on recruitment and retention.
"We're just concerned about the potential gap in public health services that may be created by so many resignations that are occurring within a short period of time," said AMA president Dr. Darryl LaBuick. He noted public health officers are responsible for health policy, and disease and infection control.
"I hope we can come up with some strategies that pay physicians fairly and keep us competitive with the rest of the country."
Stelmach, meanwhile, was pressed Tuesday by reporters on the optics of approving hefty salary hikes for MLAs when the province can't afford to pay public health officials. But he didn't directly answer the question, simply saying he "wasn't party to the negotiations" between the province and outgoing physicians.
Opposition parties accused the government of failing Albertans on public health care and said the hypocrisy over salaries is alarming.
"This isn't an issue of salary, it's an issue of where this government puts its priorities," said Calgary Liberal MLA David Swann, a former medical officer of health in the Palliser Health Region in southern Alberta who lost his job in 2002 after speaking out in favour of the Kyoto Protocol.
Swann said the province has set a "double standard" between politicians' raises and those of senior health officials.
NDP Leader Brian Mason expressed similar sentiments.
"They've got a lot of nerve saying that they can't afford to pay competent public health-care officials what they're worth, when they're paying themselves far beyond what they're worth," Mason said.
Like cabinet ministers, Mason also reaped a $42,000 salary increase from a Tory-dominated committee's decision to hike cabinet pay for MLAs. He argued his wage bump was much smaller because he was stripped of some compensation when the NDP lost official party status in the election.
Yet, the NDP leader suspects the doctors' departures are an attempt by the government to shove aside strong public health advocates and implement more private care.
"It's obvious the government's priority isn't on public health," Mason added.
jfekete@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2008

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