Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it is important to note that it is not the Department of Health that makes the decisions on who gets sent to where for medical care. It’s the doctor at Stanton hospital who decided, because of her condition and her medical needs, that she needed to be sent to Edmonton. My understanding is that in most situations the doctor here communicates with a doctor in the receiving location to make sure they agree to take this patient.

Now, I think it’s also important to note that she did receive and she is receiving the care she needed; it’s just that she couldn’t have her...

Mr. Speaker, since the Member raised his question in February and as the letter I’ve provided him a copy of suggests, all the department has done is the most simplified and streamlined process that we could implement in as efficient a manner as possible.

The department has just asked that instead of asking the palliative care patients and physicians to fill out extra forms, as long as the doctor fills out the palliative care, then Green Shield will administer this and turn it around on a 24 hour basis. I’m advised that the pharmacists and other stakeholders have been communicated with in...

In light of the Member’s statement, I have to say I was quite surprised when I went to the FPT Health Ministers meeting to hear the Alberta Health Minister talking about the pressure on their system. They spend more money than anybody else in the country, but they have a growing population and a huge demand on services.

Obviously, the Minister took some drastic measures to address that. I don’t know the details of the government’s plan, but I took every opportunity I had to let him know of the importance of that Capital Authority and Alberta service in delivering health care services for the...

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know what the Member means by “all indications.” I did get a call from the media telling me that the Member is suggesting I got an e-mail two weeks ago. I don’t have any such information, and I will make it clear: we do not have any information that says anything like the Member is suggesting. I don’t know what the Member is saying with “all indications.”

Once again, this is a medical decision made by the medical practitioner at Stanton, who felt that this patient needed to go to Royal Alexandra Hospital. That’s the decision that was made.

As I stated already, I’d be happy to meet with the Member or the Standing Committee on Social Programs to go over the contract we have and to have further discussion on it.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The master plan has been redeveloped with a focus on the seven critical areas. The department feels that we do have a workable plan worked out now. We will go through the new capital planning process, which has a committee made up of officials who will review this and put it back into the capital planning process. It will progress along with all the other projects that will be put into it that are ready with a concrete plan. This project is at that stage.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would undertake to make that…. I mean, this is a situation where we don’t want to be making announcements without having gone through the debate here. So it is sort of a catch-22 situation.

I just want to say on the equipment that the most expensive part is the new services the new primary clinic will deliver, such as scan machines and X-ray machines and lab tech machines that are not available in the existing clinic.

The second thing, for those who know about these three existing clinics — with the possible exception of Great Slave — Gibson Clinic and Family clinic...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. An RFP was issued in July, and the lease has been awarded with downtown access space as well as the necessary parking. I expect to do a public statement on that. It’s just that the employees of the centre have not been advised yet, but it will be in a downtown location.

My understanding is that it’s for the lease improvements of 1,800 square metres that the clinic is looking for, to renovate, but I could defer to Mr. Aumond to see if that information is correct.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the Member might have said that we own some of the clinics downtown. We do not own any of them. The Gibson Clinic, Great Slave clinic and Family clinic, I think — the one next to the Explorer Hotel — are the three that are going to be combined to move into the consolidated clinic. Those are all leases. We have leases with the landlords. Some of the renovations that were done were with respect to Great Slave Medical clinic, and that was done mostly with federal funding.

This consolidated clinic would allow us to have lab work and X-rays and diagnostic imaging and...