Members will recall that the Alberta Government hired McKinsey and Company to write a report making suggestions about health care. The report, entitled Provincial Service Optimization Review was first kept under wraps, but a final, somewhat sanitized version was released and is still posted on the Dept of Health's website. AHS has indicated that they are committed to following this report.
Interestingly, the government in the UK hired the same company to review its National Health Service (NHS). The BBC reported today that unlike Alberta, the UK government has rejected McKinsey's recommendations.
As in Alberta, in the UK the consultants proposed drastic cuts. They also said a hiring freeze and early retirement program should be established.
Unlike Alberta, the UK Minister of Health seems to believe that his primary role is to save lives, not money.
Health minister Mike O'Brien said: "Ministers have rejected the suggested proposals in the McKinsey report and there are no plans to adopt these proposals in the future.
"The government does not believe the right answer to improving the NHS now or in the future is to cut the NHS workforce. In core frontline services like maternity, nursing and primary care we need more staff rather than fewer."
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