Health budget provides needed stability so services can improve
UNA President Heather Smith responds to the 2011 provincial budget
United Nurses of Alberta says the increase in the health budget is what will help improve services in the province.
“Following through on the promise of stable, predictable funding is just what our system needs,” says UNA President Heather Smith. “Stability is most important thing in improving our health system right now.”
The budget announced today included a 6% increase in AHS funding and promises 360 new hospital beds, 2,300 continuing care spaces, 3,000 more surgeries and 3,000 more people receiving home care.
It also continued the capital spending with $2.6 billion for hospitals and health care facilities. The infrastructure development is also crucial to increasing the overall medical capacity in the province.
“Alberta continues to grow, and our health services need to keep up. It won’t just take facilities, it’s going to take nurses, doctors and other health professionals. Alberta needs to keep up with developing the professionals our system will need to take care of us all,” Heather Smith says.
More full-care nursing home beds are also critical in the health care equation.
“The budget promises 2,300 new continuing care spaces,” Heather Smith noted. “Many of those need to be high level long-term care beds, with high levels of nursing care.”
What the government calls continuing care spaces are assisted living or supportive living with no licensed health provider staffing. Too often supportive living is unable to provide the levels of care needed to take patients directly out of hospitals.
“It’s going to take real long-term care beds to ease the back up in our health system,” Heather Smith says.
