In a farewell speech to senior medical leaders this month, ousted health super-board boss Stephen Duckett accused politicians of being short-sighted and the provincial government of stoking ER woes by neglecting investment in seniors care.
Duckett has not spoken publicly about his Nov. 24 departure from the helm of Alberta Health Services, a government-created organization responsible for delivering medical care. However, in his speech, delivered in Edmonton to top-level AHS officials 12 days after his dismissal, Duckett was sharply critical of the province, former health regions and the media.
He noted Alberta spends more money per capita on health than other provinces, but gets less.
Duckett also condemned how that money has been spent, saying Alberta has overemphasized investment on acute care at the expense of ailing seniors.
"Is it any wonder that our acute facilities had to become de facto seniors housing, contributing to the systemic problems that have created the problems in emergency care?" Duckett stated in a copy of his Dec. 6 speech, obtained by the Herald.
The troubled state of Alberta health care -- particularly strained emergency wards and seniors waiting in hospitals for nursing-home beds -- dominated political and public debate in the province this fall.
Frustrated physicians warned in October of a "potential catastrophic collapse" in many emergency wards due to severe overcrowding and the looming winter flu season.
Weeks later, Edmonton MLA Raj Sherman -- an ER physician who was the Tory government's junior health minister -- was punted from Conservative caucus after he assailed the premier and Alberta Health Services over their handling of medical care.
Some critics contend Duckett isn't blameless for the province's health struggles.
"This is someone who was leading the health system," said Wildrose Alliance MLA Heather Forsyth.
"If he thought there was something wrong with the system . . . he had the opportunity to speak out on behalf of Calgarians and seniors and other health-care professionals."
A health economist from Australia hired in spring 2009 to lead the newly amalgamated health entity, Duckett came under intense fire over a controversial cookie exchange with the media last month.
After a daylong meeting organized to draft solutions to hospital overcrowding and lengthy waits for treatment, Duckett refused to answer questions from reporters, telling them repeatedly, "I'm eating my cookie."
Video of the exchange went viral on the Internet. Premier Ed Stelmach characterized Duckett's comments as "offensive."
In his Dec. 6 speech, the ousted health executive conceded his cookie remarks were a mistake. However, he claimed the Alberta government had, for the past few months, advised him "to be less accessible" to the media.
Zwozdesky, though, told the Herald he never asked Duckett to avoid answering questions from the media, nor is he aware of others in government doing so.
"The only thing that we talked about right from the beginning was getting closer on the same page and being consistent in our messaging," the health minister said.
"And that's why I frequently called him."
Zwozdesky wasn't aware Duckett delivered a farewell speech to AHS officials.
The health minister said he disagrees with the critique that the Alberta government was shortchanging seniors care.
"The investments in seniors' accommodations and providing various new forms of choice for seniors has really been a success story," Zwozdesky said.
"There's still more to go, obviously, but what's out there now and the fact that we're providing 1,000 additional spaces per year over the next five, six, seven years, is very positive news for seniors."
Duckett offered some praise of the government in his farewell address.
He noted the province has placed AHS on a secure, long-term financial footing with its five-year funding commitment.
However, Duckett also said he felt misled about Alberta's financial state when he was recruited to lead the largest medical organization in Canada.
In the face of a global recession, he was asked to trim $1 billion from Alberta Health Services' budget upon arriving in spring 2009.
"The media created a Stephen Duckett I didn't recognize, portraying me as a one-dimensional budget cutter, a portrayal that still continues," Duckett asserted in his speech.
Duckett also contended the media painted a rosy picture of the province's nine former health regions, which he accused of restricting transparency. In his address, he alleged some of the now-defunct health entities manipulated waiting lists.
"Unfortunately for me, these strategies were not consistent with either my values or those of AHS."
The ousted health executive declined Thursday to comment further on his speech when reached by e-mail on holidays in Australia.
In his goodbye remarks, Duckett argued that "politicians only see the short term, and often fail to connect the dots" -- lumping them in with the media, which he blames heavily for his rough ride in Alberta.
NDP Leader Brian Mason said Duckett's assessment of the state of seniors care in Alberta echoes concerns that his party have repeatedly raised.
While Mason was one of several political leaders who called for his dismissal, he believes Duckett was given a difficult task in running a mammoth, newly created health body.
Still, Bruce West of the Alberta Continuing Care Association believes AHS bears some responsibility for inadequate seniors-care planning.
He contends the continuing-care policy of the organization and province too heavily favours assisted-living spaces over long-term-care beds, which are more expensive to create but offer greater medical aid.
"Continuing care has been perennially underfunded in relation to acute care," West said.
"We're seeing the results of that right now, for sure, with crowded emergency rooms and people backing up beds in acute care facilities.
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Stephen+Duckett+blamed+Tories+crisis+health/4042193/story.html#ixzz19r5ewW44
