According to information from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA), a total of 568 physicians left the profession in 2021. In 2020, there were just over 11,000. This number is now declining. The big question is, why?
Of this number, 140 left the province. Only 87 left in 2020. The year before the pandemic? Fifty-four.
COVID isn’t the only reason doctors are leaving Alberta. Some retired or dropped their licenses. Others were “removed from the register,” which is doctor-speak for fired.
More importantly, physicians in the province feel like they’re getting the short end of the stick.
In February 2020, the Alberta government ended its contract with the Alberta Medical Association (AMA). These contracts determine pay, working conditions, and other important features of a physician’s working life.
Since then, physicians in the province have struggled to come to a new agreement with the government of Alberta. They tried in March of 2021. It didn’t go well. The AMA voted against a new agreement, with 53% voting against it.
The public doesn’t have access to the agreement details. But someone leaked a copy to the press.
According to the leak, this agreement would have set the budget for physicians to $4.6 billion, which is the same as 2018 and 2019 levels. This agreement would also allow the government to withhold payments from doctors if this budget gets blown.
How would you feel if you had to work for no money because people were sick and needed care but the budget was maxxed out?
Put all of these factors into a blender and the result is a health care deficit. Not like a financial deficit, but one where people don’t get the care they need.
Fewer doctors are joining the province’s ranks. More physicians are leaving because of the strained relationship with the provincial government.
To make matters worse, the physicians who have stuck around are now dealing with burnout and mental health issues in the face of COVID-19.
It means families can’t see their family doctor for weeks. In some cases, people who need help in emergency rooms face dangerously long wait times.
In a real crisis, that wait can be deadly.
