Seven years ago on this very page, the Westlock News published an editorial concerning the consolidation of the nine regional health authorities into the entity that became Alberta Health Services.
“What especially disappoints us (and worries us) is the loss of local input and representation at the local level,” we stated.
“Aspen Health Region encompasses a very large area … but even then, the health region was made up of representatives from all over Aspen.” We noted that the new “superboard” seemed to be made up entirely of representatives from Edmonton and Calgary.
We also noted that it was difficult at that time to bring local concerns to the attention of those governing Aspen and that situation was not going to improve.
Fast forward to last week, when we heard premier Jim Prentice announce the division of the provincial health authority into eight to 10 districts, as based on the outcome of a health review that began last fall.
Each district will also have a local advisory committee of 10 to 15 volunteers, who will meet at least four times a year. AHS will only control the budget of each district and have final say on major capital projects.
The purpose of this new decentralized model? To return local input into the decision-making process.
“It’s of real concern to rural Albertans, small towns and remote parts of the province who have felt disenfranchised by the way the system has been operating,” he said.
We hate to say we told you so, but …
Let’s not beat around the bush: last week’s announcement was the province finally acknowledging that the AHS experiment has failed.
And we’re glad to see a return to local autonomy, we have to wonder: what was really accomplished over the last seven years that couldn’t have been achieved if we had simply stayed the course?
