Alberta ramps up surgeries 150 per cent, boosts privately run day clinics

The Alberta government plans to expand the use of privately run day-surgery clinics as part of a plan to boost procedures by 150 per cent.

Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro says the province will expand the 43 chartered surgical facilities that already contract with Alberta Health Services and the call is going out for new proposals as well.

He says there will likely be six applications from First Nations communities, which are eligible for a $50,000 government grant to help with the process.

Shandro says the COVID-19 shutdown of surgeries in mid-March led to a backlog of 25,000 cases.

He says, so far, 88 per cent of that backlog has been eliminated thanks in part to hospitals expanding surgical hours into nights and weekends.

The official request for new proposals is to be posted by Alberta Health Services this fall.