Premier strikes committee on Alberta Hospital bed closures

An implementation committee to oversee the government's plans for Alberta Hospital Edmonton was created by Premier Ed Stelmach Tuesday.

The province announced in August it was planning to close 250 beds at the psychiatric facility in the city's northeast, transferring those patients to beds in community-based facilities.

The announcement of the bed closures led to protests and petitions by people opposed to the plan.

The implementation committee is to be co-chaired by Dennis Anderson, one of the people most critical of the plan. Anderson is the founder of the Alberta Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health.

The committee, and his job as co-chair, should help lessen the fears of those advocating against bed closures, Anderson said.

"I've been one of those advocates and I've been one of those people that have not slammed the decision but how the decision was being implemented and the speed....

"This should indicate that the government is now going to take a second look and we will be that second look," he said.

The other co-chair of the committee is Don Sieben, a board member of Alberta Health Services.

Psychiatrists unsure of premier's motive

Some doctors who met with Alberta Health Services (AHS) Tuesday morning said they are confused by the premier's announcement of a committee.

Dr. Krista Leicht said she and others from Alberta Hospital met with Alberta Health Services earlier in the day Tuesday and told AHS administrators the plan to close beds and transfer patients was being made without proper planning and consultation, and should be put on hold.

Administrators told them the plan was going ahead and doctors should support it or they could be replaced, Leicht said.

Immediately after the meeting Leicht said she learned about the premier's decision to form the committee.

The announcement gives her hope the changes being made might be done properly, she said.

It could also provide relief to some of her patients who are worried they could soon be on the street rather than being given proper care, Leicht said.

ButLeicht is also skeptical of the government's announcement. She worries the committee is just a way for the premier to attempt to quiet a growing chorus of criticism over the province's plans for Alberta Hospital.