Wildrose Party
News release
New information released today (Aug. 17) by Postmedia showing Health Minister Sarah Hoffman rejecting a plan to save millions of dollars in upgrades to laundry facilities at AHS facilities is just the latest example of the NDP putting ideology above outcomes for Alberta patients and taxpayers, the Wildrose Official Opposition said.
Health care systems across Canada have used private contracts for the delivery of linen services in an effort to control costs, ensure funding directly reaches patients and maintain quality patient care.
The cost of maintaining and upgrading current facilities could mean an extra $200 million in capital costs for taxpayers.
“The current system that is in place is risking patient care and could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs for a health care system that already costs $20 billion a year,” Wildrose Shadow Health Minister Drew Barnes said.
“Whether it’s their failure on wait times, the chaos surrounding lab services, or this latest debacle with linen services, the NDP government has continuously shown that ideology is more important than what’s best for patients and taxpayers across the health care system.”
Barnes said Hoffman has made a series of costly decisions in her time as Health Minister that have made a bad situation worse for Alberta’s health care system.
“These decisions have increased costs and inefficiencies in what’s already Canada’s most expensive health care system per capita, and that hurts patients and their families,” Barnes said.
“Ms. Hoffman has failed to show the kind of leadership Albertans are looking for on what’s well known to be an egregiously bloated and inefficient health care system.”
Samantha Johnston,
Deputy Director of Communications
and Press Secretary