Red Deer Hospital using tarps, duct tape to create more rooms

Alberta Health Services is not disputing reports of tarps and duct tape being used to create more hospital space in Red Deer.

Former NDP candidate Jaelene Tweedle says she recently needed to visit the emergency room. After a five-hour wait, she noticed the makeshift rooms being used.

“Assessment and treatment spaces being made using tarps and duct tape. That is what I observed. As if it was something out of a Hollywood movie set during a pandemic,” she explained.

AHS told CityNews, “in order to provide patients with some privacy during their visit to the ED, some temporary mobile dividers have been erected between some chairs in the hospital’s ‘fast-track’ area, as needed. These temporary dividers also help limit the transmission of respiratory illnesses.

“AHS is doing all it can to ensure we continue to provide patients with the care they need while reducing the risk of transmission and making patients as comfortable as possible.”

They added work is underway to install more permanent dividers, which will used as a long-term solution.

The Red Deer Hospital is seeing high patient volumes right now, with health officials pointing to the respiratory virus season.

‘Nobody will be turned away’

In an emailed statement to CityNews, the Office of the Minister of Health says capacity issues in Red Deer are not dissimilar from other hospitals in Alberta and across Canada.

“The NDP are intentionally trying to mislead Albertans,” the Health Ministry says. “Non-ICU adult occupancy in the central zone is at 74 per cent. While the emergency department at RDRHC is experiencing high patient demand, like all hospitals across the country, patients continue to receive care when and where they need it. Nobody will be turned away if they need urgent care.”

The Alberta NDP critic for emergency and surgical care, Luanne Metz, believes the long-term solution in Red Deer is to build the hospital expansion, which was first promised by UCP MLAs Adriana LaGrange and Jason Stephan in 2020. They said construction would begin in 2021 but it still has yet to commence.

The Alberta Health Ministry tells CityNews the $1.8-billion project is “on time” and “in the design stage.”

“We expect schematics to complete in the new year. There are three major construction phases: construction of an ambulatory care building, a new inpatient tower, and an expansion and renovation of the existing hospital’s main building.”

The Ministry is calling it “one of the largest health care projects that the Alberta government has ever undertaken.”

“We are committed to completing this project quickly, without compromising quality, which is why we committed an additional $321 million over three years for redevelopment in budget 2023,” the statement continues.

“It is important to note that the Red Deer Hospital expansion was removed from the capital list by the NDP during their term in government.”

The Alberta NDP will be holding a news conference from Red Deer Tuesday, where they will be inquiring about better solutions to expand space in the emergency room.