Psychiatrists at Alberta Hospital Edmonton accused the province of proceeding with the elimination of beds at the psychiatric facility in a "dictatorial" fashion without waiting to see what the committee it set up to re-examine the closures has to say about the matter.

The doctors voiced their concerns Thursday in a letter to Premier Ed Stelmach.

The province announced the closure of 250 beds at the psychiatric hospital on Aug. 14, with plans to transfer patients to community-based facilities.

When petitions and protests followed, Stelmach announced on Oct. 6 that an implementation committee would oversee the changes.

Dr. Krista Leicht says psychiatrists at Alberta Hospital are 'very skeptical' of the consultation process. (CBC)"Initially, we were quite hopeful," said Dr. Krista Leitch, who works in the hospital's psychiatry department.

"It sounds in some ways like it's just been set up to kind of placate the organizations that had opposition to the plan to dismantle the hospital."

The letter to the premier says, in part: "Plans to move Alberta Hospital adult psychiatry beds into other hospitals continue to proceed behind the scenes before expert opinion from the premier's task force has been weighed."

Leicht said that makes the consultations meaningless.

"We don't want to be a party to a something which is just set up to rubberstamp the decisions that have already been made," she said.

Let task force finish assessment

The group wants any plans to dismantle psychiatry teams and move beds at the hospital stopped until the task force has finished its work.

Leicht, who runs a provincial program for the developmentally handicapped, said she felt compelled to speak out.

"Many of these patients are unable to speak. They are non-verbal, and they're within the mentally handicapped range," she said.

"So, they certainly can't vote. They can't speak out for themselves, and many of them don't have guardians or family members that can speak on their behalf. I'm all that they have."

The doctors are asking for a meeting with the premier to discuss their concerns.

The letter from the psychiatrists was released the same day as a rally staged by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees on Thursday. About 1,000 union members protested against provincial plans to close parts of Alberta Hospital.