Dr. Stephen Duckett, Alberta Health Services CEO (CBC)

Alberta's health-care system is wrestling with a $1.1 billion deficit and officials are promising changes to bring down spending.

The Alberta Health Services (AHS) board approved a budget Tuesday for the 2009-2010 fiscal year that includes $10.9 billion in spending on health care, a 13 per cent increase over the previous year. Despite an increase in provincial funding, the board is still $1.1 billion short.

Board CEO Stephen Duckett said in an interview Tuesday with CBC News that he has no option but to implement "sensible" savings.

More than $400 million can be saved in the long term, thanks to the amalgamation of the province's smaller health agencies into one province-wide authority, he said.

"We can actually harness some savings from that integration, and that is obviously our first priority: to look for the savings in those services that don't actually impact the people of Alberta," he said. "How many payroll departments do we need in Alberta?"

The health board is also looking at borrowing to cover the funding gap, said Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert.

"Borrowing is an option for sure but one of the things that we need to talk about with officials at Finance and [the] Department of Health, is if borrowing is the route to go, is that better done through the Alberta government or is it better done on their own, through Alberta Health Services?" he said.

Moving patients into long-term care

In order to free up space in emergency rooms, Duckett said he also wants to take patients who are waiting for long-term care spaces out of acute-care beds and put them in the wards where they belong.

"Our staffing ratios are looking after those people as if they are acutely ill. So we can make some savings and at the same time we can give a better service," Duckett said. "We have to make sure we make those [long-term care] facilities available, and the good news in Calgary is there is a place called Garrison Green that will be coming online early next year."

'The administration's hasty, poorly planned changes have not only utterly failed to balance the books, they've thrown the system into chaos with reduced access and quality of care.'—David Swann, Alberta Liberal leader

In Edmonton and Calgary alone, about 600 patients are in acute-care beds who should be in long-term care.

Every year, health spending in Alberta has grown by 10 or 13 per cent, but this year the province could only afford a six per cent funding increase, said Duckett.

"Alberta Health Services got the biggest increase that any government agency could get. The province did as much as they could, but still it leaves a gap for us. And we've got a big budget, so it ends up as a big number."

'Thrown the system into chaos'

In a statement, Liberal Leader David Swann said when the nine smaller health authorities were disbanded in May 2008, their collective deficit was only $97 million. Alberta Health Services also took control of the Cancer Board, the Mental Health Board, and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission.

"In one short year, the Stelmach administration's bungling has multiplied that deficit tenfold… the administration's hasty, poorly planned changes have not only utterly failed to balance the books, they've thrown the system into chaos with reduced access and quality of care," said Swann.

But Liepert said the new board and CEO need to be given time to work through the financial woes, adding that he's confident the system will become more efficient once the board implements a long-term plan.

"I think you're going to see some things that are going to change but you also have to recognize that I don't think it's any secret we have some of the highest salaries in this province in the medical community. There's a whole bunch of factors that are at play but we have to get those costs under control," said Liepert.