Statement: Acute Care Capacity

EDMONTON – Acute Care Alberta (ACA) CEO David Diamond has issued the following statement about the status of acute care capacity across the province:

“As Alberta navigates a particularly challenging respiratory virus season, which has placed considerable pressure on our emergency departments, Albertans can be assured that the Government of Alberta, provincial health agencies, and service delivery organizations are working together to actively support the acute care system and meet the daily pressures and high demand.

“ACA is coordinating a provincewide response that has seen all sectors of the healthcare system cooperate to create capacity and free up resources. It is working with service providers like AHS and Covenant Health to support site-level decisions such as accelerating discharges and transfers where appropriate, limiting non-essential inbound transfers, dedicating 336 beds specifically for respiratory virus season, and opening designated surge spaces to manage increased demand.

An example of ACA working with other provincial health agencies is its collaboration with Primary Care Alberta (PCA) to support the diversion of low-acuity cases away from the province’s emergency departments. Initiatives include improving patient access to primary care clinics, expanding Health Link’s Virtual MD program, and implementing the EMS-811 Shared Response Line. PCA is also working to reduce readmissions by helping primary care providers identify patients who require timely follow-up after hospital discharge and by providing virtual physiotherapy and occupational therapy support.

“Assisted Living Alberta (ALA) is piloting an initiative that places home care staff in a high-traffic emergency department waiting room to help triage and treat lower-acuity patients, and Recovery Alberta (RA) has made six beds available for additional surge capacity, with an additional six more to come. Across acute care, 206 new spaces were permanently funded this year, while an additional 130 seasonal surge spaces have been opened to help address capacity challenges.

“ALA has also reduced the number of Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients by 20 per cent since September 2025, freeing up hundreds of hospital beds for Albertans requiring acute care. Through the Assisted Living Framework, the province is driving the largest continuing care expansion in Alberta's history, starting with an immediate investment of $400 million to add 1500 new continuing care spaces.

“ACA has also helped to coordinate the repatriation of patients to their local health facilities wherever possible, ensuring that we are utilizing all available spaces across the province to take pressure off larger urban sites.

“While respiratory virus hospital admissions peaked on December 28, emergency departments across the province have seen a higher volume of non-respiratory virus patients that require hospitalization, which has resulted in sustained pressure on many of the province’s larger hospitals. To address this, ACA is working closely with individual sites across the province to review daily surgical slates which has resulted in the rescheduling of a total of only seven non-urgent surgeries across the province since January 1. For context, a total of 318,920 surgeries were performed across the province in 2024/25.

“Each delayed surgery carries a risk of complications, so every effort is being made to preserve as many scheduled surgeries as possible however, further reductions remain an available option if needed. Urgent surgeries, including critical cancer and pediatric cases, will not be delayed.

“Finally, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to our many healthcare workers at AHS, Covenant Health and the Lamont Health Care Centre for their tireless efforts to provide every Albertan with the care they need. We see so many of our dedicated doctors, nurses and other front-line staff going above and beyond every day to meet the demand for services and I want them to know that their work does not go unnoticed.”

Acute Care Alberta is the provincial health agency dedicated to the governance and coordination of high-quality, timely and efficient acute care services across the province. Working in close partnership with the Government of Alberta, acute care service providers, and provincial health corporations, we drive improved emergency and acute care services for all Albertans.