Alberta hospital capacity update as doctors declare crisis

Health officials will give a noon update on Alberta's acute care capacity while frontline doctors say hospitals are dangerously overcrowded.

Alberta health officials will give an update on the province's acute care capacity at a noon news conference. Frontline doctors have described provincial hospitals as dangerously overcrowded. Senior leaders from Acute Care Alberta and Alberta Health Services and the Hospital Services Minister are expected to speak. Officials say a difficult flu season has increased pressure on emergency departments. Current details: - A news conference is scheduled for 12 p.m. with Hospital Services Minister Matt Jones and senior health leaders expected to speak. - Frontline physicians have said hospitals are overcrowded and some have called for a provincial state of emergency to better manage patient loads. - A joint review by Acute Care Alberta and Covenant Health is underway after the Dec. 22 death of a patient at Edmonton's Grey Nuns Community Hospital. - Officials say they are working to create additional capacity, including opening designated surge spaces and accelerating discharges where possible. Summary: The update is intended to outline current acute-care capacity and the measures officials report they are using to respond to higher demand. Physicians' statements about overcrowding and the ongoing review into the recent hospital death highlight pressure on the system. The news conference at 12 p.m. is the next scheduled public update.