Alberta doctors have scary arguments to back their demands for quick action on health care. The latest is the case of a man who died while waiting in an emergency room.

Another would-be patient, waiting nearby, reported the person was “unresponsive.” He proved to be beyond help.

This was reported by Dr. Paul Parks, former president of the Alberta Medical Association, and Dr. Shelley Duggan, who replaces him.

Doctors attended a “representative forum” in Calgary on the weekend. They spoke for every corner of our complex health system.

At a news conference Monday, Parks said, “The physicians that I talked to, of the 155 at the forum, all said they are aware of patients having very bad outcomes and patients dying because of the worsening health-care system.”

The government accuses him of hyperbole but Parks no longer cares. “I’m not going to mince my words anymore,” he said.

Ex-presidents of the AMA usually fade into the background. These two have agreed to work together as a vocal team.

Parks is an ER doctor in Medicine Hat. Duggan is a critical-care specialist working in Edmonton ICUs. They see the system at its most urgent points.

Parks said — and this is really shocking — “Now we’re having patients discharged from the ICU out into the community, not stabilized in a hospital bed, because the system is just collapsing.”

In other words, the sickest patients are sometimes sent home when they should be getting........

© Calgary Herald