SOME ALBERTA DOCTORS CLOSE CLINICS IN PAY FEUD
WebPosted Fri Dec  1 22:35:00 2000

EDMONTON--Alberta's rural doctors have started a rotating walkout as 
part of a province-wide protest for more money and better working 
conditions. 

 About 600 rural doctors closed their offices Friday. Some doctors 
working in cities, including specialists, are expected to join the 
protest on Monday. 

 "Well it's kind of frustrating because my daughter's sick," one woman 
told CBC TV in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. "Now what do I do?" 

 Note of apology Patients may face long waits over the next 10 days, and 
anyone needing immediate medical attention will have to go to a 
hospital. 

 Regional health authorities were gearing up for a surge in patients at 
emergency wards, according to Alberta's Health Minister, Gary Mar. 

 Premier Ralph Klein said he's willing to negotiate, but doesn't think 
physicians should be abandoning patients over money. 

 "This is the wrong thing to do," Klein told reporters. "And I mean it. 
'Wrong,' that's not a strong enough word. It's inappropriate." 

 Doctors want a raise of about 22 per cent over two years. The province 
is offering 13 per cent. 

 FROM NOV. 24: Alta. doctors to cut hours to push for raise 

 The Alberta Medical Association says more money has to be pumped into 
the system to keep and recruit physicians in the province. 

 "By and large, you look across the country, the concerns are the same," 
according to the association's president, Dr. Clayne Steed. "Fees are 
uniformly not reflective of the value physicians provide." 

 Some doctors in New Brunswick recently closed clinics in a similar 
fight. In British Columbia, rural physicians are in mediation over a 
medicare funding dispute. 

 
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