By Mustafa Eric - Stettler Independent - May 21, 2008

The provincial government has abolished the nine health regions bringing all health services under a single administration to streamline the health services.

Under the new regulations, not only the health regions, but also the Alberta Mental Health Board, Alberta Cancer Board and Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) will be governed by the new Alberta Health Services Board, which will be responsible for health services delivery for the entire province and will report directly to the Minister of Health and Wellness.

The new arrangement is said to allow provision of more "patient-focused" health service to the residents of the province.

The new provincial board is the first major decision to come out of the government's action plan on health announced April 16.

"This new governance model will clarify the roles and responsibilities that will help make Alberta's publicly-funded health care system more effective and efficient," said Premier Ed Stelmach.

Ron Liepert, Minister of Health and Wellness, said "Moving to one provincial governance board will ensure a more streamlined system for patients and health professionals across the province. I want to thank all past board members for their dedicated service to Albertans. We will build on their achievements and lessons learned during their governance experience."

Effective immediately, a transitional provincial board made up of a chair and six-members has been appointed by the Minister of Health and Wellness. The Minister will also establish a process to recruit additional members for a permanent 15-member provincial board of directors and CEO.

Ken Hughes has been appointed interim chair of the Alberta Health Services Board and Charlotte Robb has been appointed interim CEO.

The announcement was met with immediate reaction from various stakeholders.

"I was totally shocked and dismayed" said Margaret Jean Graham, who, jokingly, identified herself as "the past Chair of DTHR"

"I recognize that the Minister has the right to replace us or to make changes but I am disturbed over the way this was handled; to get a phone call from your minister 40 minutes before he announces that you are going to be fired, I think it is very disrespectful" she said.

With regard to the new unified board, "I don't know how it is going to proceed so I can't really make a comment on it, but I felt that in the David Thomson Health Region we had an excellent board of doctors and that we have been very respectful to the government and tried to ensure that we provided a high quality health service for the residents of the David Thomson health region." she said.

The union that represents some 16,000 health professionals across the province said it would be watching to ensure that the new "super health board" would not compromise the quality of healthcare services provided to citizens.

Elisabeth Ballerman, President of Health Sciences Association of Alberta said "It remains to be seen whether the minister's objective of freeing up resources to improve direct patient care has any impact."

Doug Knight, President of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees said the new arrangements would have an impact for the 27,000 employees of the disbanded health regions represented in their current talks with the government.

He said he would immediately call a meeting of health sector leaders within the union to formulate a response to the announcement.

Canadian Union of Public Employees, for its part, severely criticized the plan, describing it as "a disaster."

D'Arcy Lanovaz, President of the Alberta Division of the Union said in a statement that it was the wrong direction for the health care sector to be moving to.

"Merging into one super authority will create catastrophic bottlenecks for Albertans when they are at their most vulnerable" Lanovaz said.

As a result of the new arrangements, many administrative jobs within the health sector are expected to be cut.