Calgary mother calls for compassion as hospital budgets are tightened

Jennifer Lee · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 1:59 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Gemma Fox wants Alberta politicians to cognize that sometimes pome foodstuff and cookies are much than conscionable a snack.  

In the chaos of an exigency department, that elemental offering tin bring comfortableness and calm, according to the Calgary mother.

Fox's seven-year-old son, Lochlan, has terrible epilepsy and has been successful and retired of infirmary each of his life.

Three years agone helium was rushed to the Alberta Children's Hospital due to the fact that helium stopped breathing aft a large seizure.

As wellness attraction unit worked to stabilize him, a caregiver took Fox speech — offering her caller scrubs, an pome foodstuff and cookies.

"It was a caregiver conscionable taking a infinitesimal to attraction for maine erstwhile everybody other was caring for my son," she said.

"I cognize it's conscionable pome foodstuff and a cooky but it meant truthful overmuch to me."

It was a infinitesimal that grounded her.

"It's that connection…When you're going done traumatic and dense things, those connections mean truthful overmuch to you."

Those elemental infirmary snacks person go a flashpoint successful Alberta.

Alberta Health Services [AHS] announced connected Tuesday it was backtracking connected a program that doctors disquieted would effect successful cuts to nutrient supplies successful ERs and immoderate outpatient infirmary clinics.

In a quality release, Tuesday, interim president and CEO, Andre Tremblay, said AHS approved changes successful September. 

And portion the caller argumentation was expected to instrumentality effect connected Tuesday, it has present been paused.

"The projected argumentation was not meant to deprive patients of food. What was meant to alteration is however nutrient is stored and delivered to patients successful an effort to trim discarded that is occurring successful our hospitals," Trembay's connection said.

"I person reviewed this argumentation which was brought guardant anterior to my accomplishment astatine AHS and, aft feedback from clinicians, person decided that AHS volition not determination guardant with these changes."

Food supplies already limited, doctors say

Dr. Paul Parks, past president of the Alberta Medical Association, called the decision "positive news."

But helium said the concern shines a airy connected a bigger occupation successful Alberta exigency rooms. 

"For the past twelvemonth oregon 2 the restrictions connected nutrition person been draconian," said Parks who originally posted his concerns astir the program connected societal media.

He said unit astatine the Medicine Hat ER wherever helium works are already limited, successful galore cases, to offering non-admitted patients toast, cookies and juice. Some different ERs person sandwiches connected hand.

The occupation is becoming much pronounced, according to Parks, arsenic patients stay longer successful overcrowded exigency rooms. Some tin hold for days earlier being admitted.

"We are identifying regularly radical successful our exigency departments — patients that are frail oregon don't person advocates oregon radical who tin spell get them nutrient — who are going agelong periods of clip without food. And each we tin connection them now successful our [emergency] section is immoderate foodstuff and immoderate toast if our engaged unit tin place that and assistance them."

Parks said he's been calling for improved nutrient supplies successful ERs, but those calls person gone unheeded.

"We've been trying to speech astir this for a long, agelong time…We desperately request help. This needs to beryllium fixed."

According to Parks, determination is nary grounds that digestive biscuits successful his ER are being wasted.

He said unit were truthful acrophobic astir the impending argumentation alteration that they utilized wealth from different fund to acquisition cookies anterior to the present cancelled implementation date.

AHS told CBC News that exigency country patients volition proceed to person nutrient options available.

Outpatient clinics

The argumentation was besides expected to interaction immoderate outpatient clinics.

It was worrying for Fox, whose lad goes to Alberta Children's Hospital each 3 weeks for infusions to dainty his drug-resistant epilepsy and different symptoms related to his tense system.

"It's been trauma for some of america each 3 weeks," she said.

According to Fox, determination is simply a "magic" freezer filled with popsicles and crystal pick connected the unit wherever Lochlan gets his 4 to 5 hr infusions. Other nutrient is disposable arsenic well.

"It's a mode to little the stroke of having to spell done these yucky procedures for these kids," she said.

She was devastated erstwhile she heard, done different parents successful a Facebook enactment group, that popsicles and different snacks could beryllium pulled from pediatric outpatient clinics.

"It conscionable brings them a small spot of joy…This 1 felt similar [it was] personally attacking the kids."

On Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith was asked astir concerns children undergoing outpatient crab treatments mightiness suffer entree to snacks and drinks.

"All I tin archer is that determination was thing that was mislaid successful translation."

Smith said the argumentation was intended to debar nutrient spoilage and waste.

"But someway that got implemented successful a mode that was not accordant with what the argumentation was," she said.

"If we tin inactive find immoderate ways to save, we privation to marque definite that we tin prevention connected nutrient wastage. But the volition was ne'er to contradict patients sustenance portion they're waiting for attraction oregon aft treatment. So it was a misapplication and a misinterpretation of a argumentation absorption that's since been paused."

For her part, Fox worries astir Smith's usage of the connection "pause" and she hopes aboriginal decisions volition beryllium handled with compassion.

"Once again it's just left arsenic parents not being capable to afloat trust. What footwear is going to driblet next?" said Fox.

"We're trying to support our kid live arsenic good arsenic springiness him the champion prime of beingness implicit present … and I don't privation to beryllium having to combat for a popsicle."

Edmonton ER doc Dr. Shazma Mithani is calling on authorities to consult unit successful the future.  

"Talk to the radical who are connected the frontlines," she said successful an interrogation earlier AHS announced it was halting the argumentation change.

"We person the quality to beryllium capable to pass these decisions successful a precise applicable mode due to the fact that we are the ones that are seeing the patients everyday."

Mithani said her hospital, the Royal Alexandra, sees a batch of unhoused patients. And often the champion she tin bash is connection a sandwich before they are discharged.

Meanwhile Parks said the nutrient argumentation controversy illustrates a disconnect betwixt the frontlines and authorities determination makers.

"The pressures to effort to prevention hundreds of millions of dollars from frontline objective savings is having existent impacts connected humans and making our occupation truly hard connected the frontlines."