Alberta’s hospital triage program in operation after months of delays: Danielle Smith
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on brandonsun.com
- Read the Brandon Sun E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
*Your next Free Press subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
EDMONTON – Alberta’s premier says six emergency rooms across the province now have physicians triaging patients.
Danielle Smith said during her provincewide call-in radio show that the triage teams were in place as of Saturday.
Alberta’s government announced in January its plans for a program in which physicians would help triage patients following Prashant Sreekumar’s high-profile death at Edmonton’s Grey Nuns Community Hospital.
The 44-year-old waited nearly eight hours in an emergency room to have his chest pain assessed before he died on Dec. 22, 2025.
The Alberta Medical Association said shortly after that he was among several patients who died around that time while waiting for care across Alberta’s emergency rooms.
The triage program was met with delays as the provincial government and the medical association sorted out operational details and physician contracts.
“It took longer than we hoped, but we now have six facilities where, as of today, they’ve got triage docs in their emergency room,” Smith said during the radio show on Saturday.
“If someone comes in and they have a condition that doesn’t require them to be admitted, then let’s treat and release them really quickly or get them to a different facility … so that they’re not going to be in the hospital waiting room waiting for hours.”
A public inquiry into Sreekumar’s death is scheduled to resume in December.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2026.