HSAA President: Urgent Change Needed as Alberta Health Professionals Face Discrimination, Stress, and Burnout

The following statement was issued by Mike Parker, President of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), in response to a new report from the Parkland Institute “Undervalued and Overstretched”: Inequity, Discrimination, and the Crisis Facing Alberta’s Allied Health-Care Workforce:

“These findings confirm what HSAA members have been telling us: Alberta’s frontline health-care professionals are overworked, underpaid, undervalued, and increasingly disillusioned about the future of our health-care system.

"These professionals, such as paramedics, lab technologists, pharmacy technicians, mental health counsellors, social workers, and so many others are the backbone of health care in this province. Yet they are facing pay inequities, discrimination, crushing stress, and burnout at alarming rates. It is unacceptable that more than one-third of these dedicated workers are often thinking about leaving their jobs, and that so many feel excluded from decisions that directly affect their working conditions and the care they provide.

"If we want to protect and improve public health care in Alberta, we must start by respecting and retaining the highly trained professionals who deliver it every day. That means fair pay, safer and more supportive workplaces, meaningful inclusion in system changes, and real action to address the mental health toll of the work.

"Our members have the skills, the experience, and the real solutions needed to improve care and that's why HSAA continues to speak up for these professionals and push for real change. 

“The future of health care depends on it.”

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Media Inquiries:  
Matt Dykstra, Communications Officer
780-224-9202 | mdykstra@hsaa.ca