Alberta emergency physician and health care advocate seeks NDP nomination

Alanna SmithHealth reporter Published Yesterday Open this photo in gallery: Dr. Paul Parks outside the Medicine Hat Regional hospital in Medicine Hat, Alberta Oct. 30. Parks moved to Medicine Hat from Edmonton in 2009 with his wife and two kids. Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail Comments Save for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story. Log InCreate an account Alberta emergency physician Paul Parks, a long-time health care advocate and prominent critic of the UCP government, never imagined himself entering politics. But now he’s doing just that. Parks announced that he is seeking the Alberta New Democratic Party nomination for the riding of Cypress-Medicine Hat, a reliably conservative electoral district in southeast Alberta. The seat is currently held ’s Justin Wright, who serves as Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, in a statement, said Dr. Parks is an “extraordinary candidate” and would help, if elected, drive the party’s health care policy. Parks, however, may have to fight for the party position should others put their name forward. Parks has spent the past two decades pushing for a better health care system for workers and patients, including as the past president of the Alberta Medical Association. He said he’s frustrated with the provincial government ignoring the voices of front-line workers while the state of emergency departments (EDs) continues to crumble. “Advocating within the normal channels and through the AMA and through my roles as a physician are broken,” said Dr. Parks. “I don’t want to be a politician, but I think the only way to afford meaningful change now, in the current environment, is to run for politics.” Dr. Parks has been a staunch critic of Premier Danielle Smith and her government’s handling of the health care file, opposing, for example, the UCP’s venture into private health care delivery and its dismantlement of Alberta Health Services as the single health authority. Alberta NDP accuses Smith of gerrymandering as province prepares to unveil new electoral map One of his chief criticisms has been the UCP’s inaction to address severe overcrowding in provincial EDs. In January, he led a call to action from doctors working in Edmonton’s major hospitals for Alberta to declare a formal emergency after the death of Prashant Sreekumar. He died on Dec. 22 after spending eight hours in one of the city’s EDs. Parks collected a list of at least six preventable deaths and more than 30 “near-misses” that occurred in Alberta emergency rooms, which he said underscored how precarious the situation had grown for health care professionals and patients. “I think we can change the path we’re on,” Dr.