A report of Alberta Health Services reveals the necessity of hospital staff to significantly reduce emergency department waiting times and will serve as a suggestion for Friday’s meeting of doctors, clinical leaders and health administrators.

Recommendations in the report contain to increase the speed of moving already treated patients out of the emergency room and provide more staff in the daytimes where usually the most newcomers arrive.

The advice even contains to move stable patients who do no longer need emergency care into waiting rooms in case the emergency rooms are full.

The organization of fast and uncomplicated patient dismissal in case of recovery and patient traffic inside and outside the emergency department should be improved. For example patients who are stable but need to wait for test results should not occupy bed spaces that more severely injured individuals need.

President-elect of the Alberta Medical Association's emergency medicine section, Dr. Felix Soibelman admits that many of the suggestions are very useful but that many of them are already being realized.

This view is supported by Roman Cooney, spokesman for Alberta Health Services, who claims: "There are many very good ideas in the document and I think it's fair to say that many, although not necessarily all of them, will be carried forward. It is a holistic challenge that requires holistic solutions, both short-term and long-term."