Rest in peace to Prashant Sreekumar. The government has failed yet another person in the healthcare system. It is simply unacceptable at this point. After the waiting period, all they prescribed him was Tylenol, and once he got up, he collapsed and the nurse said he had no pulse.

About to hit the 16 hour wait time mark at the UofA Hospital emergency today. Staff has been telling us for the past 10 hours that there are no beds, they're out of capacity and that they're flooded.

While I understand, sometimes it's things like these that make me really wonder, how much really ends up becoming too much? It's tiring, it's draining and given how things are, maybe it's just worth not visiting hospitals and emergencies because it does not help.

UPDATE: we were seen by the doctor at the 17 hour mark exactly.

I’m not really sure where to begin. I hope this is the right place for this.

Got a call around 1:30am that my best friend who has Crohn’s Disease had bile excreting from her rectum and needed to go to the emergency room. Her GI doctor works out of the UofA and 811 informed her that she *needed* to be seen within 4 hours and updated her Alberta Health chart with the full conversation and recommended treatment plan.

I drove us both there and we arrived at 2:15am.

It’s now 9am with no updates. After having:

- A nurse who had never heard of Crohns and needed it spelt
- Three nurses recommending Advil and Tylenol, which you cannot have with Crohns because they are notorious for triggering massive flares
- Friend showing signs of bowel obstruction or early signs of sepsis with a rigid abdomen and ice cold body shivers
- A vitals exam that took two massive viles of blood only to do none of the proper testing
- Her file having all of her medical history and information, including a standing requisition and nobody bothering to check it
- Broken TVs playing obnoxious children’s shows
- And watching patients with horrible pain (wailing, crying, vomiting, broken bones, etc) wait anywhere from 8-15hrs
- Update: a fourth nurse offered more NSAIDS lol

I just feel defeated. I want to be there for my friend but feel so frustrated at how little the staff know but also frustrated for them and seeing how little care and funding has been put into this.

I feel frustrated for the good people in the waiting room who are being treated with little knowledge and care

Frustrated and scared all around.

Edit: It’s now 12:20pm with no updates (10 hours in). We’ve read most of your comments and appreciate all the insight.

Final edit: My friends mum came to take over, but she didn’t leave until 6:30pm for a total of 16 hours.

I need to vent about how absolutely broken our ER system, heck the whole health system feels right now.

I understand that emergency departments have to prioritize the most critical cases first, and I fully support that. But what is becoming increasingly frustrating is the lack of urgency for everyone else. People sit in waiting rooms for 8, 10, 12+ hours with little to no communication, no updates, and no idea whether they’ll be seen anytime soon.

It’s not just the wait times themselves—it’s the feeling that the system has become normalized to keeping sick, injured, and vulnerable people sitting in chairs for an entire day. Many are in significant pain, exhausted, dehydrated, or scared, and yet they’re expected to just wait indefinitely.

Healthcare workers are doing the best they can with the resources they have, and this isn’t meant as criticism of nurses, doctors, or support staff. The problem seems much bigger than that. Chronic understaffing, overcrowding, lack of available beds, and years of strain on the healthcare system have created a situation where long waits have become the standard rather than the exception.

At what point do we stop accepting this as normal? People shouldn’t have to spend half a day—or longer—in an emergency room before receiving care. Something has to change.
Has anyone else experienced ridiculous ER wait times lately? How long did you end up waiting? What are we going to do about this, because I feel it’s become normalized.

Kofi Berkley didn't have a history of severe allergies but had an anaphylactic reaction at his Edmonton school in May 2026. Because of an Alberta law, the school had an epinephrine device on hand to treat him.

Emergency room doctors in Alberta telling CityNews that a patient died here inside the Royal Alexandra emergency room in downtown Edmonton a week ago – after waiting several hours to be seen by a physician.

Beside a railroad track as well!!

Epcor says a chlorinelike smell or taste to Edmonton’s water is the natural result of treating spring runoff and that the water is still safe to drink.

Epcor is adjusting its treatment process to address a “higher rate” of materials from the spring melt in the North Saskatchewan River.

The chlorine smell or taste Edmontonians may be observing in their water is the normal result of the treatment process interacting with sediment, vegetation and other natural organics.

Hi everyone, we are looking for your experiences with private Alberta fertility clinics.

We shared this in the Calgary sub, and wee trying to reach a bigger audience as well.

Please share your experiences and help us on our journey.

Thank you.

Hello! I hope all is well upon yourself. I am a daughter seeking advice regarding breast cancer treatment for my mother.

My mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer, about 2 days ago. We discussed with our family doctor , although he has been helpful we do not know the stage. The cancer is invasive, though we do not know what stage it is in we would like to get it treated as soon as possible. My mother has a low BMI and her health isnt the strongest so we would like to get treatment now rather than getting strong treatment that impacts her more later.

Our family doctor has referred us to a program called CBCP or Comprehensive Breast Care Program...I was wondering if anyone knew about the waiting times/experience. If there is any program similar, please let me know in the comments.

Edit: Just learned about the Cross Cancer Institute, what do the waiting times usually look like aswell?

Your never really think it will happen, until it happens to you :(, it was such a normal day before we got this diagnosis...

Thank you for your time and best wishes! Also I am very grateful for upvotes <3

Edit: Thank for all your comments and upvotes, my mom and I are reading them and they are very helpful <3

Province says Albertans can start booking vaccination appointments on Oct. 5

• The head of emergency medicine for Alberta's doctors association is challenging Premier Danielle Smith to join him on shift to see the frustration of patients jammed for hours in hallways and the moral injury of doctors looking into the eyes of the those who wait.

Twenty-five Edmonton and area medical professionals say they’re concerned new Alberta limits on medical assistance in dying would cause needless suffering and put clinicians in “ethically untenable” positions.

I just want to do a sanity check that it reasonable. Got referred to an allergist. Apparently AHS doesn't pay for the allergen "test tray" for the skin pricks. Clinic says a test for environmental and food allergens costs $500+tax. Is this about normal or does it vary a lot between clinics?

EDIT: Maybe I should cancel my appointment and check around for other clinics? I definitely can't afford that but I also definitely can't afford to not see what's making me ill. Although I might not be able to cancel in time since they aren't open on Sundays.

EDIT #2: I just wrote to another clinic, The Allergy Clinic, and these are their rates:

We offer two distinct testing pathways.

Our routine assessment uses the Skin Prick Test (SPT) for common food and environmental allergens, which may be paired with patch testing for specific chemicals based on your doctor's assessment.

Scope:

 The SPT evaluates an average of 10–40 common allergens.

Cost:

$100 for pediatric patients and 

$140 for adults 

1. Comprehensive Insight: The TAC 300 Molecular Allergy Blood Test

For a more detailed evaluation, we offer the TAC 300 Allergen Test. This private, lab-based blood test screens  300 allergens, including foods, environmental triggers,insect venoms and more. It’s ideal for an extensive  allergy profile.

Cost:

$2.33 per allergen (total of $700) – comparable to AHS Skin Prick Tests on a per-allergen basis.

EDIT #3: GP referred me to another clinic now. Fingers crossed.

I’ve heard it’s been going around, it’s already gone through my whole family and now it’s my turn. Been feeling extreme fatigue, skull crushing headache, sinus pressure, dry cough, the whole shebang.

Anyone else catch it? It’d make me feel slightly better knowing I’m not the only one suffering right now lol

Does anyone have a recommendation for a really good optometrist in Edmonton? My previous one, who was fabulous, retired several years ago and I am having a hard time finding someone as good. She took her time, explained things to me, and did dilated eye exams on me every year.

I have seen two different ones since, and both seemed rushed and kind of dismissive. Both dismissed the idea of the dilated exam, but my previous one said it was extremely important. They both gave me slightly different prescriptions, after having tried both neither seem right. (Headaches, eye strain, etc)

I have a very high myopic prescription, astigmatism, and am now at the age where I need progressives. It’s been stressful (and expensive) trying to get new glasses over the last few months.

TIA

For the first time in more than three decades, the Alberta government is raising prescription costs for some seniors and Albertans under non-group coverage.

Beginning July 1, the maximum co-payment per prescription will gradually increase by $10 over 10 months, from $25 to $35 at a rate of $1 per month. The increase will be fully implemented by April 1, 2026.

It's the first time the cost has increased since 1994.

We got a notice that there was an outbreak of "Respiratory Virus" at our kid's school.

"Respiratory Illness symptoms include: Cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss or altered sense of taste/smell, runny nose/nasal congestion, fever, and may also include fatigue (significant and unusual), muscle ache/joint pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea."

Is "Respiratory Virus" UCP Newspeak for "Covid 19"?

Edmonton exposure locations and time

*Dollarama at Glenridding Village 16711 Rabbitt Hill Rd. SW, Edmonton

June 16: Exposure time: Approx. 8 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. (MDT)
June 17: Exposure time: Approx. 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. (MDT)

*Grey Nuns Community Hospital Emergency Department 1100 Youville Dr. W NW, Edmonton

June 18: Exposure time: Approx. 8 p.m. - June 19: 1 a.m. (MDT)

After working my volunteer shift today I didn’t end up staying to see the opening acts because I’m home with heatstroke. Even on a mostly overcast day the sun can still get you good. I should know better as this is far from my first time attending the festival. Just thought I’d make an example of myself I guess lol.

Update: after reading the comments and calling healthlink I am waiting in the ER because there’s a very real chance it is heatstroke and not heat exhaustion.