Surgical Care Alberta (SCA), a provincial program within Acute Care Alberta (ACA), provides coordinated oversight and guidance to health service providers to support improvements to surgical access and quality outcomes for Albertans.

Surgical care is a cornerstone of Alberta’s health care system, supporting timely diagnosis, treatment and recovery for thousands of Albertans each year. As Alberta’s population grows and surgical needs evolve, a coordinated and operationally focused approach is essential to high-quality, timely surgical care.

Partnering with Patients & Families

Patient and Family Advisors (PFAs) are members of the public with lived experience in the health care system who volunteer their time to help improve patient- and family-centred care across Alberta.

PFAs contribute their skills, abilities, experiences and networks, sharing perspectives that cannot be captured through data alone. Their experiences help health care teams understand what matters most to patients, families and caregivers.

By partnering with health care teams, PFAs help ensure decisions, policies and services are informed by the voices of those who use them.

How We Work

• Collaborative and integrated ways of working: We work together as one system and build strong partnerships. We listen to patients and families, share information and work toward common goals.
• Data-driven and transparent decision-making: We use reliable data and lived experiences to guide decisions. We are open about how decisions are made and share what we learn.
• Respect for expertise and clinical autonomy: We respect the knowledge and skills of health care workers and involve patients, families and frontline teams in designing better care.
• Equitable and accountable surgical care: We support fair access to surgery, monitor outcomes and continuously improve care across the system.
• Supportive and sustainable workforce: We create a workplace where people feel supported and valued while building skills and working together effectively.

What We Do

• Improve access to surgery: Work across the health system to help patients receive surgery sooner by supporting effective waitlist management and timely access to care.
• Enhance quality and safety: Promote safe, high-quality surgical care through standards, outcome review and continuous improvement.
• Support the surgical workforce: Plan for current and future workforce needs and support recruitment, development and retention of skilled surgical teams.
• Advance innovation and technology: Explore and adopt new ideas, tools and technologies that improve surgical care, patient experience and efficiency.
• Monitor performance: Use data and feedback to understand wait times, patient outcomes and system performance to identify opportunities for improvement.

Legacy Resources

The following were developed by the former Surgery Strategic Clinical Network.

• Clinical Updates
• Funding Opportunities
• Newsletters & Articles
• Patient Stories
• Projects & Initiatives
• Resources
• Scientific Office
• Successes