Emergency room wait times were a big topic on the campaign trail today with more promises from both the Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose.

The Wildrose Party has issued a wait time guarantee.

The party is promising to add capacity to the health system and competition by allowing a mix of public and private services.

"It means our public health system will be strengthened by introducing choice and competition, empowering local hospitals to make decisions, and putting an end to the queue jumping and bureaucratic paralysis that have been shameful hallmarks of health care under the PCs," Smith said in a release.

The wait time guarantee also promises to reimburse those on wait lists exceeding the Canadian Wait Time Alliance Benchmark for 10 major procedures if they need to have those procedures performed outside the province’s public health system.

It would also look to increase the number of publicly-insured health procedures and treatments and would publish wait times for publicly-insured health services at all Alberta hospitals and clinics.

The Wildrose’s guarantee is estimated to cost $180 million annually.

Tories want 'fast-track' emergency rooms

The PCs say they will introduce "fast-track" emergency rooms to reduce wait times.

The model will see faster aid given to patients with easily identifiable emergencies, like broken arms.

"I recognize there is still work to be done to improve wait times in our province’s emergency departments," said Redford in a release.

"These ‘fast-track’ emergency rooms, coupled with our recent announcement of Family Care Clinics, align with our commitment to reduce the current burdens on our health care system."

'Fast-track' already exists, say Liberals

Liberal Leader Raj Sherman, also an ER doctor, responded to the PC's promise by saying that "fast-track" emergency rooms already exist in every major hospital in the province — it’s called triage.

Sherman said the Liberals would fight for doubling the current amount of funding for home care to $808 million to free up hospital beds.

According to Sherman, the move would cut wait times in the ER to less than six hours.

The Liberals would also put an emphasis on funding and standards for non-profit long term care, the training of more medical professionals and an increased emphasis on wellness and prevention.

Sherman also said that once patient care is improved, the Alberta Health Services superboard should be dismantled.

"Let's have a locally elected board, elected by the citizens of Calgary to address the needs of the citizens of Calgary," he said.