According to an Alberta Health Services news release issued Monday afternoon, due to the inability to secure physician coverage, the William J. Cadzow - Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre emergency department will be temporarily without on-site physician coverage the following times:
- August 22 at 4:00 p.m. - August 23 at 8:00 a.m.
- August 23 at 4:00 p.m. - August 24 at 8:00 a.m.
Patients are asked to call 911 if they have a medical emergency. EMS will remain available to the community and will be re-routed to surrounding healthcare centres.
If coverage is found, disruptions may be cancelled. This is a temporary measure and AHS is working hard to ensure local residents continue to have access to the care they need during this time.
Nursing staff will remain on-site in the emergency department providing triage, assessments and referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities, as needed.
The latest disruption is the latest in a series of service changes at the hospital over the last year. In the last three months, there have been half a dozen similar instances, affecting local and region emergency ward services.
