For the third time in three weeks, and adding to the dozens of similar announcements over the past two years, there will be service disruptions in the coming days in the Emergency Department of Lac La Biche's W. J. Cadzow Hospital.
Alberta Health Services officials issued a statement Friday afternoon saying this Sunday's overnight shift at the hospital and next Wednesday night into Thursday morning will be affected by the lack of an available physician for the Emergency Department.
The specific times are from 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 12 to 8 a.m., Monday, Nov. 13, and from 4 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 15 to 8 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 16.
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, noted AHS spokesperson Lisa Laferriere.
"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," she noted.
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.
Residents are are also being reminded to call Health Link at 811, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency health-related questions.
"We are grateful for the support of surrounding healthcare centres and medical staff and would like to thank the community for its patience and understanding during this time," noted Laferriere.
The La La Biche community is currently serviced by six local physicians. For the last three years, a recruitment and retention committee made up of local elected officials and community stakeholders has been working with AHS to find more doctors. Over the last year, the Lac La Biche community has forged an agreement with the municipalities of Boyle and Athabsca to share medical resources as a way to mitigate the continuing disruptions in service at hospitals across the region.
