COLD LAKE – Overnight closures of the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre’s Emergency Department have become more frequent over the last several weeks.
This week alone Alberta Health Services (AHS) has informed the public about three separate temporary closures to the Cold Lake hospital’s Emergency Department.
Overnight Monday, June 20, into Tuesday morning on June 21, the Emergency Department was closed due to a lack of on-site physician coverage.
The Emergency Department will also be closed for the same reason on Wednesday, June 22 starting at 11 p.m. until the following morning at 7 a.m. and again on Thursday, June 23 from at 11 p.m. until Friday morning at 7 a.m.
While this is a temporary measure as result of AHS’s inability to secure locum or permanent coverage for the Emergency Department's operations, has become a semi-regular occurrence at the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre.
“AHS is working hard to ensure local residents continue to have access to the care they need during this time,” states a media release by AHS, the provincial health authority.
Nursing staff will remain on-site in the emergency department to provide triage and assessments. They will also make referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities as needed.
EMS will remain available to the community and will be re-routed to surrounding healthcare centres.
Residents are also reminded to call Health Link at 811, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency health-related questions.
Healthcare facilities near Cold Lake
The nearest emergency department to the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre is the Bonnyville Healthcare Centre over 50 km away.
The Elk Point Healthcare Centre is more than 100km away.
The St. Therese - St. Paul Healthcare Centre is about 120 km from Cold Lake and the William J. Cadzow – Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre is nearly 150 km away – approximately 1.5 hours away.
