ST. PAUL - A Nov. 20 Alberta Health Services (AHS) memorandum states there will be temporary disruptions in surgical services at the St. Paul Healthcare Centre, due to a lack of physicians with general practice anaesthesia skills. The disruption is expected to occur throughout the rest of November, includes much of December, and goes into early January.
Surgical services, including c-sections, will be unavailable from Nov. 18 to Dec. 3, and again from Dec. 11 to Jan. 7.
"To ensure the safety of all patients, only low-risk obstetrics services will be offered at the St. Paul Healthcare Centre during times of no GPA coverage," reads the information from AHS. "Maternity patients are still encouraged to present to the St. Paul hospital for assessment by their obstetrics physician who will work with patients to develop an appropriate plan for care."
AHS says it will work closely with surrounding healthcare sites to provide support to St. Paul obstetrical patients, when needed.
Further, "All impacted surgical patients will be notified and rescheduled," according to AHS. "We only make these decisions when absolutely necessary."
AHS says it continues to recruit healthcare professionals for rural areas and the disruption may not occur, or may end early, if coverage is found.
