ELK POINT - After eight months of service disruptions at the Elk Point Healthcare Centre's emergency department, regular weekday hours are set to resume in February.
The emergency department at the hospital has been closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays due to a lack of physician coverage since May of 2021. What started as 24-hour closures turned into a recurring issue, month after month.
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And while it is good news for the month of February, in its update on the situation Alberta Health Services (AHS) noted that some emergency department closures could still happen in March as the healthcare centre waits on a new physician to arrive.
"The Alberta Health Services (AHS) facility currently has two physicians on site, with a third expected by April," according to AHS.
"AHS continues to recruit for physicians across northern Alberta to meet community needs. Dedicated physician resource planners are identifying and pursuing international and domestic physician recruitment opportunities," further states the media release. "They work closely with various community partners and organizations, such as local Health Advisory Councils, the Rural Health Professions Action Plan, and independent physician attraction and retention committees."
AHS says it would like to thank the community "for its patience and understanding during these temporary closures," and is also grateful for the support from surrounding healthcare centres.
The St. Paul and Cold Lake hospitals both continue to see a reduction in acute care beds at the healthcare facilities, due to "Temporary staff shortage due to vacation, vacancies, ongoing recruitment," according to AHS.