UPDATE: Aug. 17 From Alberta Health Services:
Some physician coverage reduces Lac La Biche disruptions
From AHS —
Some physician coverage has been found for the emergency department (ED) at the Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre from August 18 at 8:00 a.m. – August 18 at 4:00 p.m. The Emergency Department will remain open and available to area residents in need of urgent care during these times.
There will be no physician on site in the emergency department (ED) at the William J. Cadzow - Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre the following times:
- August 17 at 4:00 p.m. – August 18 at 8:00 a.m.
- August 18 at 4:00 p.m. – August 19 at 8:00 a.m.
Signage will be posted at the door stating the interruption and updated dates and times.
This is a temporary measure due to a lack of available physicians and an inability to secure locum coverage.
Patients are asked to call 911 if they have a medical emergency. 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 and assessments and referrals for patients to alternate emergency departments in surrounding communities.
EMS will remain available in the community and calls will be re-routed to surrounding healthcare centres to ensure local residents continue to have access to the emergency services they need.
Residents are 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 centers and medical staff and would like to thank the community for their patience and understanding during this time.
Original posting — Just a week after elected officials from Lac La Biche County, the Village of Boyle, the Town of Athabasca and Athabasca County announced a working partnership to lobby for improved healthcare services in the region, AHS announced the Boyle Hospital and Lac La Biche's W. J. Cadzow Hospital will not have physicians on-site at each facility's emergency wards this week.
The mayors and reeves made their announcement on August 4. AHS announced on August 11 that both hospitals will have service disruptions in their emergency departments starting Monday and lasting for most of the week.
Mon-Sun: Boyle
Mon-Wed then Thurs-Sat: LLB
The Boyle Hospital will be without physician coverage from Monday, August 14 at 9:00 a.m. until Sunday, August 20 at 8:00 p.m. The disruption is in addition to what AHS has called — since October of 2022 — "a temporary change in hours," closing the emergency ward between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. each day due to a lack of nursing staff.
In Lac La Biche, AHS officials are saying a service disruption at the community hospital's emergency ward will be affected for a similar time over the next week with no physician on site from Monday, August 14 at 4 pm to Wednesday, August 16 at 8 am. Disruptions will continue from Thursday, August 17 at 4 pm to Saturday, August 19 at 8am.
Residents requiring assistance in both communities during the most recent disruptions to service are asked to call 911 if they have a medical emergency. AHS officials say EMS will remain available to the community and will be re-routed to surrounding healthcare centres as needed to ensure local residents continue to have access to the emergency services they need.
In Boyle, nursing staff will continue to be available during the day from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to triage and assess anyone presenting to the emergency department. In Lac La Biche, nursing staff will remain on shifts over 24-hour periods.
Mayor and reeves join forces
On August 4, the mayors and reeves from the four local municipalities announced their formal plans for a regional healthcare partnership.
In part, their agreement states that "elected officials in our municipalities are working with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and provincial officials to ensure that our hospitals are used to their fullest potential."
The statement says plans are continuing on a regional and provincial basis to attract more physicians to the area and provide more regional healthcare for residents.
"In addition to the support we already provide to local healthcare professional recruitment organizations, we are lobbying for more doctors and healthcare professionals," states the announcement. "We are also collaborating with AHS on a plan to formalize regionalizing our healthcare resources."
Smoky Lake sees disruptions too
The AHS new release issued on Friday says patients needing emergency medical attention in areas where the week of disruptions are taking place can be referred to alternate emergency departments in Athabasca and Smoky Lake.
The Smoky Lake hospital — as noted in an AHS statement issued the same day as the ones for Lac La Biche and Boyle — has also been affected by service disruptions. The George McDougall - Smoky Lake Healthcare Centre emergency department was without temporarily on-site physician coverage from Friday, August 11 at 4 p.m. to Monday, August 14 at 8:00 a.m.
The service disruptions are the latest in a series that have been taking place at almost monthly intervals for the last year in area hospitals.
Local elected officials have been formally meeting and discussion recruitment strategies to attract community healthcare professionals for more than four years. Through the most recent service disruption notices, AHS officials say their current priority is "on reducing emergency department wait-times, improving EMS response times, increasing access to surgeries, and improving patient flow."
