ST. PAUL - Seven new doctors will soon be coming to St. Paul, according to a Monday afternoon announcement from the provincial government.
"Seven new physicians have signed contracts to work in St. Paul, including three with obstetrics training," reads the announcement.
All seven physicians have to complete competency assessments by the College of Physicians of Alberta (CPSA)
“CPSA is working diligently to assess the competency of the new physicians in the St. Paul area. Our assessment programs are an important part of ensuring newly recruited physicians who don’t have all the required Canadian credentials are equipped to provide safe medical care," said Scott McLeod, registrar, CPSA.
There is still one posting available in St. Paul for a family physician with anesthesia training.
“I want to extend my deepest thanks to MLA Hanson, Mayor Miller, the Lakeland Health Advisory Council and the Health Professions Attraction and Retention Committee for St. Paul, and the countless number of others who worked hard with AHS (Alberta Health Services) to recruit new physicians to St. Paul," said Minister of Health Tyler Shandro, in the announcement.
“We look forward to welcoming these new physicians to St. Paul. Having family physicians with this level of skill is important to residents in the community. I would like to thank Mayor Miller for her hard work and commitment to help bring new physicians to our area," said David Hanson, MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul.
Mayor Maureen Miller, who had previously announced the new doctors during prior council meetings, says the confirmation is great news for the community.
"We are very excited to welcome these new doctors and their families to our community, while ensuring the health-care needs of our residents are met," said the mayor.
Two of the doctors have already started their competency assessment, and are expected to start in St. Paul in August or September. A third physician is expected to start the assessment process in August, arriving in the community in November.
The remaining five physicians are expected to begin the assessment process in the coming months.
Speaking last week
Speaking at an event last week, Hanson said "access to health care is top of my list." He added that there is no reason people living in the constituency should have to beg for health care services.
He confirmed that he had recently met with Minister Shandro to discuss the issues that are being experienced in St. Paul. He pointed to "hurdles" in the assessment process.
During last Monday night's Town of St. Paul council meeting, Miller confirmed that the community would be welcoming a handful of doctors soon.
In her update to council on the issue of physician recruitment, Miller said some of the new doctors were already completing their assessments, but since there are no assessment officers available in the area, the doctors are having to complete assessments elsewhere.
"We're in a huge challenge here," said Miller, June 14. She noted that the local emergency department has been busy because there is a lack of family doctors in the community, but assured "there is help on the way."
"All these physicians are presently in Canada," said the mayor.
Coun. Nathan Taylor noted that it is more than just doctors that are needed in St. Paul, pointing to the reduction in acute care beds at the St. Paul and Elk Point hospitals due to a lack of nurses.
Miller affirmed that the Health Professions Attraction and Retention Committee is looking at "all health care positions."
She also noted that once physicians arrive in St. Paul, a welcoming committee will be required to help integrate families into the community. Many of the doctors coming have children.
"We are working on all fronts."
Last week, Minister Shandro sent a letter, stating, "Staffing challenges are not new to rural Albertans, who are familiar with the longstanding challenge of recruiting doctors to their communities."
Shandro pointed to vaccines for COVID-19 as being a factor that will help the situation, and "will lead to a more stable healthcare workforce in rural Alberta in the coming weeks."
See the June 22 edition of Lakeland This Week for Shandro's full letter.
