Lethbridge doctors warn of increasing wait times in the ER

LETHBRIDGE -

Physicians in Lethbridge have been hard to come by for some time, and it's not just family doctors.

The physician group at the Chinook Regional Hospital (CRH) says there's a staffing shortage and things are not expected to improve anytime soon.

"I've been here a long time and we've never had to put out any sort of public service announcement like this before," said Dr. Kevin Martin, who has been working at CRH for the past 23 years.

"Unfortunately, we are going to see significantly increasing wait times in the coming months."

The group consists of 13 emergency physicians who issued an open letter to the public on Tuesday with their concerns, warning residents of the risk of increasing delays and wait times this summer.

"Our average is typically less than two hours in Lethbridge, whereas other (areas) experience averages more like four to six hours on a regular basis," Martin said.

"So I think we're going to be coming more in line with that, which is not something that we're used to."

Martin says there are currently one-third fewer full-time physicians available.

This means there will be reduced doctor coverage in May and June and a severe shortage in July and beyond.

"Sporadically, over the month of May, there's been three or four times we'd have to drop down to six instead of seven shifts to cover," Martin told CTV News.

"Once we hit July, that's going to be the norm, that we're going down to six. In fact, there's going to be times where it's going to be down to five."

The doctor shortage is a major topic in the upcoming provincial election and local candidates have been pressing hard to make sure Lethbridge gets the care it needs.

"It's a multi-pronged approach and it's going to be a short-term, mid-term and long-term approach that we're going to need to take for this and there's nothing that's going to fix this situation quickly," said Cheryl Seaborn, the UCP candidate for Lethbridge-West.

"We have signing bonuses and retention bonuses built into our health-care spending because we know we need to be competitive with other jurisdictions," said Shannon Phillips, the NDP incumbent for Lethbridge-West.

"We know that other jurisdictions are undertaking this and we will do it, too."

"AHS is taking steps to reduce emergency department wait times across the province and we are seeing significant improvement. Critically ill or injured patients will always be seen immediately, and those with non-urgent concerns may wait longer to be seen depending on resources," the provincial health authority said in a statement.

Martin says the purpose of the open letter was to prepare residents for the upcoming wait-time delays and that if they have a medical emergency, they should still seek medical help.